Sonali was married for 5 years and was desperate to have a baby. After suffering 3 miscarriages, she finally came to know that she was facing difficulty in giving birth and maintaining her pregnancy due to hormonal imbalance. When Sonali consulted a renowned gynecologists’ about what to do about her hormonal imbalance, she was told to feed herself with foods high in estrogen. It is because estrogen is one of the main hormones responsible for reproduction in a female’s body. Apart from this main role played in reproduction, estrogen is important to maintain hormonal balance in the human body.
Let us talk about why do we need to have proper estrogen levels in our body, how to increase estrogen levels in the body, and are there any foods that increase estrogen?
Why does our Body need Estrogen?
Estrogen is one key hormone that plays a vital role in a woman’s reproductive system. It is often regarded as the female hormone because it regulates the menstrual cycle in a woman’s body and is responsible for a woman’s hormonal health. However, it is equally important in a male’s body.
Following are the roles followed by adequate estrogen levels in a human body:
- Supports heart and blood vessels
- Strengthens bones
- Protects brain
- Regulates mood swings
- Relieves vaginal dryness in women
- Reduces the risk of prostate cancer and breast cancer
How to Increase Estrogen Levels in the Body?
Estrogen is a natural hormone produced in the human body but can help our body to produce a compound called phytoestrogen that imitates estrogen. Phytoestrogen can be produced in the body by eating foods that increase estrogen. Nature has blessed us with many food items that contain this hormone. However, besides these foods, other certain factors may affect the production of estrogen in our bodies.
Factors that Affect Estrogen Levels
- Pregnancy
- Menopause
- PCOS
- Puberty
- Obesity
- Old Age
- Extreme Workout
- Anorexia Nervosa
- Diabetes
- High Blood Pressure
- Turner’s Syndrome
- Stress
Types of Estrogen
There are three types of estrogen present in our body:
1. Estriol
Estriol is on a high in a female body during pregnancy. It is responsible for the proper growth of the uterus and helps to prepare the female body to deliver a baby. This type of estrogen tends to be at its peak just before the birth of a baby.
2. Estrone
A female’s body possesses estrone after menopause. This is a comparatively weaker estrogen. It can easily be converted into other types of estrogen due to its weak strength.
Estradiol
This type of estrogen is produced both in a female and male body. Estradiol plays an important role in a female’s reproductive years. Excess of estradiol can lead to depression, osteoporosis, acne, and loss of sexual drive.
Top Foods High in Estrogen
Top 7 estrogen rich foods list:
1. Soy
Soy is believed to be a rich source of isoflavones, a type of phytoestrogen that can mimic the role of estrogen in your body. Besides, soy is also rich in vitamins and minerals that help to prevent the risk of breast and prostate cancer. Try to include soy in the form of tofu, soymilk, and soybeans to increase estrogen levels in your body.
2. Berries and Peaches
Rich in lignan antioxidants, peaches are a blessing for a woman’s health, as it possesses the ability to prevent the chances of breast cancer. Besides, peaches, berries like strawberries, and blueberries can impart the same effects in increasing the estrogen levels in your body.
3. Flax Seeds
Counted as a superfood, flaxseeds are rich in lignans, an antioxidant that helps to reduce the risk of breast cancer. Just sprinkle a bit of flaxseed on your salad or smoothie and you will feed a good source of estrogen to your body in an easy way.
4. Sesame Seeds
Just like flaxseeds, sesame seeds are very effective in increasing estrogen levels in your body. Moreover, adding these tiny seeds is convenient to any dish and they will impart other health benefits too.
5. Garlic
Garlic is one of the most easily available foods high in estrogen. Besides acting on the estrogen levels in our body, garlic is known to be a healthy food item that can avoid heart diseases by lowering cholesterol levels and reducing blood pressure too.
6. Cruciferous Vegetables
All kinds of cruciferous vegetables like kale, broccoli, and cabbage are rich sources of phytoestrogens. They also possess anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. One should include these vegetables in the diet to increase the levels of estrogen in the body significantly.
7. Red Wine
Stop looking here and there to know how to increase estrogen levels in your body, when this can be done with a glass of red wine! Recent studies have found that red wine is a rich source of a phytoestrogen called resveratrol. This compound will help not just maintain good levels of estrogen in the body but will also help to reduce the chances of cardiac diseases by maintaining cholesterol levels.
Estrogen Rich Food For Breast Enlargement
1. Tofu
2. Sesame Seeds
3. Flaxseeds
4. Soy
5. Nuts
6. Fennel Seeds
7. Fruits
8. Garlic
9. Berries
10. Wheat Bran
Conclusion
Estrogen levels need to stay in balance in a woman’s body else it may lead to hormonal imbalance issues. Eating the above-mentioned foods that increase estrogen is an easy way to maintain estrogen levels in the body. Besides, if your body is lacking this particular hormone, you can consider having supplements only after a doctor’s consultation. Remember, too much or too little estrogen will eventually lead to hormonal imbalance, so striking a balance is a must.
