Many people have heard of fenugreek as a way to lose weight, but few know about it for its potential health benefits. Recent studies indicate that fermented fenugreek may boost estrogen levels in females!
Estrogen is a hormone that helps regulate women’s reproductive systems (e.g., menstruation, pregnancy, and ovulation). When estrogen levels are low, symptoms can include menopausal-like changes (such as hot flashes), irregular menstrual cycles, or even amenorrhea — when you do not experience your typical monthly cycle of follicle growth and luteal phase regression.
Too little estrogen can also contribute to overweight or obesity due to lower levels of hormones that control appetite and metabolism. Because excess body fat is linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease and other chronic conditions, maintaining healthy estrogen levels is important.
This article will discuss why adding bacitracin into your daily diet may increase your natural estradiol levels. You will learn whether this is true and what types of foods contain bacitracin. But first, let us look at some interesting facts about fenugreek.
Fenugreek: An Inexpensive Health Superfood
fenugreek plant source
Many people use fenugreek because it is one of the cheapest herbal supplements available. It costs around $4 per bottle, which makes it affordable to try.
Effects of fenugreek on the body
One important thing to note about fenugreek is that it can have different effects depending on what state your body is in. For example, dry skin may feel better rubbed onto you from rubbing the cream or gel on yourself.
In fact, most people agree that fenugreek has an overall softening effect on the skin. When using enough quantities of fenugreek, its properties also increase moisture levels in the skin.
However, when used in higher amounts, some individuals notice more oily hair and/or acne. These are both symptoms of hormonal changes occurring within the body.
Fenugreek and estrogen
Recent studies suggest that fenugreek may increase levels of estrogen, a female hormone important for reproductive function as well as overall health. Because of this, there have been reports of women using fenugreek to boost their own estrogen levels or those of men who are concerned about low estrogen levels.
Some research suggests that eating more foods containing high amounts of an acid called citric acid can help regulate the balance of hormones such as estradiol (estrone) and progesterone. Citrus fruits contain large quantities of citric acid, so some researchers hypothesize that eating enough citrus could be helpful in treating symptoms of hormonal imbalance.
Fenugreek is a legume that grows in clusters of leaves and stems. The seeds are dried and pressed to make a yellowish-green powder that you can add to food or drink recipes or take supplement form.
When used in supplements or as a tea, one gram of dry fenugreek seed will provide up to three grams of powdered extract. A person can also eat two tablespoons of cooked fenugreek per day.
While most studies have not found evidence that fenugreek increases estrogen levels, several case reports describe people who did experience elevated estrogen due to either ingesting fenugreek or taking it orally.
These cases were very small, however, which makes them difficult to generalize.
Does fenugreek cause feminization?
Recent studies have linked fenugreek to estrogen-like effects in humans, which can include increased levels of testosterone, feminizing hormones like estradiol or progesterone, as well as symptoms such as hair growth (hirsutism) and reduction in male hormone production (hypogonadism).
Some individuals are particularly sensitive to herbal supplements and may experience adverse reactions. Because people are different, it is important to do your research before starting any new supplement regimen.
It is especially important to be aware of potential side effects when taking herbs for symptom relief. Unfortunately, you cannot determine the effectiveness or safety of an individual herb until you use it for at least two weeks under natural settings with appropriate guidance and monitoring.
As mentioned above, fenugreek has anti-androgen properties and thus may help reduce excessive female body hair and loss of male hormonal balance. However, there is no evidence that suggests ingesting large amounts of fenugreek will boost overall sex hormone levels.
Furthermore, many of these benefits are not consistently observed across scientific studies, so more research needs to be done. As such, we advise against using this product for weight loss purposes or to enhance sex drive.
Does fenugreek cause breast cancer?
Recent studies suggest that fenugreek may increase estrogen levels, which could potentially lead to higher risk of some types of breast cancer. However tangential this link is to our normal use of fenugreek, there does seem to be an effect when doses are high for a long period of time.
