Estrogen dominance is when you have elevated levels of estrogen in your system. However, often times this can be a "relative" dominance in regards to the fact that your progesterone is too low.
If you don't have enough progesterone to balance out a normal level of estrogen, you end up having the same symptoms of pure estrogen dominance. If you're dealing with relative estrogen dominance due to your progesterone being low, this is often because you are not ovulating.
Another potential contributor can be a sluggish liver and digestive system. Estrogen is metabolized in your liver, and if your liver is overburdened or doesn't have the support it needs this can be a side effect. However, if you are struggling with constipation, (You should be pooping every. day.) this can be the other side of the coin. You see, once your liver metabolizes your estrogen it then moves it out through your stool. However, if it is not moved out in a timely manner and sits in your colon, it can get reabsorbed back into your body.
Inflammation is a hidden contributor to estrogen dominance.
Let's say you are struggling with some major food sensitivities that are causing an inflammatory immune response. If you are consistently eating these foods your body is going to be in a chronic state of inflammation. This inflammation can actually trigger an enzyme called aromatase to start converting your testosterone into more estrogen.
Chronic inflammation in the body can also be a cause of hidden infections or pathogens in your body. Often times, if you have gone through all of the proper nutritional and lifestyle adjustments to balance out your hormones and it just isn’t moving the dial enough, it’s due to these greater underlying issues. Remember that your hormones are messengers letting you know that something is disturbing the balance in your body.
I have also touched on replacing cleaning products in your home because another cause of estrogen dominance can be environmental toxins known to be endocrine disruptors in many cleaners. Different components of plastic are also known as xenoestrogens, which imitate estrogen in the body. Think of these flooding your body with additional toxic estrogen sending your body into estrogen dominance.
Lastly, one other major cause of estrogen dominance can be from the hormonal combination contraceptive pill. Let's be clear that the "hormones" in these pills are not natural or anywhere close to what your body naturally makes. These are synthetic versions called estradiol and progestin.
Even if you are told you are taking a "low-dose" pill, that is relative to the first trials of the pill. Remember, that in order for the pill to be effective it has to flood your system with enough of these synthetic hormones to override your body's ovulation. You can see how the pill could contribute to estrogen dominance in two fold through it's own synthetic overload and shutting down your ovulation causing a lower level of progesterone.