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You eat right, exercise, do all the right things and you are still unable to lose weight. If this sounds like you, you are probably suffering from a condition of estrogen dominance, although most would claim it is a thyroid problem. Estrogen is not the name of a specific hormone. It is the class name for a large group of compounds with estrogenic properties. These include human estrogens, animal estrogens, synthetic estrogens, phytoestrogens and xenoestrogens. As a general rule estrogen causes cell growth. We know that fat cells produce estrogen and once there are enough of them they are able to keep your body supplied with an excessive amount of estrogen.

Estrogen and thyroid hormones do have some opposing actions. Estrogen instructs the body to store calorie intake as fat tissue, whereas thyroid increases the body's ability to metabolize fat for energy. Estrogen is made and stored in fatty tissues, so estrogen dominance is a major cause of obesity. Estrogen causes weight gain by its action of converting food energy into stored energy called fat.

Women, men and children who are estrogen dominant tend to r etain water and crave simple carbohydrates like sugar, baked goods, and chips. Again this  may be  recognized as a thyroid issue, rather than an estrogen imbalance. Women, men and children who are overweight also tend to become insulin resistant, which means sugar isn't being removed from the blood and utilized properly. This is caused by imbalances in the adrenal glands and increases in cortisol levels, which in turn affects the reproductive organs.

You are probably wondering which it is, estrogen or thyroid, that causes your inability to lose weight. Let's look at the facts.

1. Cortisol is released in your body as a response to stress
2. Cortisol thins the lining of the stomach, leading to gut inflammation
3. Gut inflammation (Dysbiosis) will increase estrogen levels in your body by reactivating estrogen and preventing estrogen from being eliminated from your body
4. Gut inflammation will cause the liver to release more fat and sugar into the blood stream
5. Increased Cortisol causes increases in the amount of Reverse T3 which is unusable by the body
6. Increased Estrogen decreases free T3 and T4 Hormone
7. Increased Cortisol causes T3 receptors site resistance
8. Increased Cortisol causes decreases in the amount of T3

Does stress occur in your life? Then you are producing Cortisol. Without free T3 or T4 thyroid hormones you lose the ability to use fat for energy. Estrogen dominance decreases the amount of T3 and T4 thyroid hormones. We have the expertise to help.

Wellness Alternatives uses comprehensive assessments and blood work  to determine what is causing your inability to lose weight. Call us today to start your weight loss process.

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Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms?
by Datis Kharrazian, DHSc, DC, MS