0418290939

Love Your Liver & Lower Estrogen as Part of Your Cancer-Recovery Lifestyle

As women, we can all benefit from balancing our hormones and reducing our risk of getting cancer, because high levels of estrogen are associated with an increased risk of female cancers.
. 
The symptoms of unbalanced hormones range from:
• Heavy bleeding
• Painful periods
• Mood swings
• Infertility
• Brain fog
• Hot flushes
• Night sweats
• Fibroids
• Endometriosis
• Breast or uterine cancer
. 
Going on the pill or HRT may reduce symptoms, but in reality is only masking an underlying problem.
. 
The first step to balancing your hormones is to reduce or remove estrogen sources from your diet. You can read my blog about the benefits of an anti-estrogen diet for women cancer survivors here.
. 
The second step is to love your liver.
100 years ago fatty liver disease was only found in alcoholics…today we are finding it in children as young as 2! 
. 
“Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) is now the most prevalent form of chronic liver disease in childhood and adolescence, affecting approximately 10%–20% of the general paediatric population”
– Reference found here. 
The biggest culprit to NAFLD is our modern ‘sugar-saturated’ diet.
. 
Sugar is half glucose and half fructose. Fructose can only be metabolised in the liver (unlike glucose which is taken up by cells in the body). Plus, with the abundance of high fructose corn syrup, which processed foods are drenched in, the poor liver is inundated with fructose.
. 
If the liver doesn’t need the fructose for energy, it’s stored as fat. NAFLD is commonly found in individuals who are overweight or obese.
. 
As estrogen needs to be broken down in the liver so it can be excreted from the body, this process is slowed down if we have a fatty liver, so higher estrogen levels in the blood are often the result.
. 
We need to use it and lose it, because when estrogen hangs around it causes problems.
. 
How can you support your liver today?
  1. Eat cruciferous vegetables every day,  because they support liver detoxification and help estrogen metabolism! These include broccoli, broccoli sprouts, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, cabbage, kale, mustard greens, horseradish. See my ‘Creative Veges’ blog series for ideas.
  2. Increase your fibre intake from whole grains, legumes (beans & lentils), vegetables & fruit, nuts & seeds.
  3. Get your sweetness from fruit, dried fruit and make my favourite Black Bean Brownies.
  4. Reduce alcohol, pharmaceuticals (where possible) & over the counter medication.
What I love is that the same way we balance our hormones, support our liver, AND reduce our risk of getting cancer again… is the SAME. Having said that, the path to optimal health is simple but not always easy.
. 
It’s a journey, usually one baby step at a time.
. 
Please reach out if you would like some more support. You can book a free 20 minute chat with me here. 

I believe this is why so many diets fail.

We commit to a 6 week challenge - pay for a coach or announce it to the world and off we go!

But then the coaching ends OR the 6 weeks are up!

When I work with clients at some point they’ll say...I almost ate XXX on the weekend, but I knew I had to tell you so I resisted.

I am acutely aware that I will not be in my clients' lives forever.

So I never pass quickly over these revelations because I want to make sure they have the tools to deal with these situations when I’m not around.

I believe this is why so many diets fail.

We commit to a 6 week challenge - pay for a coach or announce it to the world and off we go!

But then the coaching ends OR the 6 weeks are up!

When I work with clients at some point they’ll say...I almost ate XXX on the weekend, but I knew I had to tell you so I resisted.

I am acutely aware that I will not be in my clients' lives forever.

So I never pass quickly over these revelations because I want to make sure they have the tools to deal with these situations when I’m not around.