Hi lostacres6,
My new program looks like this:
a.m. maca root flour in water, < 3,000 mg and phasing out
3 times a day tea from 1,500 mg dried chopped goat's rue
noon powdered fenugreek seed in water < 3,000 mg
noon black seed < 3,000 mg
p.m. porridge: dried hops flowers < 3,000 mg, broken flax seed < 3,000 mg, oat flakes 10,000 mg, honey, milk, raisins and some sweetened breakfast cereals
p.m. multi-vitamin in water:
vitamin B6 2-10 mg
vitamin B12 50-80 µg
zinc 12-35 mg
folic acid 200-400 µg
no iron (menstruating women need 25 mg)
The hops and the flax are the phyto-estrogens. The maca improves mood and libido, to counter the negative effects of the hops. The hops also keeps DHT low. Fenugreek, goat's rue, and black seed increase prolactin to cause swelling, and improve insulin sensitivity to slim the waist. Fenugreek also increases progesterone, to prevent estrogen dominance. Flax increases Sex Hormone Binding Globulin, but I take more oats to decrease it again. Oats is also a source of zinc, vitamin B6, and silicic acid. Silicic acid is necessary to make collagen from amino acids, which I get from meat, eggs, and cheese. One of my books says silicic acid is mainly in oat straw, not oat tops or flakes, still gotta check that out. Vitamin B6, B12, zinc, maca, and fenugreek put on weight, black seed decreases weight. Lettuce and the folic acid in the multivitamin replace the beremeal in Eve M's program as sources of folates. The honey and raisins are because I avoid sugar, to keep insulin low. I avoid stress and heavy exercise to keep cortisol low.
If you want to save time, try Eve M's program, because that includes three phyto-estrogens (hops, flax, soy) at lower doses (800-1,800 mg). Hops started working for me five years ago, so I just stick to hops and have added flax as an experiment. I can always try soy later. Once you have tested a phyto-estrogen for four months with no results, try another one. You probably just don't have the intestinal bacteria to digest that particular phyto-estrogen to its more active estrogenic metabolite.
Mood swings are a normal side effect of estrogens and phyto-estrogens. They are a sign that the estrogens are working, yes. I take them at night, so the mood swing occurs while I'm sleeping, and because hops makes me sleepy. I take maca in the morning, but I want to phase that out because it increases testosterone, and I have a feeling that lowers LH and consequently decreases all sex hormones including estrogens. After phasing out maca, I will try oats in the morning if I'm still moody at daybreak. The vitamin B6 in oats is a sedative above 10 mg, but my oat flakes only contains 0.33 mg vitamin B6 per 100 g flakes.
My new program looks like this:
a.m. maca root flour in water, < 3,000 mg and phasing out
3 times a day tea from 1,500 mg dried chopped goat's rue
noon powdered fenugreek seed in water < 3,000 mg
noon black seed < 3,000 mg
p.m. porridge: dried hops flowers < 3,000 mg, broken flax seed < 3,000 mg, oat flakes 10,000 mg, honey, milk, raisins and some sweetened breakfast cereals
p.m. multi-vitamin in water:
vitamin B6 2-10 mg
vitamin B12 50-80 µg
zinc 12-35 mg
folic acid 200-400 µg
no iron (menstruating women need 25 mg)
The hops and the flax are the phyto-estrogens. The maca improves mood and libido, to counter the negative effects of the hops. The hops also keeps DHT low. Fenugreek, goat's rue, and black seed increase prolactin to cause swelling, and improve insulin sensitivity to slim the waist. Fenugreek also increases progesterone, to prevent estrogen dominance. Flax increases Sex Hormone Binding Globulin, but I take more oats to decrease it again. Oats is also a source of zinc, vitamin B6, and silicic acid. Silicic acid is necessary to make collagen from amino acids, which I get from meat, eggs, and cheese. One of my books says silicic acid is mainly in oat straw, not oat tops or flakes, still gotta check that out. Vitamin B6, B12, zinc, maca, and fenugreek put on weight, black seed decreases weight. Lettuce and the folic acid in the multivitamin replace the beremeal in Eve M's program as sources of folates. The honey and raisins are because I avoid sugar, to keep insulin low. I avoid stress and heavy exercise to keep cortisol low.
If you want to save time, try Eve M's program, because that includes three phyto-estrogens (hops, flax, soy) at lower doses (800-1,800 mg). Hops started working for me five years ago, so I just stick to hops and have added flax as an experiment. I can always try soy later. Once you have tested a phyto-estrogen for four months with no results, try another one. You probably just don't have the intestinal bacteria to digest that particular phyto-estrogen to its more active estrogenic metabolite.
Mood swings are a normal side effect of estrogens and phyto-estrogens. They are a sign that the estrogens are working, yes. I take them at night, so the mood swing occurs while I'm sleeping, and because hops makes me sleepy. I take maca in the morning, but I want to phase that out because it increases testosterone, and I have a feeling that lowers LH and consequently decreases all sex hormones including estrogens. After phasing out maca, I will try oats in the morning if I'm still moody at daybreak. The vitamin B6 in oats is a sedative above 10 mg, but my oat flakes only contains 0.33 mg vitamin B6 per 100 g flakes.