If your 40s (or even late 30s) have started to feel like a hormonal roller coaster — you’re not imagining it.
Welcome to perimenopause, the transition before menopause where hormone levels fluctuate dramatically. For many women, it’s a confusing season of mood swings, hot flashes, irregular periods, and stubborn belly weight. Are these symptoms “normal” and just something we have to go through? Or can Perimenopause and Estrogen relationship be manipulated for symptoms relief?
But these symptoms aren’t just “aging.”
In functional medicine, we look deeper — and one major root cause is impaired estrogen detoxification.
⚖️ The Role of Estrogen in Perimenopause
Estrogen isn’t bad. It’s a vital hormone that protects your heart, brain, skin, and bones.
But during perimenopause, ovulation becomes inconsistent, progesterone drops, and estrogen can become relatively dominant — even if blood tests show it’s “normal.”
This estrogen dominance can lead to:
- PMS that feels worse than before
- Breast tenderness or cystic changes
- Heavier, longer periods
- Bloating and mood swings
- Weight gain, especially in the hips and thighs
If your body isn’t efficiently clearing estrogen, those symptoms intensify.
🧬 What Exactly Is “Estrogen Detox”?
Your body doesn’t just produce estrogen — it also has to process and eliminate it once it’s used.
This happens in three functional phases:
Phase 1: Liver Hydroxylation
Estrogen is converted into metabolites — 2-OH, 4-OH, and 16-OH forms.
- The 2-OH pathway is protective.
- The 4-OH pathway can generate harmful compounds if not neutralized properly.
Phase 2: Conjugation
Your liver “packages” those metabolites for removal through methylation, sulfation, and glucuronidation.
Phase 3: Gut Elimination
Healthy digestion and microbiome balance ensure those metabolites exit the body.
Constipation, dysbiosis, or high beta-glucuronidase activity can cause estrogen to be reabsorbed — worsening symptoms.
🥦 How to Support Estrogen Detox Naturally
You don’t need an extreme cleanse.
You just need to support your liver, gut, and detox pathways so your body can do its job more efficiently.
1. Feed Your Detox Pathways
Load your plate with:
- Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, kale, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts)
- Sulfur-rich foods (garlic, onions, pasture-raised eggs)
- High-fiber foods (flaxseed, chia, leafy greens)
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If you’re working with a practitioner, these are examples of supplements that may support estrogen DETOX metabolism in the liver:
1.) Products with Milk Thistle: “A 2021 study showed improvements in liver function in people with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease who have taken a milk thistle supplement, suggesting it could help reduce liver inflammation and liver damage. Although more research is needed on how it works, milk thistle is thought to reduce damage to the liver caused by free radicals, which are produced when your liver metabolizes toxic substances.”
2.) Master Antioxidants like NAC and Liposomal Glutathione: The liver metabolizes various compounds that produce free radicals (Bad Guys linked to cancer). However, antioxidants scavenge free radicals and help to maintain the oxidative/antioxidative balance in the liver…optimizing it’s ability to naturally detox what we put in our body.
3.) Cruciferous Veggies: They includes cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and kale. This is because they contain substances called glucosinolates and glucarate that help a critical liver detox process called glucuronidation. I am pretty obsessed with this powder in a morning shake, then I am not eating cabbage three times a day. Of course this supplement is fantastic as well if you’re not a smoothie kinda girl 🙂
4.) Last, but definitely not least, is FIBER. Because when you clear all this gunk out of the liver…guess where it goes? That’s right, into your poop. You have to be pooping to clear it out. This fiber from Dr. Natura is my all-time favorite and have you flowing…if you know what I mean 😉
2. Support Methylation
Methylation helps neutralize estrogen metabolites and protect DNA. Something most people don’t know…you must methylate the estrogen to get rid of the excess. If you don’t then the estrogen just piles up in the liver like a clogged drain in the bathtub. GUNKY. Some people just are not methylators…so there is help for that.
If you’re working with a practitioner, these are examples of supplements that may support estrogen methylation:
(These will act as a methyl donor to help methylate estrogen (clear it). You just need one of these nutrients, not all of them)
3. Love Your Gut
Healthy estrogen metabolism depends on daily elimination. The idea is to rid the body of this built up sludge, not reabsorb it. You want to push it out.
If you’re working with a practitioner, these are examples of supplements that may support estrogen detox through healthy elimination:
- Eating 30+ grams of fiber daily, don’t forget when all that hormone sludge is cleansed out, it needs somewhere to exit the body.
- Including fermented foods (sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir)
- Staying hydrated
- Taking a high-quality probiotic if needed
4. Reduce Xenoestrogen Exposure
Environmental estrogens (xenoestrogens) can mimic estrogen in your body.
- Use glass or stainless-steel containers, give your kids their water and drinks in glass cups
- Switch to clean, fragrance-free products. I have an entire post on clean beauty and skin care and you can access it HERE. My favorite home-cleaning line is on Amazon and you can find it here, all natural from essential oils. You can also use a DIY vinegar mix cleaner, but I HATE the smell of vinegar…to each his own.
- Avoid plastics and canned foods with BPA, just avoid as many plastics as you can, including cutting boards. Research shows that pieces of plastic cutting boards get in your food.
- Choose mineral-based sunscreens and clean makeup (Making your own make-up is SO simple and that’ll be in my post HERE as well.
5. Test, Don’t Guess
Functional labs like the DUTCH Test or GI-MAP can pinpoint:
- Which estrogen pathways your body prefers
- Whether your detox or methylation needs extra support
- How your gut impacts hormone elimination
Testing removes the guesswork so you can create a personalized, targeted plan.
💫 The Takeaway
Perimenopause isn’t a downhill slide — it’s an opportunity to rebalance and reconnect with your body.
When you support your liver, gut, and detox pathways, your hormones can shift more gracefully.
You’ll feel clearer, lighter, and more in control — not at the mercy of your hormones.
If you’re ready to understand your body on a deeper level and learn how to navigate this transition naturally, this is your time to Flip the Script on Perimenopause.
See full Affiliate & Medical Disclaimer HERE
