The Phyto Fight

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To phytoestrogen or not to phytoestrogen, that does seem to be the question these days doesn't it. A quick internet search into the subject will lead you down a rabbit hole of every "natural" women's menopausal supplement on the market, but very little unbiased information.

What is a phytoestrogen?
Well I'm sure most of you know it's a plant based estrogen found in the majority of fruits, veggies, nuts & seeds we consume.

Why is it a hot button dietary topic?
Two general schools of thought exist as to the merits or dangers of consuming these little compounds; the first: that it is good for the body, eases menopause, and acts as a synthetic hormone blocker. The second: that it can cause cancer, throw the body out of it's natural hormonal balance, particularly in developing infants to adolescents.

How?
There are receptors in our body specifically set up to accept different types of hormones. What a phytoestrogen does is fills in a receptor somewhat mimicking the body's own estrogen.

When it goes awry....
The body is a self regulating machine, it wants to remain in stasis. Habitually consuming high levels of phytoestrogens will eventually lead your body to produce fewer of your own, creating androgen dominance. *This is where it's particularly dangerous for adolescents who's bodies are just figuring out how much they're supposed to be secreting.*

When it's good...
The crazy polluted, over pesticided, over growth hormone fed world we live in is CHOCK-A-BLOCK full of synthetic hormones that can really confuse and hurt the system. By giving those receptors a phytoestrogen, a substance the body more easily and readily accepts, we can prevent the absorption of the more toxic chemicals that now have no where to adhere.

BUT!!! - a big but ;)
Too much of a good thing- is always a bad thing. We're talking about creating a balance right? If the receptors are full and you just keep filling the system it all floats around in your blood stream tipping the scales. This is where you get a lot of phobias about men with increased breast size, women with disrupted or increased menses, lab cultures developing cancer cells...

So what to do?
This depends on the sensitivity of your system. Some can successfully consume healthy organic phytos with little to no consequence. Others develop cystic acne flare ups just looking at an oat!

For me soy is a big trigger as are most legumes (inc. peanuts) except for peas and green beans. Lesser triggers include hops, licorice, turmeric, fresh thyme, cashews, onions, and garlic. Other foods with lower, phytoestrogens, or slightly different forms are really really beneficial (for my body) and make me feel great, like fresh pomegranate, sweet potato, green tea, red wine, fennel, walnuts, oats, quinoa, and cinnamon.

Stefani Ruper has an excellent list. She herself is VERY sensitive, but check out the foods mentioned. Some of them might contribute to occasional skin flare ups, or maybe you notice you get more menstrual cramping when consuming certain ones during the month. Try eliminating possible triggers and see how it makes you feel. Side effects of over phyto-ing the system aren't all necessarily long term like cancer, or PCOS, some of them you may notice alleviated within a few weeks or maybe even days.

The cancer question. Yes the cancer developing in a petri dish was fed richly by phytoestrogens, but this experiment can't seem to be replicated on living subjects. Rats and mice haven't been effected by the introduction of phytoestrogens. Also the countries historically cited to have the highest soy consumption also have the lowest incidences of cancer. I personally don't believe that means phytoestrogens are a cure for cancer, but it does suggest that it's probably not the cause.

It should also be specially noted that post-menopausal women may have a completely different set of experiences as well. Once the body entirely stops making it's own estrogens, these foods may actually provide a greater stability and balance to the system, it's all about figuring what feels right, gives you energy, calm, feels clean. You won't inhibit your body's own estrogen balance if you've naturally come to the part of your life when you no longer produce it.

Make sure you're always buying organic or from a local trusted farmer while you're on your own phyto discovery quest.  Eliminate pesticides, GMOs, and pesticide residue from the equation. They'll always create an endocrine disruption.
Be well my friends!