#113: Is Estrogen Really a B*tch? A Look at Estrogen Dominance with Kate Vazquez

Hey beautiful, it's Dr. Tabatha. I want to share something with you that I believe God is doing right now in women's health. We're in the middle of a massive movement and most people don't even know it. Every single day, 6,000 women in the U.S. enter menopause. That's over 2 million women a year, and by 2030, that's more than 1.2 billion women worldwide. So here's the thing, most of these women feel exhausted, bloated, anxious, disconnected from themselves, and the medical system is Doctors are handing out prescriptions and quick fixes, and no one is helping women heal from the root cause of their issues. That's where Fast to Faith coaches come in. As a certified coach, you'll be equipped to help midlife women balance their hormones, heal their gut, regain their energy, and reconnect their faith, the foundation that so many of us have been missing. And from a business standpoint, woo, this is one of the most lucrative untapped opportunities in the entire health coaching world. The global health coaching industry is expected to reach over $33 billion by 2023, and midlife women are the fastest-growing, highest-spending demographic in that space. Most importantly, these women stay with their coaches. They invest deeply because they are desperate for lasting transformation— body, mind, and spirit. So if you've been feeling that pull and that whisper that you're meant to do more, This is it. Now is the time to rise, to serve, and build a purpose-driven business that not only changes other women's lives but transforms your own in the process. Because when you help one woman heal, you help her family, her marriage, her faith, and her future. That's the ripple effect that we're creating with Fast to Faith. So join me, click the link to come watch this webinar. It might be the one thing that really moves the needle for you in this Next season. I can't wait to see you in there. Hi, I'm Dr. Tabatha, the Gutsy Gynecologist. I'm a triple board-certified OB-GYN and functional medicine physician. I've embraced the world of functional medicine and wellness through my own personal health journey, and I'm super excited to share my wisdom and unique perspective as it pertains to women's health. After caring for thousands of women, I've come to realize that your gut health determines your gyn health and your overall health. And it's a super gutsy thing for me to go against conventional gynecology practice to bring you the truth. No more Band-Aid medicine, ladies. We're talking root cause resolution on this show. So if you're struggling with hormone imbalance, weight gain, period issues, anxiety, insomnia, you name it, then you've come to the right place. And I want to be your gutsy gynecologist.

So welcome.

Oh my gosh, I'm so excited for this episode. It's like one of my favorite topics, estrogen dominance. So I have a guest today who wrote a book on it. I'm really excited. This is going to be an amazing episode. And this is not, not for only perimenopausal women, okay? So this is for all women. We really do need to understand how our hormones shift and get affected by everything in our lives all throughout our reproductive years and what we need to do to keep them in balance. So this concept is super important. And I will tell you, conventional gynecologists will tell you estrogen dominance doesn't exist because it's not a disease, right? It's not something that you can treat with a medicine. And it's a newer concept or idea of hormone imbalance because we have never studied women appropriately to really understand their endocrine system and how they function as physicians, as a medical system. And so the— what we understand about reproduction is the bare minimum. of what's needed to create a human life. But we don't, you know, we haven't taken the time to understand the nuances or the impact of the quality of life for women when their hormones are not completely balanced. And, and we definitely haven't spent the time to understand why they're imbalanced. And I guess I say we, lumping myself with conventional physicians. But the truth is there are many physicians and research institutions and companies that have studied this, and it's been going on for over 20 years in the world of functional and integrative and anti-aging medicine. It's just not commonplace for conventional medicine, Western medicine. And so this stuff is not new woohoo crazy talk. Like, this is, you know, very well-established, deeply research-based information that's come out over the past 20 years on studying women from the non-Big Pharma societies. And so I didn't understand this as a conventional gynecologist. Many of my colleagues don't because we're just not aware of this information. It's just not presented to us. It's like conventional medicine is very much disease-oriented. We are focused on finding the disease and treating it with medication and surgery. So hormone imbalance is about function and optimization and wellness. And prevention. And so that's an entirely different world and mindset. And so I'm not saying be mad at your conventional doctor. What I'm saying is give them some grace if they haven't heard of estrogen dominance or some of the things that we talk about on this podcast. That's the whole reason I do the podcast, right, is for you to know what I didn't know as an actual physician. And this is why. So don't be mad at them. Just know that they might not know what you're talking about, and that's okay, because you can find a practitioner out there who does know this stuff and who has been trained in this to help you. You know, you can come to me. I can help you. I work one-on-one with women all the time. We do virtual visits. They look just like this. You can talk to me. I might not have my makeup on or my lighting or whatever. But, um, I will definitely be happy to work with you if you feel like you need one-on-one help. But my guest today does a lot of the same work. We practice very much alike. I love how she, um, deals with hormone imbalance as well. And she also works one-on-one with women, so you can check her out. All the links are in the show notes. So let me just sing her praises before we get rolling because this is an episode that Every woman should listen to. Every woman needs to understand how their hormones are impacted by their diet, by their lifestyle choices, by their environment, by everything that you decide to do, by your mindset. Your hormones are impacted every single day. And so this is a really important episode. Okay. So I am talking to Kate Vasquez. She is a functional medicine physician assistant. She's founded Radiant Health. She's an award-winning author of the book, Estrogen is a bitch, which we're going to talk about. She is she loves empowering high performance women to reclaim their health and vitality so they can become the confident leader they they aspire to be. She created an awesome online course that you guys can do. It's called the Estrogen Reset. So I would encourage you to go through that. She with her best-selling book, Estrogen is a bitch. She brings awareness. to estrogen dominance. She teaches women how to naturally balance hormones and use their cycle as their superpower. She teaches you how to reconnect to yourself within, tap into your feminine energy at the highest level so you can create a life by design that you actually love living. So I love everything about what Kate's doing. I couldn't, you know, be more on par with her. So amazing. So this is a really good episode. Share with every woman in your life because we all need this information. All right, here we go. Well, welcome, Kate, to the Gutsy Gynecologist Show.

