23: Estrogen Dominance, Thyroid Dysfunction, and Perimenopause: How to Reclaim Your Body

In this episode of the Thyroid Pharmacist Healing Conversations podcast, Dr. Izabella Wentz interviews her longtime friend Magdalena Wszelaki, a prominent expert in hormone balance and a passionate advocate for women’s health. 

Magdalena Wszelaki, a leading expert in hormone balance and a personal advocate for women's health. Magdalena is an endocrine nutrition expert, certified herbalist, speaker, educator and author of two books, Cooking for Hormone Balance and Overcoming Estrogen Dominance. She is also the founder of Hormones Balance community and Wellena products – supplements made by women, for women. 

She’s experienced her own hormonal challenges including Graves’ and Hashimoto’s disease, as well as estrogen dominance. Today she is in full remission and sailed through perimenopause — and she teaches women how to accomplish the same. 

Their conversation centers around the intricate connections between thyroid health, estrogen dominance, and perimenopause. 

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• Estrogen dominance is extremely common and often underdiagnosed, contributing to symptoms like heavy periods, fibrocystic breasts, thyroid nodules, irritability, and even an increased risk for estrogen-related cancers; it can occur even when estrogen levels are “normal” if progesterone is too low or estrogen isn’t properly metabolized.

• The liver plays a critical role in hormone balance by detoxifying used-up hormones like estrogen, and supporting liver function through bitters, broccoli sprouts, and sulforaphane can significantly improve hormone-related symptoms.

• Dutch testing (urine hormone testing) is the gold standard for identifying estrogen dominance and poor estrogen metabolism, while conventional blood tests for hormones often miss imbalances, especially during perimenopause and menopause.

• For low progesterone, herbal options like Vitex can be helpful early in perimenopause, but many women eventually need bioidentical progesterone (topical or oral) to properly restore balance, improve sleep, calm anxiety, and protect against estrogen excess.

• Inflammation is a root driver of hormone imbalances, Hashimoto’s, and estrogen dominance; addressing it through an anti-inflammatory diet, stress management, gut healing, and toxin reduction is essential before or alongside using hormone therapies.

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For the full list of resources and products mentioned in this episode, and to get the full episode transcript, see complete show notes here: https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/podcast/