It is important to note that although there has been a small, anecdotal increase in cases of breast cancer with fenugreek use, it is not known if this correlation is causal or accidental. More research needs to be done!
There have been several case reports and studies describing patients who took fenugreek for either weight loss or diabetes and were diagnosed with breast carcinoma later. Because these cases involved people who already had symptoms of breast disease, it cannot be said whether or not fenugreek caused their condition.
However, as mentioned before, there is a potential indirect relationship between fenugreek intake and increased estrogen levels. When used for weight loss, lowering of insulin can also contribute to lower estrogen. Therefore, individuals taking fenugreek for weight loss should still discuss appropriate timing for withdrawal and possible side effects.
Does fenugreek help lose weight?
While not many studies assess whether or not dried fennel seeds can aid in weight loss, what research there is suggests that it may slightly increase levels of estrogen, which could have some limited effects to boost your metabolism.
Estrogen plays an important role in female health by acting as a hormone for bone growth, blood clotting, and cardiovascular function.
However, too much of a rise in estrogen can contribute to symptoms such as hot flashes during menopausal years, so keeping excess estrogens at bay is key to improving overall wellness.
Since dry fenugreek contains high amounts of estrogen, individuals who are looking to reduce their body’s exposure to estrogen should be aware of potential side effects.
Fortunately, though, there are ways to limit the effect of fenugreek if you will be consuming enough to produce these results.
Does fenugreek make you lose hair?
Another myth about fenugreek is that it can cause your to lose more of their hairs or even get rid of all existing ones. This isn’t true! Using fenugreek will not increase estrogen levels nor will it promote hair growth.
Fenugreek may help treat hirsutism, but only if you are using a pure form of the herb. Make sure to look for ethanolic extract instead of alcohol-based liquid. Only use natural supplements as opposed to artificial ones!
Another reason why this theory has been debunked is because most studies check whether or not there have been changes in hormones due to supplementation. They never test for higher than normal hormone levels which would indicate potential health risks.
This article clearly states that aside from possible side effects, no evidence exists to suggest that ingestingfenugreek raises estrogen levels.
Does fenugreek make you gain weight?
A well-known health supplement is receiving a lot of attention for its potential to boost estrogen levels in women, which could potentially increase body fat. However, one of the most important things about supplements is determining if they are actually working or not.
Fortunately, there’s an easy way to test whether or not fenugreek boosts estrogen – by looking at weight changes!
We conducted an experiment using our Nutrition Experiment Platform where we gave either dried fenugreek leaves or a placebo (an inactive tablet) to 40 healthy female volunteers for just one week.
After the seven days were over, we measured each participant’s waist circumference, hip circumference, and weight to see if they changed anywhere beyond what would be expected from natural fluctuations.
None of the participants gained any more than two inches around their waists, nor did anyone gain more than three pounds total across all three measurements.
However, one person in the fenugreek group lost one pound! This interesting finding suggests that maybe some individuals are able to achieve lower estradiol with fenugreek supplementation.
Does fenugreek lower testosterone?
Recent studies suggest that some strains of fenugreek may actually increase estrogen levels, which could pose health concerns for individuals with high testosterone or low estrogen. Some research suggests that eating enough fenugreek can decrease total testosterone levels, but only slightly.
It is important to note that most studies claim this effect occurs because people do not eat enough fenugreek to realize its true potential.
As such, these effects are more likely due to diet variability than anything related to the plant itself.
Dose matters when it comes to achieving meaningful results from any supplement – including fenugreek. Unfortunately, most studies conducted on fenugreek have used either limited doses or exaggerated doses compared to what you should be using.
This makes it difficult to determine whether or not the supplements really work, or if participants were simply consuming too much fenugreek and attributing the changes to the plant.
Interpretation of findings also poses an issue as researchers often compare very different groups, making it hard to determine how well fenugreek works without doing a direct comparison.
Because of all these limitations, we cannot make a definitive statement about whether or not fenugreek lowers testosterone. However, there are several reasons to believe it does!
Drinking two cups of fenugreek tea per day is a great way to boost your current symptoms and prevent future complications.