Hi, Tabatha. Thank you so much for having me. I'm just so honored and blessed to be here today and having this conversation.

Oh, I'm so glad you're here. I mean, this is one of my favorite topics. It's near and dear to my heart. So I, I think we don't talk about it enough. And, you know, a lot of women don't really realize what they're experiencing and going through. So I really want to just take a deep dive into all of this. But first, I want to know, what made you even want to write this book, Estrogen Is a Bitch?

Yeah, absolutely. That is such a great question. I am a physician assistant and certified in functional medicine. So I've been on my own health journey, especially as I transitioned from conventional Western medicine into functional medicine. I had my own health issues at the time I, um, and it's crazy because like at the time I didn't think it was a big deal. It was just like kind of manageable. And because I had a high pain tolerance and just kind of pushed through everything. But, uh, I started having migraines when I was a child. And then when I went through puberty, developed acne. So I was put on birth control, which definitely cleared the acne. And of course that was the first sign of hormonal imbalance. And then I developed a lot of anxiety from high school into college. And then in college also started developing a lot of GI issues, like constipation and bloating. So it was like one thing was just kind of building on the next. And once I discovered functional medicine, I learned that I could really heal my body and that all these things were happening, um, for a reason. Like all the systems were all integrated and being able to heal that, um, was like very empowering because I didn't, you know, at the time I felt like it was just like my fate. Like even though I was the only one in my immediate family to have migraines, but my, my parents, my sisters had GI issues. So it was like, I thought it was just my fate because it was genetics, you know, but learning about functional medicine, I realized, no, it doesn't have to be my fate. And so I did a lot of work like healing my gut, reducing anxiety, but I was on birth control pills still. And it wasn't until almost 3 years ago, it'll be 3 years this May, when I finally came off birth control, especially learning about the long-term effects of birth control, which unfortunately most providers don't tell us because they're not aware. But I learned about all the long-term effects and I also wanted to get my body ready for pregnancy. I'm still Still preparing, not ready yet, but I wanted to make sure that when it was time, that I was, that my body was ready because a lot of friends and coworkers, when they came off birth control, they would get pregnant and then miscarry. And I'm, and I knew like something was not right. Like, why is this happening? And I didn't want that to happen to me. And learning about functional medicine, I wanted to prepare my body. So coming off birth control, my hormones went crazy. And it surprised me because I'm like, I had done all the work healing my gut and managing the stress. But what I hadn't looked at was my hormones. yet. And so I did the testing for hormones and discovered I had an imbalance, imbalance in estrogen and progesterone. My progesterone levels were very, very low for being suppressed for over 15 years. So it created an imbalance and I needed to support estrogen metabolism as well. So, so for the first time when my hormones went crazy coming off the pill, I was experiencing very irregular cycles. I was having severe menstrual cramps, breast tenderness. I even started gaining a little weight in my butt, hips, and thighs. And I knew that this, this is not normal. Like something was going on. And so once I discovered that imbalance, I did a lot more research and looking into like, why is this happening? And discovered I had estrogen dominance. And unfortunately there's just, there's not a lot of information out there. And even in conventional medicine, you mentioned Western estrogen dominance and they just, they have no idea what you're talking about.

Wow.

But in functional medicine, we know what it is. And so I realized like I was experiencing that. I started seeing a lot of the same patterns in a lot of my clients that I was seeing. I decided at that point, um, I needed to bring awareness to this. And then one day I was thinking about all the crazy symptoms that come with estrogen dominance. And I was like, wow, estrogen's a bitch. And then right then I was like, oh, that would be a great title for a book. And from that moment on, I realized I needed to write about it, bring more awareness, help educate, inspire, and empower women, um, to not only learn about their hormones, but different steps and things that they can take on their own to really help balance their hormones. Now, Naturally.

Oh my gosh, I love that so much. And I'm so glad you wrote the book because women do need to know. I mean, we have so much to unpack with what you talked about, but I do want the listeners to understand, like, conventional gynecologists don't recognize estrogen dominance because it's not a disease per se, right? It's not a disease that developed that has a medication that can fix it. It's a an imbalance in your hormones, and it usually continues month after month and usually gets worse, right? Um, so this is really important to understand that we are trying to shed light on how your body functions day to day and month to month. And this is a newer concept. And, you know, I was thinking about this a lot. I would love for you to talk about this. Like, our great-great-grandmothers didn't have to deal with this. People didn't have estrogen dominance and all these period issues. Because of so many factors of our new society, namely environmental toxins and our professional status as women and going out and having careers and juggling all of the things. So can you talk about that a little bit? Because I think women are so confused. I know I was, and I was a gynecologist.

