The light story behind "estrogen dominance" - my story & why this isn't just limited to women.....with actionable tools.
Estrogen Dominance Isn’t Just About “High Estrogen” - It’s a Mismatch Between Your Body and Your Environment
For years, my labs were “normal", but my body told a different story:
I couldn’t lose weight in my hips or legs.
I felt puffy, inflamed, and frustrated.
Carnivore and fiber-free “clean eating” eventually made things worse ( I will explain that later on).
Turns out, I wasn’t just dealing with excess estrogen, I was dealing with estrogen that wasn’t moving, and it LIGHT was playing as big of a role as food (and I've seen this in men also...which is discussed in today's article).
This is something I've seen repeatedly over the last few years working more in the Leptin/Circadian space, and here’s the kicker: no amount of supplements, DIM, or detox teas will help if the light environment is out of sync.
Keep reading for the article!
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Most people talk about estrogen dominance in terms of diet & supplements, but today I really want to dig deeper.
Not only do a I see diet & supplements not always getting the job done, but I see the layer of light environment & sunlight exposure actually taking things to the next level (in a very positive sense).
Let's break this down a little more....
Most people think excess estrogen is just a hormone problem, but your estrogen detox system runs on light.
Every single level of estrogen regulation - from liver enzyme activity to gut motility to melatonin balance - is circadian in some regard.
That means:
Your liver’s ability to clear estrogen (via CYP450 enzymes) peaks when your circadian rhythm is intact.
Gut motility that moves estrogen out of the body? It’s driven by light and dark cues.
And melatonin - a natural estrogen-regulating hormone — only rises when artificial light is blocked at night.
If your body doesn’t know what time it is… .your hormones & detox pathways don’t either.
This is why so many estrogen protocols don’t work long-term, because they ignore the timing and light-driven layers underneath.
Up to 83% of your genome is regulated by the circadian clock - including the genes that control estrogen receptors and detox enzymes.
That means your hormone balance (and genetic expression for that matter) doesn’t just depend on what you’re born with…
It depends on the timing and quality of light you’re exposed to every single day, and if blue light floods your eyes at night?
It can shut down estradiol signaling and throw your hormonal rhythm off course - even if your labs look “normal.”
This is why estrogen dominance often hides in plain sight - it’s a timing problem more than a hormone problem.
Your hormones - including estrogen - don’t just “turn on” automatically. They follow cues from your environment, and one of the most powerful cues of all is morning sunlight.
Morning light entrains your brain’s master clock (the SCN), which controls the release of FSH, LH, and estrogen.
UVA (which shows up right after sunrise) and near-infrared light fuel your mitochondria, support ovarian blood flow, and support liver detox capacity - all critical for estrogen metabolism.
Skip your morning sunlight exposure, and your estrogen receptors can begin to lose sensitivity & detox enzymes begin to go dormant.
This is one reason why supplement protocols and diets can fall short when they aren't combine with circadian cues.
Estrogen detox isn’t just about what you eat (although we will get to that one & why a carnivore diet might not be ideal here), it’s also about when you eat.
Your liver and gut operate on circadian clocks, which means timing your meals can either support hormone clearance or send estrogen back into circulation.
Morning light plus breakfast = ATP for phase 1 and 2 liver detox
Daytime carbs = fuel for gut motility and phase 3 clearance
Skipping breakfast = delayed bile, stagnant enzymes, and estrogen recirculation
So if you’ve been eating "clean" but still feel bloated, stuck, or hormonally “off”…..some of the issue might not be what you’re eating, It also be might be when.
We have to start thinking about meal timing as a potent circadian signal also!
Your hormones are photoperiodic - meaning they’re timed by light and darkness, not just food or supplements.
That’s why no detox powder or DIM capsule can fix a misaligned light rhythm.
To rebalance estrogen, you have to reset the timing system:
Sunrise & UVA anchor your brain’s master clock & signal key hormone release (use MyCircadianApp to find out when this happens for you)
Blue light at night disrupts melatonin and detox.
Infrared light restores mitochondrial charge for estrogen clearance.
Seasonal rhythms (food + light) help your body know what time of year it is - and how much estrogen to produce.
This is the root of the work I do with students - re-syncing light and biology to restore hormonal harmony (and I've just added my Estrogen Dominance Ebook the Leptin Reset - the Fat Loss Basics Protocol - which is part of Quantum Nutrition)
My personal story ⬇️
My Story: It wasn’t until I understood my genetic detox capacity (slow COMT, low gut detox genes) that things clicked: Estrogen wasn’t just “high” it was stuck in my tissues, recirculating instead of clearing.
(And I see this in tons of clients & students) Unfortunately - carnivore diet made things worse for me in the long run & here's how:
While it temporarily reduced bloat, it removed critical estrogen-clearing fibers and photoperiodic cues from seasonal carbs.
It also dropped my progesterone, which can happen on strict carnivore due to:
Chronic low insulin signaling (needed for steroid hormone production)
Higher cortisol output from low-carb stress over time
Disruption to leptin signaling, which governs both ovulation and thyroid conversion
When progesterone tanks, estrogen dominance symptoms can worsen - especially in women over 35.
The good news is that I was able to reverse this completely in my 40's (well into perimenopause) - primarily using the tools I teach in these newsletters with light - nutrition & quantum biology.
Here's how this can impact women in menopause & men:
During perimenopause and menopause, progesterone drops first and fastest, leaving estrogen “unopposed.”
Even if estrogen levels are technically low, the ratio of estrogen to progesterone becomes skewed - leading to the potential for:
Weight gain (especially around the belly and hips)
Bloating or water retention
Insomnia or night sweats
Mood swings or increased anxiety
Sluggish bile flow and liver detox
And here’s the kicker - the body becomes more sensitive to light and circadian disruption as estrogen declines.
Melatonin and mitochondrial function drop, inflammation rises, and the liver becomes even more reliant on proper timing and ATP to metabolize hormones.
This is why circadian misalignment can hit harder during midlife - when hormones are already in flux.
The good news is that you aren't doomed in menopause (in fact I have multiple success stories of women in menopause) - you just have to be more strategic with light - diet & stress.
Lastly - Men Can Be Estrogen Dominant Too
Estrogen isn’t just a “female hormone.” Men produce it too - mostly through aromatization of testosterone.
But here’s what throws that balance off:
Excess blue light at night → lowers melatonin, increases aromatase
High body fat → more estrogen is produced in fat cells
Poor mitochondrial redox → lower testosterone, higher conversion to estrogen
Alcohol and plastics → introduce xenoestrogens that burden liver detox
In men, estrogen dominance can look like:
Fat gain in the chest or hips
Irritability or emotional reactivity
Low libido
Poor recovery from exercise
Low motivation or brain fog
The same circadian and mitochondrial strategies that support women also apply to men - especially in midlife.
Closing thoughts:
Estrogen dominance is about hormonal desynchrony - an overall mismatch between your environment and your biology.
Men and women of all ages need:
Sunrise & UVA exposure
Blue light blocked at night
Strategic seasonal carbohydrate intake to regulate cortisol and support thyroid conversion
Mitochondrial support (UVB light - red light, minerals, circadian meal timing)
Seasonal cycles
If this resonates… I’ve got resources ready for you:
My flagship metabolic reset that addresses the root of estrogen and thyroid imbalance through circadian alignment, seasonal smart nutrition and quantum biology.
Includes the Estrogen eBook in the introductory lesson called "Working with your Hormones"
Leptin Master Plan (Advanced Track - for those who love learning on a deeper level)
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