Estrogen Could Be Hindering Your Weight Loss

Grigorov enjoys various hobbies including going to the gym regularly to exercise as well as following a healthy but sustainable diet.

Laurence Grigorov firmly believes that a healthy work-life balance should include regular exercise which not only is good for your health but also for your mind. Fine-tuning your diet and training routine is key to achieve the results you are looking for. Laurence Grigorov often follows top health and training sites to keep up to date with the latest news and tips.

Sometimes it seems impossible to lean out. You lift weights, eat clean, and you’re still smack-dab in the middle of a plateau! Not only are you not losing fat, you suffer from bloating and low energy levels. Talk about adding insult to injury!

If any of this sounds familiar, you may be dealing with an overload of the hormone estrogen, a condition referred to as estrogen dominance. I sought out several endocrine (hormone) specialists to get their take on estrogen dominance and how it affects our fitness goals. Here’s what they had to say.

What Are Some Of The Benefits Of Estrogen?

Although normally associated with the female body, estrogen is needed in both the male and female body, explains Paul Mystkowski, MD, an endocrinologist at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle. For the female body, estrogen helps produce a healthy reproductive system and encourages strong bones; for males, it does the latter.

“In fact, all men normally convert testosterone to estrogen to build bone mass,” says Dr. Mystkowski.

When in perfect balance, this much-needed hormone works in our favor. Unfortunately, accumulating too much estrogen is a frequent byproduct of the modern lifestyle. Estrogen can be acquired from daily norms such as stress and poor diet, negative lifestyle factors such as smoking and too much drinking, digestion issues, and more, says Maggie Ruiz-Paedae, DOM, a practitioner of functional medicine. And sometimes, this leads to problems.

What Is Estrogen Dominance?

One such problem is what’s called estrogen dominance.

“Estrogen dominance occurs when there’s too much of the female sex hormone, estrogen, floating around in someone’s bloodstream,” explains Dr. Ruiz-Paedae. “This can cause several undesirable symptoms in both men and women, including weight gain, water retention, breast enlargement [for females and males alike], fatigue, mood swings, sluggish metabolism, excess abdominal fat, and more.”

Given this array of side effects, it’s no wonder weight loss can become a struggle. That’s not all, though. Dr. Ruiz-Paedae adds that unchecked estrogen dominance eventually can lead to serious health complications, including increased risk for developing prostate, uterine, and breast cancer.

Can Estrogen Dominance Affect Fitness?

Yes. Hormone levels must fall within desired ranges and be balanced relative to one other. And estrogen is one hormone in particular that we cannot ignore in our quest for a lean, muscular body.

Are There Natural Ways To Lower Estrogen Levels?

Just as there are many ways to acquire too much estrogen, there are many things you can do to get this essential hormone in check:

1. Replace Plastic Containers With Glass Or Steel

According to Dr. Ruiz-Paedae, plastics contain BPA (and other harmful chemicals) that negatively impact your estrogen levels. Although there are a variety of BPA-free products on the market, your best bet is to play it safe and go with glass!

2. Eat Liver-Supporting Foods

Since your liver is responsible for helping to remove excess estrogen and toxins from your body, make sure your diet supports healthy liver function.

3. Manage Stress Levels

No one can completely avoid stress, but there are certainly things we can do to take some pressure off. Since prolonged stress encourages excess estrogen, a yoga class every week or monthly massage might be a great way to manage and reduce stress over time.

4. Go Organic As Much As Possible

Harmful hormones and toxins can sneak into our bodies through residual pesticides on our grains, fruits, vegetables, and animal products treated with antibiotics and growth hormones. Thankfully, safer and healthier options exist. Look for labels such as grass-fed, non-GMO, and organic when buying meat and produce. Since buying organic may boost your grocery bill, save money by buying in season and visiting farmers markets.

5. Eat More Fiber

Fiber can bind to estrogen and help flush it out of your system. Great sources include leafy greens, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, flax, chia, artichokes, figs, apples, pears, beans and legumes, turnips, squash, peas, and berries.

If you think you may be struggling with estrogen dominance, talk to your doctor about getting proper testing done. Until then, it can’t hurt to be proactive implement these strategies. They’re smart health moves regardless of your estrogen status.

Words and image courtesy of www.bodybuilding.com

Barcelona Negotiating with Neymar

As director of a residential property development company based in Johannesburg, Laurence Grigorov is involved in all aspects of the development process, including land acquisition, rezoning applications, architectural design as well as the finance and legal components of these complex projects. 

In his spare time Laurence Grigorov enjoys relaxing by watching and following football and is a keen Barcelona supporter.

Barcelona have opened talks for a return for Paris Saint-Germain striker and are optimistic of a summer deal, report Marca. Brazilian star Neymar left the Camp Nou for Paris in the summer of 2017 for a world record €222m fee, but reports continue to suggest he may be open to a departure from the Parisians.

The latest reports say that talks have already opened between the Catalan club and Neymar, alongside initial contact with the French champions. Neymar has continually been linked with a return to Spain since his departure with the Catalan giants and Real Madrid said to be keen on a future transfer, while L’Equipe have reported the French capital club will listen to offers.

It is said that the expectation is that ‘talks will go on for several weeks’ but that the Blaugrana are willing to be involved in a ‘soap drama’ as long as they can land the player.

Neymar has netted 51 goals in 57 appearances for the Parisians but it is said that such a move will not impact on Barca’s plans to sign Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann this summer.

words & image courtesy of www.football-espana.net