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, even as a PA too, we didn't learn about these things. We just were taught that PMS was normal. And, and I completely agree. It's like when you look back at our ancestors, our grandmothers and great-grandmothers, um, they might've had some mild cramps, but they didn't have all the crazy, crazy symptoms that associated with it. But their, their lives were a lot different. They didn't have the stress that we have now, um, especially as women working and juggling like kids and, and everything else and all the demands. Um, they didn't have that stress. They didn't have all the toxins that they're constantly exposed to every single day. And toxins contain chemicals which are called xenoestrogens. And And they are basically foreign estrogen because they are molecularly the same. They're like chemically structured the exact same as estrogen. And so when we are exposed, these chemicals bind to estrogen receptors because the receptors don't know any difference between estrogen and xenoestrogen. So they're binding to these receptors and creating the same response. So now the body thinks there's more estrogen in the system than there really is. And that's, that's a problem because now women are experiencing, you know, all these crazy symptoms with estrogen dominance, the heavy periods, irregular cycles, the breast tenderness, swelling of breasts, cysts in the breasts. They're even developing breast cancer or uterine or endometrial cancer and even other estrogen-type, estrogen-related types of cancer. So there's just, there's just so much that is happening because of these, these constant exposures. Also sleep. Women aren't prioritizing their sleep anymore because they're having to juggle the kids again and go to work and meet all these demands, get, get, get all these things done on their to-do list every day. So that's another reason. Also, the food too. The quality of food is definitely completely different. Back then, everything was, was whole. It was homemade. It was fresh. Now we just have so much more packaged foods that are just contained with so many artificial ingredients and a lot of pesticides. You know, things aren't organic. It's just full of, full of pesticides. So all these things are impacting our gut health and gut health is really important for estrogen metabolism because our bodies are supposed to use estrogen and then get rid of it. But, um, When it comes to estrogen metabolism, it gets metabolized through our liver first. We have phase 1 and phase 2, which a lot of things can impact the liver, and then it goes to our intestines, which is phase 3 or elimination. But if we have poor gut health, elimination isn't happening, so it ends up getting reabsorbed back into circulation. So that's another reason that, that estrogen dominance occurs, you know, now than back in the day.

Okay, so let's talk about those in more detail. You know, you talked about the hormones, the xenoestrogens. People need to get plastics and garbage out of their food and their personal care products, all of that. Like, that's super important. But let's talk about the liver for a little while. So why are our livers so congested and not metabolizing estrogen the way they should? Yeah.

Well, I mentioned there's 2 phases, phase 1 and phase 2 in the liver, and there's different enzymes and also different nutrients that are needed to help support that. And when I realized, and I did the testing, I discovered that my estrogen metabolism wasn't being supported. I needed to support both phase 1 and phase 2. Now, some women just need support with phase 1. Some women just need support with phase 2, but I needed support with both. And the specific nutrients that were needed, phase 1, there's a nutrient called diindolylmethane, and this is coming from cruciferous vegetables. So a lot of broccoli, cabbage, bok choy, cauliflower, you know, all those cruciferous vegetables. And even though I was eating it in my diet, it's just, it still wasn't enough. Unfortunately, all the nutrients in our food are way more depleted than they were. And that's another thing. We don't have the nutrients in our food like they did back in the day because our soils are depleted. And so really supporting my phase 1 with diindolylmethane really made it help make a difference. But also phase 2, I needed B vitamins. vitamins. So like B12, folate, B6, to really help support metabolization in phase 2 through the liver. And also magnesium, because there's 2 enzymes. There's MTHFR that needs the B vitamins, and there's the COMT gene that needs magnesium to help support that. So when I not only did the hormone testing, I looked at my genetics, and then I discovered I had mutations of both of these genes, which required me to have more of these nutrients to support those 2 pathways.

Oh my goodness, I have mutations in both of those as well, one of the MTHFRs and the COMT. So I totally get it. Like, it's easy to get pushed into estrogen dominance when your, you know, genes get activated and they're not functioning well and you're not getting your vitamins to help support that process. Um, and I was just thinking, like, B vitamins are made in the gut, so we're back to the gut again. So Yes, you hit on the liver. Now let's talk about the gut. Why is it so important to have good gut health for your hormones?

Oh my goodness. I love talking about the gut, just like you love talking about the gut, because in the gut we have different organisms. There's trillions and trillions of microorganisms from bacteria, viruses, protozoa, yeast, parasites. And for the most part, they're supposed to be living in community. Like there shouldn't be overgrowth of one versus the other. There should be a healthy balance of all these different organisms. But the problem is, is that when one of these organisms, a specific bacteria or a yeast or parasite, starts taking over, then we get something called dysbiosis. And we also have something called the estrobolome, which is a specific bacteria that is actually responsible for helping to facilitate estrogen metabolism, to turn those into Or excuse me, not to turn, but to take that inactive estrogen that comes from the liver to eliminate it in the gut. And so when there's that dysbiosis that occurs, that disruption in the gut, it actually affects the estrobolone. And then there's also an enzyme called beta-glucuronidase, which is normally supposed to be low when there's a healthy balance of that microbiome. But when there's that dysbiosis, this enzyme increases. So it turns estrogen from its inactive form back into its active form. And then the body realizes that estrogen's ready to go again and ready to be used. So it gets back up into circulation, which is what we don't want. And this is why it's so, so important to look at gut health because we really need to support healthy gut bacteria to help facilitate this process. So beta-glucuronidase levels are low, but if there's that disruption, then we have to figure out why is there a disruption in the first place? And sometimes we have to go in and treat it even if it doesn't get resolved. So that way we can really support and bring those beta-glucuronidase levels back down so estrogen gets eliminated.

