The Best Food for Estrogen Production

While the pharmaceutical company is more than willing to shove us a new pill containing chemically manufactured estrogen, many people are a little wary to take the pill route. Costly, sometimes dangerous, and just shaking to our instinctual selves, it seems all the better to get additional estrogen from natural sources in our food. But, what is the best source, and why do they help estrogen production?

Well, before I go into a list of foods, let's briefly talk about what a phytoestrogen is. Phyto, meaning plant, should tell you easily what these are. They are plants that contain flavonoids capable of causing extra estrogen to be produced in the body.

Beyond times of menopause, these plants can be useful for a variety of reasons. They can reduce breast cancer, increase bone density, and can help ease painful menstruation. They have also been shown to increase fertility in women.

While there have been some calming effects, and researchers are attempting to see if prostate cancer may be lessened, there haven't been many results either good or bad for men who intake phytoestrogens. Many bodybuilders try to avoid phytoestrogens, as the stigma of having high estrogen decreases muscular production. However, research has yet to show that phytoestrogens have any permanent effect on hormones.

Now, for a long time, soy has been considered the phytoestrogen king. Rightfully so, as it does contain a HUGE amount of phytoestrogens (103920 ug/100g) that can help ease even the worst sufferers of low estrogen count.

There are many other foods, such as blueberries, garlic, onions, almonds, and hummus that have been shown to also contain high amounts of phytoestrogens. However, the "fact" that soy is the king is really just a rumor.

Most of the foods I listed, though high in phytoestrogens, contain 10x or more less than soy. Flax seed though, known for a long time as a great resource of incredibly heathly unsaturated fats (along with omega 3, 6, and 9 fatty acids) and high dietary fiber has long been overlooked as a phytoestrogen giant.

Pumped up with 379380 ug/100g (nearly 4x that of soy!) flax seeds are sure to raise your estrogen through the roof. Now, this is usually more in the seed than the oil itself, but the seed is easy to acquire from places like Whole Foods or any health conscious store.

With soy increasingly gaining poor attention for its health hazards, it is best to stick with flax seed. High in diety fat, fiber, and now phytoestrogens, you can't lose with this mighty seed.
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Phytoestrogen count from: http://www.dietaryfiberfood.com/phytoestrogen.php