How to Increase Zinc with Estrogen Dominance

Estrogen is an essential hormone to health. In a woman's body, the menstrual cycle causes levels of hormones such as progesterone and estrogen to fluctuate throughout the month. Excess of estrogen, however, leads to what is known as estrogen dominance and causes numerous symptoms such as disturbed sleep cycles, fatigue, and mood swings. In men, it is produced in smaller amounts and excess estrogen can cause infertility, erectile dysfunction, enlarged prostate and certain types of cancer. From a nutritional standpoint, one of the effects of estrogen dominance is the depletion of vital nutrients such as zinc. Consequences of low zinc levels include impairment of taste, extreme reactions to stress, skin disorders, mood swings, and depression. Thankfully, this is reversible.

Instructions

• 1

  Increase your intake of foods rich in zinc. Excellent sources include calf's liver, beef tenderloin, lamb and venison. Nonanimal sources of zinc include sesame seeds, raw pumpkin seeds, green peas, and raw crimini mushrooms.

• 2

  Take a daily multivitamin. Because it plays a crucial role in hormone development, supplementing your diet with a multivitamin that includes zinc can help decrease estrogen dominance and restore hormonal balance. In the United States, the recommended daily allowance of zinc is 8 milligrams for women and 11 milligrams for men.

• 3

  Take a zinc supplement. Be careful though, too much zinc will interfere with the metabolism of other essential such as iron and copper. Zinc toxicity will occur after the ingestion of 2 grams or more. Symptoms of zinc toxicity include nausea, vomiting and fever. Because of this, it is advised that you do not exceed the daily recommended amount unless specifically instructed to do so by a doctor.