Oh my gosh, so important. I love it. So we need to love on our liver, we need to get our gut healed, we need to get our stress and lives under control, and we need to support our progesterone. So you hit on that a little bit in your story. Can you talk about that a little more? Like Why do we need this balance of estrogen and progesterone?

Yeah, absolutely. Uh, that is, that is a very important topic that women need to be aware of because if you're taking birth control, your progesterone levels are suppressed. And then if you are depleted in nutrients like B vitamins, B6, vitamin C, that's actually what helps support the production, which I was deficient in, and not only just B vitamins, but vitamin C too. Also because my adrenals, I was definitely under a lot of stress and our adrenals make up a lot of vitamin need a lot of vitamin C. So when we're stressed, we're depleting that. And progesterone is really important because it's our feel-good hormone. It makes us happy. We are able to sleep really good at night. In fact, we in functional medicine, we call it nature's natural Valium. So progesterone levels are really, really important. And what contributes to this imbalance is— What I think about is actually what, when I look at the hormones, I'm looking at a specific phase of the cycle, which is the luteal phase, because this is when progesterone is actually produced. It's not produced in any other phase. It's primarily in the luteal phase because once an egg is fertilized and it gets implanted in the uterus, progesterone is what is going to maintain sustained pregnancy. But we also get a little bump of estrogen during this time as well, because estrogen normally peaks right before ovulation and then it starts to decline, but then we get a little bump of estrogen again. So when we're looking at the ratio of progesterone and estrogen, we're looking at these 2 hormones during the luteal phase, during the peak time. So for example, if a woman has a 28-day cycle, I'm typically checking day 21. If a woman has a 30-day cycle, I'm checking day 32, or you can do like days 19 to 30, or excuse me, days 19 to 22 on average to look at progesterone at its peak because progesterone levels should normally be between 15 to 25 during this time. that's optimal levels. But if women typically are on the lower side, like if they are at like 10 or less than that, it's really going to cause an imbalance because now there may be a lot more— well, not necessarily a lot more estrogen. There's a couple of patterns that I've noticed with estrogen dominance. They either have low progesterone and high estrogen or low progesterone and normal estrogen. But either way, because that progesterone is so low, it's going to create an imbalance and the body is going to think that there is more estrogen in the system, Which is going to contribute to that estrogen dominance.

Yeah, for sure. I see that all of the time. And, you know, you mentioned progesterone is produced from ovulation. And so us older women, not like you, but more for like me, once you get past 35, 40, 45, you're not necessarily ovulating every month and making that progesterone consistently. And so that's why sometimes it seems like it's getting worse. Month after month, right? Like, yeah, it wasn't so bad 6 months ago, but now it's like out of control. Now I'm like having accidents and soaking through my pants or whatever because that estrogen is just so unchecked from that progesterone, right?

Yeah, absolutely. And that's, that's another good point. As women start to go through menopause, they may not actually have estrogen-dominant symptoms like while they're cycling, but as they start going through menopause, the first hormone to start to decline is progesterone. So that's when a lot of women, when they go through menopause, actually start start developing those symptoms of estrogen dominance for the first time, because now there, there is just like a physiological imbalance by progesterone declining because of just because of what's happening in the body. The body's not producing as much progesterone, even though estrogen is still, still being produced at the normal amounts until eventually the body stops producing estrogen and catches up. But, but yeah, a lot of women going through menopause will also experience those estrogen dominant symptoms.

Yeah, exactly.

Okay.

So you have laid out nicely, like what it feels like to have estrogen dominance, why it's happening. So where do we go from there? You talked a little bit about testing. What's your favorite way to test hormones?

