11/05/2026
A phrase many women come across online is “oestrogen dominance”.
But sometimes, there’s little explanation around what that actually means.
Often, it doesn’t necessarily mean the body is producing a huge amount of oestrogen.
Sometimes it’s more about balance.
This is where the term “relative dominance” comes in.
For some women, symptoms associated with oestrogen excess can appear when progesterone is lower in relation to oestrogen - particularly during times of stress, perimenopause, poor sleep, or after long periods of depletion.
For others, it may be that hormones aren’t being metabolised and eliminated as effectively as they could be through the liver, gut and bowels.
And sometimes… it’s a combination of both.
This is why symptoms like:
• heavy or clotting periods
• breast tenderness
• fluid retention
• PMS
• mood shifts
• headaches
• irritability
• irregular cycles
can have more than one contributing factor beneath the surface.
I think women are often given fragmented information about their hormones, when really the body is an amazing, complex vessel that is constantly working in relationship with the rest of what’s happening inside and around us.
Stress, nourishment, sleep, digestion, nervous system load, liver pathways, personal care products, environment… it all matters.