Anti-oestrogenic diet

An anti-estrogenic diet is a diet with the purpose of wholly or substantially reducing estrogen levels in men and women. High estrogen may be environmentally induced through chemicals and hormones found in food, also called xenoestrogens and phytoestrogens. Certain genetic conditions may also be the cause of high estrogen in men, such as klinefelters syndrome. The diet seeks to lower estrogen levels by reducing foods with phytoestrogenic content and endocrine disrupting effects. Some foods have also been found to have chemicals that change the way estrogen is metabolized, such as the compound Indole-3-carbinol in cruciferous vegetables which may help in lowering excessive estrogen levels. An anti-estrogenic diet has many benefits, including, but not limited to, improved libido, improved mental health, reduction of arthritis, reduction of cardiovascular diseases in men and reduced chance of metabolic syndrome.

Reason and purpose
Estrogens (AmE), or oestrogen (BE) is the female hormone. Its presence in the male and female body has increased since 1950 and particularly since 1980. This increase is partially due to the increase of use of the female contraceptive pill. Some of the estrogen contained in these pharmaceutical products is eliminated in the urine and excrements. The relative decrease in testosterone, the male hormone, causes for men an increase in female characteristics while it can perturb the female menstrual cycle. As it influences muscular development, an anti-estrogenic diet has a particular popularity with bodybuilders. Another population that might benefit from such a diet are older males. In fact, it is a natural part of the aging process that can, however, be fought. Estrogen has also proven to have a significant influence on mood and an anti-estrogen diet might help increase emotional well-being.

Concerns have been raised that estrogenic foods contribute to illness and obesity.

Stages and composition of the diet


There are three steps of an anti-estrogenic diet in general. Organs such as the liver and the kidneys are the main actors of the detoxification program. The first phase is detoxification, allowing liver and kidneys to be cleansed and refined by taking fruits and vegetables in order for organs to function better. The second phase is the main phase, its purpose being to absorb the anti-estrogenic foods, such as organic vegetables or cruciferous vegetables that do not contain pesticides. Eating these anti-estrogenic foods should lower the level of estrogen in the body. The third step is the reintroduction of other foods such as meat, fish, or pasta for evening meals only. Oestrogenic foods such as soy, beer (alcohol), licorice, clover and some foods in plastic should be avoided The diet only allows absorption of natural anti-estrogenic foods such as citrus fruits, cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, avocado, nuts, eggs, organic milk products, coffee and tea.

Main effects
The anti-estrogenic diet brings crucial benefits to a person’s health. The first step of the diet consists in a detoxification of the liver by consuming aliments rich in crucifers such as broccoli. The liver cleansing has positive effects on a person's overall health, mainly: weight loss due to the amount of liquids, vegetables and fruits ingested. A “boost” on the immune system is another effect of the detox. Many harmful waste products are easily eliminated from the body, as it helps to filter the blood in a more efficient manner.

The second phase of the diet consists of consuming food rich in anti-estrogenic hormones such as testosterone in the case of males and progesterone in the case of females. The importance of consuming anti-estrogenic hormones is due to their effect in bone formation, muscular strength and a person's overall mood. The diets helps people to handle high stress circumstances by modifying the overall mood and improving the mental capacity by providing a big source of energy. This phase of the diet is vital for reducing constant fatigue, improving the overall emotional well being, gaining muscle mass, avoiding the decrement of the sex drive and burning fat.

The third phase of the diet incorporates meats, breads and pastas at the evening. This will balance the proteins and will provide all the extra minerals needed for a healthy diet. It will provide the proteins needed and the fuel needed to have a complete and successful completion of the diet. Eating the largest meal in the evening will help you improve your metabolism because it is the part of the day with the most stress.

In an overall view the anti-estrogenic diet can help a person's health in many aspects. The diet might increase the libido and the sperm count. It might also help women with their pre menstrual cycles and the menopausal effects. Furthermore it can help with prostate disorder, chronic fatigue and makes it easier to burn abdominal fat. On a longer perspective it can help prevent obesity, diabetes, metabolic disorders and Breast cancer/prostate cancer. It also helps keep the organism away from pesticide infected food and introduce organic food to a person's life style.

Other
Another application is for transgender people. Transgender people are persons undergoing a sex change, either from a male to a female or vice versa. A female becoming a male wants to minimize the amount of estrogen that they receive. The anti-estrogenic diet can be used as a supplement to hormone therapy.