Yeah. Um, I love doing the Dutch tests because it actually really gives a good breakdown of the hormones and their metabolites. So looking at progesterone metabolites, looking at estrogen metabolites, testosterone, DHEA, androgens, also the cortisol levels too throughout the day. So it's like a very good comprehensive test to looking not only at sex hormones, but cortisol, because that's going to be important. Because if women are going to have high cortisol levels, they're actually going to end up producing less progesterone in the body because cholesterol and cortisol— or excuse me, cortisol and progesterone are all made from cholesterol. And so when women are under a state of fight or flight, chronic stress, I'll typically see higher levels of cortisol and lower levels of progesterone. So I love to do this test and not only for just those metabolites, but also looking at the metabolism through the liver of estrogen, because I actually get to see phase 1 and phase 2 metabolites to see where women need the support the most. Because as I mentioned previously, not all women are going to need support in both phase 1 and phase 2. Some women just need support in phase 1. Some women just need support in phase 2. And when I can look at these metabolites, now I can really help tailor that plan. Because unfortunately, when you Google estrogen dominance, they'll list out all the supplements. And yes, DIM is definitely one of those and definitely helped me for sure. But not every woman needs DIM. And in fact, some women, when they take it, can actually feel worse. They can get headaches and severe menstrual cramps if they don't need it, because now it's like really stopping affecting that, that that process of estrogen metabolism through the liver. And so that's why it's really important to do the DUTCH test, to look at those metabolites, to see where do you really need the support. And I'm, at the end of the day, I'm like, I'm not one that's going to just throw supplements at someone. I'd rather test instead of guess. So that way I can create the plan that's personalized for them. And then, as I mentioned, looking at the cortisol too, because that's really going to impact the hormones. So making sure cortisol is not too high and cortisol is not too low. And then I can provide the necessary support from there. And then, and then I was going to say, so yeah, Dutch test is the first one that I do to check the hormones. And then I also follow that up with a GI test too. Actually, I do the GI test first because it's important that we take care of the gut and elimination first to make sure that once we, I put them on a protocol and a plan that they can absorb everything. So yeah, I do also do a gut test first and foremost, and the gut test test I like to use, there's different companies out there. A lot of people use Doctor Data. I like Genova, uh, the, uh, GI Effects. Both of those companies, they actually check beta-glucuronidase levels, which is awesome because if you just go to your doctor and ask them to do a regular stool test, it's definitely not as comprehensive. And those tests are only really good for if you have acute diarrhea. Like for example, you took antibiotics and now you have diarrhea, or you went to Mexico and now you have diarrhea and they're actually looking for an acute active infection. That's really the only reason those tests are good. But these specialty microbiome tests are going to look at all the different types of bacteria that could contribute to dysbiosis. They're going to be able to check to see, is there yeast? Is there any parasites? And most importantly, check those beta-glucuronidase levels, because if I see those levels are high, um, and with dysbiosis, then I know then we have to treat the gut.

Oh my gosh, I couldn't agree more. That's exactly what I do with all my patients, you know. You made such an important point. I have had a lot of women who say, oh, I had a colonoscopy done, or I had a stool test done with my conventional doctor. And you're right, that stool testing they're doing is looking for an outright infection that's got you in the ER, or you can't stay out of the bathroom because you have traveler's diarrhea or food poisoning. We are talking about stool testing that's literally evaluating your entire microbiome to see what's in there. And as you mentioned, like, you want this balanced community of everybody living together in harmony. You don't want some dictator like yeast running the show, right? Like, that is not gonna fly. And so I love doing stool testing to see what's living in there. What do we need to kill off? What do we need to support?

Mm-hmm.

And checking that beta-glucuronidase level, because that can be a game changer for women. Would you agree that you see a lot of constipation associated with estrogen dominance?

Oh my goodness. Yes. So much. And I mean, I had it myself as well. And yeah, when you are constipated, you're not going to the bathroom every day. And that's an important process in order for us to eliminate estrogen, but not just estrogen, but toxins in general. In order for us to eliminate, we need to be going at least once a day, 2 or 3 times, you know, is still good. If you're going more than that, that's a problem. And if you're going less than once a day, that's a big problem as well, because you're not eliminating the estrogens and toxins that we need to every single day. And there's so many factors that can contribute to that. I mean, stress can cause that, um, an overgrowth of bad bacteria, which when I did the microbiome testing, I discovered I had an overgrowth of bad bacteria. So that was contributing to not only the constipation, but the bloating and the gas I was having, which was not fun. And, uh, but I was happy. I was happy to finally figure out, um, cause you know, as I mentioned previously, I'm like, I thought it was my fate, but now I have answers. Like, oh, now this is why this is happening. I also had low lactobacillus levels. And of course I came across a study when I was going through functional medicine that stress causes low, or actually it depletes low lactobacillus. So stress depletes lactobacillus. And when I did the microbiome testing, I had like barely any lactobacillus in my gut. So it made sense. I had to do a lot of of healing the gut lining, because also birth control impacts the gut lining, can contribute to something called leaky gut. So it can really affect that gut lining barrier. So I had to heal the gut. I had to kill off all the bad bacteria that had taken over and then repopulate the gut with good bacteria. And once I did that, I was going regularly again, no more bloating and no more gas, most importantly, which was amazing.

Yeah, it's amazing how different life is once you finally have the right bacteria living in your body. Literally, it's a symbiotic relationship. You have to figure out how to get along. It kills me that we are just so fixated on sanitizing the world and killing everything off when really what we want to do is support our good guys so they can fight the fight. It's not about wiping out everybody. It's only about wiping out bad guys, right?

Oh yeah, for sure. I'm like, I, you know, it's crazy with the pandemic. Unfortunately, everybody's just grabbing the Lysol and the Windex and the Clorox. But at the end of the day, like, we need all the bacteria. And if you think about when we were kids, I know, I mean, I don't know about most people, but I was definitely in the dirt and that's where all that bacteria lives. And, and And studies even show when kids are playing in the dirt, they have a healthier microbiome, healthier immune system. But then as we become adults, we stop playing in the dirt. So every now and then I actually go out in the yard and pull some weeds just so you get exposed to the dirt again, because it's so beneficial for our gut bacteria. And it's so true. Like when we have that healthy gut bacteria, we have our health, we feel so much better and things are functioning so much more optimally.

Amen. Oh my gosh, I couldn't agree more. Even stuff like we used to hand wash our dishes, you know, so like things weren't sparkling clean, but now everyone uses a dishwasher and now we're putting the sanitize mode on and we're like extra hot clean and like we're literally killing everything that's supposed to be protecting us. So hopefully everybody listening like realizes it's not just about killing off, it's about supporting too. So yeah, you got to do the testing, you got to heal your gut, you got to get your liver working. What else do women need to do?

Yeah. And I've mentioned it, you know, with the stress, we need to learn how to adapt to stress. I hate saying manage the stress because it's like, you're never really going to manage stress. Like stress is always going to be there, but if we can learn how to adapt when we are in a stressful situation, that's going to really help our body at a cellular level. And, and that's what I discovered for myself because I, you know, I am a recovering perfectionist, used to be type A personality.

Yeah.

I always had to Like everything had to be perfect and go, go, go and make sure everything was done. But I've learned to like let go of a lot of that. But also like going through PA school, that was probably the most stressful time of my life. I was put on Prozac during that time. No one ever taught me, hey, why don't you, you know, do some yoga, meditation, deep breathing? No one taught me like how to manage stress. They're like, they're like, here's a pill for that. But I realized when I was taking it, the stress was, was still there. And I just felt numb emotionally.

Yeah.

And once I got through my, my didactic year where I was in the classroom and finally went into clinical rotations, I decided to come off of it because I didn't like how I felt on it. And I definitely didn't want to be on it for the rest of my life because I knew that there was a different way. And so I started doing yoga, which changed my life, have been doing it ever since. And then I learned about deep breathing, meditation, journaling. So I do different practices. And the key is to have a daily self-care routine. And if I don't do my daily self-care routine in the morning, it definitely makes a difference. I definitely feel a little bit more on edge and I'm not able to adapt to the stress that comes my way. But when I do my daily self-care routine, I feel like I can show up. And if anything comes my way, I can definitely conquer it. have much more control over it now than what I used to. Um, so I think for women is just like recognizing like, what are all the different stressors and then figuring out what can they do to help manage, not manage, but adapt to stress. So what are the different activities that they can do to incorporate in the day? And also the biggest thing was working on my mindset. That was also the biggest thing too.

Right.

I mean, I could, we could do a whole nother podcast on mindset, but I learned so much the last 5, 6 years on mindset. And that was also another pivotal turning point for me in learning how to adapt during stress and calm the anxiety that I had experienced. So yeah, definitely learning how to adapt during stress. Also eliminating toxins too, as much as you can, because there's just so many toxins in our environment. And I get it. When I learned about toxins and how our health is being impacted, I almost felt like I needed to be in a bubble, live in a bubble, or go and— like, go like live on an island and make everything homemade. But I'm like, okay, be realistic here. Obviously that's not going to happen. But if we can support our gut health, support our liver, and reduce the toxic burden on our bodies and in our home, we do the best that we can. We're actually supporting our bodies and our hormones way more than if we don't do anything. And so I always recommend, um, you know, if you, if you haven't started looking at the products that you're using in your home and on your body, start looking at what you're using. There's great resources out there. I love the Environmental Working group, Skin Deep Database. There's also 2 of my favorite apps that I love to use. One is called Think Dirty. The other one is Yuka, Y-U-K-A. And that's because they have a, what's it called, the scanner. They have a scanner in the app that you can scan all your products that you're using at home. And then I would make a list of which ones are clean, which ones are dirty, and that you need to swap out for. And then when you go to the grocery store, you can scan the products in the store to find a better alternative and start swapping Them out one at a time, because I know it can get overwhelming, it can be costly doing it all at once. But if you just start swapping them out one at a time, over time you will have completely cleared out a lot of the toxins from your home and in your body. So yeah, definitely think of, you know, shampoos, toothpaste, makeup, you know, everything that you're using on your body, even the household cleaners that you're using to clean, you know, the kitchen, the bathroom, even toxic Cookware, you know, so anything that's nonstick, you definitely want to start swapping those out for other alternatives like glass, stainless steel, even ceramic or cast iron. All the food storage containers, switching those to stainless steel or glass, even plastic bottles, same thing. So start swapping all those items out one at a time to really reduce the toxic burden in your home. And then also focusing on food, getting like whole foods as clean as much as possible. If you consume meat, make sure it is organic, no antibiotics, no hormones. As far as produce, again, make sure they're organic. But if you can't afford everything organic, check out EWG again and look at their Dirty Dozen and Clean 15. So the Dirty Dozen list is the 12, like, fruits and vegetables that contain the most pesticides. So if anything, at least stick to those that are organic to also again reduce the toxic burden that you're consuming and affecting the Yes, those are all great tips.

And I'm with you. I did the exact same thing. I just did it slowly, one by one, started swapping things out because it can feel so overwhelming and scary. And as you were sharing all those important tips, like, I remembered last year I went and bought a new griddle because my kids want pancakes like all the time. They love their frickin gluten. That's a whole nother episode. But I remember I just bought like the griddle that was there. I think there was 2 options and I picked one and I didn't even think about the purchase. And I got home and the first time I used it, that nonstick Teflon chemical was like filling my kitchen and I had a headache the rest of the day. I was like, holy crap, like this is so amazing what we are exposing ourselves to and putting in our food and breathing in our lungs. And we're not I was not thinking twice about it. And, you know, I started to do more research and it's like that stuff continues to be off-gassed and released. It's not just that first time I used it. And so I was like, okay, we need a new griddle. I had already swapped out my pans and everything else and it didn't even occur to me. And so that was just a good reminder, like, the stuff is everywhere. You know, it's made to make our life easier, you know, and make my pancakes not stick and, you know, so that it's quick to clean. But that doesn't mean it's doing us any favors or that it's healthy for us. And, you know, I explained it to the kids and my 12-year-old son was like, well, I don't care about hormones. And I said, well, it causes man boobs, so you probably don't want to have boobs now that you're growing. And he was like, okay, what else do I need to avoid? And all of a sudden he was paying attention. So, you know, I— I think the more that we just know and understand and can start to make different choices, it will eventually catch up with us, right? Like, you're probably not going to feel it overnight, but it will have an impact, right?

Oh yeah, absolutely. And that's when I look back over my life, I'm like, I realize it was just a compounding effect, one thing after the other that I started developing. And I was just like, finally got to the point where like, enough's enough. Like, I don't want to know what the next thing is. And the same with the chemicals. Like they just build and build and our bodies over time just become very tolerant to it. And so it's like initially the body's like sending us red flags by, you know, we're experiencing different symptoms, but over time, if we don't listen to our bodies, eventually those signals stop and the body's just like, all right, you're not going to do anything. So I'm not going to tell you anything. And then, you know, we look back and then we wonder like, oh wow, we got this disorder and this, and, you know, we're not feeling well. Like what happened? Our body was telling us the whole time, but we didn't listen to it. But the good news is, is that once you start making the changes, the body becomes sensitive again. And now when you're exposed to like a chemical or food and you react, it's because your body's saying, yeah, I don't like it. And that's what I love. Um, when I work with my clients, being able to help them really see what they're really, truly sensitive to. So moving forward, they know what they can avoid to really help optimize their health.

Oh my gosh, totally. I hear that all the time. Like once women clean up their diets or something like that and they go and they like get drunk one weekend and eat a pizza or something like that, like they realize how bad they hurt, how bad it feels and how they lived like that for years, you know? And, and once you're cleaned up, your body just doesn't tolerate it anymore. It's so much more obvious. So How else can women get back in tune with their bodies to listen to what your body's trying to tell you?

Yeah, I mean, I think the, the first thing is, is to really just focus on the lifestyle and looking at what are you eating, um, and then reducing the toxic burden, reducing the stress, like basically reducing inflammation in the body. So there's different things that women can do to start. And, you know, I would say first thing is working on the gut and looking at the food that you're eating. If, if it's very processed, It's high in sugar. You definitely want to start eliminating those out. And you mentioned alcohol too, because that's another thing that can really— alcohol and caffeine actually can impact estrogen metabolism and increase estrogen dominance in the body, so prevent estrogen from being eliminated. And so, and then the caffeine too is increasing cortisol levels in the body. So definitely figuring out, okay, are— am I eating foods that could be contributing to inflammation in the body, affecting the gut, Affecting my estrogen metabolism, start eliminating those out and searching for better alternatives. And then also, am I under a lot of stress? What can I do to help my body to adapt during stress, to calm my— calm that stress response down? And then the next thing is like looking at those toxins. Okay. Now what am I using that could be contributing as well and start eliminating those out?

I love it. So you heard it here. Like you have to evaluate what you're doing in your life. We have to get mindful people. No more You're just like chugging through the day, never stopping to even process your thoughts and/or paying attention to what you're putting in your mouth. Like, that is how I lived for way too long, and it definitely ended me up with some major estrogen dominance. And I'm so glad I got that in check because I don't want breast cancer, I don't want uterine cancer, I don't want fibroids, I don't want any that stuff. So thank you so much for all of this amazing information. Like, every woman needs to know this because we're all susceptible, right? This can happen to everybody.

Yes, absolutely. And I am completely on the same page as you. Uh, I— my grandmother had breast cancer, so, you know, I have like a family history. And in fact, you know, when you think about it, 90% of women that develop breast cancer don't even have family history or even have the genetics. So when we think about it, what's contributing to it? You know, what's causing the breast cancer if it's not genetic and it's those environmental lifestyle factors that's contributing? But I do believe like estrogen metabolism is the driving force behind it and it's not being looked at and addressed. And that's the importance of doing the hormone metabolite test through the urine because we're checking those estrogen metabolites because there's 3 metabolites that get produce. The first one is protective against estrogens called 2-hydroxyestrone. And then there's other 2, that's 16-alpha-hydroxyestrone and 4-hydroxyestrone, that actually can damage DNA and increase the proliferation of cancer cells. So when women have higher levels of those, we can assess the breast cancer— well, breast, endometrial, and uterine cancer risk, as well as other estrogen-related type cancers, because estrogen receptors are all over the body. Because when we think estrogen cancer-related cancer within just breast, endometrial, and, you know, breast, endometrial, and uterine. But it can also contribute to brain, to thyroid, to lung, to intestinal, to even bone cancers, because that's where estrogen receptors are as well. So it's not just reducing your breast cancer risk, but reducing a lot of other types of cancers that's related to estrogen by, by really assessing the risk through, through testing, but also just supporting our lifestyles and really reducing, you know, like, as I mentioned before, supporting our gut, reducing the toxic burden, managing your stress, to name a few ways. But that's really the key.

Yeah, exactly. And I want, I want everyone listening to understand, don't be afraid of estrogen, even though it can be a bitch. It can also be an amazing, necessary hormone to keep us in balance. So the key that Kate's trying to get to you guys is Like, it's all about the balance and the right types of estrogen. So it's really important to know what's running the show. So thank you so much for writing this book and for sharing all this with us.

Yeah, absolutely. It has been my pleasure and it's been my mission, you know, and, and I, when I, as you mentioned, like, I want women to understand, like, estrogen is not bad for us at all. I don't want to give a bad rep because we need it for so many different things. And I talk about it in the book, like why we need estrogen. But yes, it can become a problem when it's imbalanced. I don't dive into when estrogen becomes too low.

My—

the book is more about when estrogen is on the higher side or imbalanced with progesterone. But it is important to have that healthy balance, and there are so many things that we can do to support that. So yeah, it is definitely my pleasure and honor to be able to share that. able to provide this for all women.

Awesome. Where can my listeners follow you, Kate?

Yeah, they can definitely follow me on Instagram @katevasquez_pac. They can find me also online at yourradianthelp.com. And then for the book, if they're interested in the book, they can definitely find that on Amazon.

Awesome. All those links are in the show notes so you guys can follow her. Check out her do-it-yourself course called Estrogen Reset, right?

Yes, yes, I do have an online course. It's called the Estrogen Reset. It's 8 modules, but the videos are anywhere from 7 to 15 minutes, so it can definitely be knocked out in 1 day or over the course of a week or 2. But it's awesome. It's just, you know, you get to follow along each module and you get a guidebook too to implement each step to really help start balancing your estrogen So you can definitely check out the Estrogen Reset course, which is on the website at youradianhealth.com.

So good. All right. Thank you.

You're welcome. It's been my pleasure.

Okay. I know you got some good information out of that episode because it's so important for us to understand what's happening in our body with our hormones. And hopefully you had some aha moments or some, oh my God, really? Because I didn't know that was the case. Um, I can tell you, as a conventional gynecologist, I didn't ever stop to think about the impact of environmental toxins on our hormones. I didn't stop to think about how diet and nutrition played a role in the metabolism of our hormones. Like, that's just not how I was trained to think back in the day. I was trained to figure out your diagnosis and fix it, you know? I would wait until you had endometriosis, or I would wait until you had uterine hyperplasia, and then we would do the surgery, that type of thing. So it's just a completely different mindset and way of approaching the body. So I love that you're with me on this journey. To reclaim your health and focus on health and wellness and not focus on disease because you need to give that positive energy out into the world that you want health, you want vibrancy, you want to not age and degenerate, that you want to be amazing. And so put that energy out into the world. It will come back to you. Keep doing all the work, adding the golden nuggets, Nuggets. Oh my goodness. One of my favorite things that Kate mentioned was the estrobolome, the bacteria in your gut that metabolizes and helps you excrete and get rid of your estrogens. It's super important to not be reabsorbing them when you're in your young reproductive years. When you're menopausal and your estrogen levels are low, you might want to reabsorb those estrogens. And so So that's the amazing beauty of what God created is like he knew that bacteria could help you reabsorb estrogens when needed. So he made this enzyme called beta-glucuronidase for that very issue. But we have it out of control as younger women. So it's more that it's supposed to help menopausal women. It's not supposed to be happening so much in younger women. So I just, I love the intricacies of our body, but we need to remove the impedances and we need to support the homeostasis and the proper function. So I love that golden nugget for today is get your bacteria balanced in your gut, ladies. Get on some good probiotics. If it's really MS, get it tested. Don't guess. So we can do stool testing. You can reach out to me at www.drtabatha.com. That's 3 A's, no I's. Or you can go to ifm.org. That's Institute for Functional Medicine through the Cleveland Clinic. That's where I was trained and certified. You can search for a practitioner in your area if you physically want to see And not do the virtual thing. Although I'll tell you, virtual works amazing. I see women in Australia and Britain and Alaska and Hawaii and Canada. Oh my goodness, I've like seen women from so many places. And it does work out really darn well. Sometimes the time difference is a little bit of an issue. You know, I got my girls in Australia. We have figured out that I see you Friday night, it's Saturday morning, and that's okay. You're living in the future, you're enjoying life. It's pretty fun to connect with women everywhere and just to help guide you guys back to reclaiming your health. So I love what I do. I'm so honored that you're on this journey with me and that you trust me to guide you. So let me know what else you want to hear about. Shoot me a message. Leave me a review. Five stars would be amazing. I'd be truly honored. So go have an amazing kick-ass week, and I'll see you again soon. Bye.