John Doran. Pharmacist, Herbalist, Naturopathic Consultant Women's Health Since the second world war the environment in western, developed countries is increasingly awash with Oestrogen. This was first observed in birds and fish, where the males were becoming increasingly feminised. Farmers have observed the exact same effects in cattle. During the same period sperm counts in men have dropped by almost 50%, with the exception of one group of men – organic farmers! Where has all this Oestrogen come from? Western women generally have much higher hormone levels than their eastern counterparts. This is due to the western diet which is much higher in animal produce and lifestyle factors such as stress. However they are also being bombarded by Oestrogen in the environment which mainly originates from petrochemical products. These are called Xenoestrogens and are found in car emissions, herbicides and pesticides in non-organic vegetables, chicken, meat, tap water, toiletries based on petroleum jelly, the contraceptive pill, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and soft plastics like cling- film. This leads to a condition in women’s bodies known as “Oestrogen Dominance.” This situation is worsened by the fact that western women are prone to Anovulatory Cycles i.e. no egg is released from the ovaries during one or more months. This results in low levels of Progesterone, the hormone the body uses to balance the bad effects of Oestrogen. HRT was originally composed of Oestrogen only. This caused large numbers of women to develop cancer of the lining of the womb. When Progesterone was added, the cancers stopped. Oestrogen must always be balanced by Progesterone. This balance has now been lost for huge numbers of women of all ages. What is the significance of all this? Oestrogen dominance may be a major factor in a host of conditions such as acne, allergies, auto-immune diseases, blood pressure, breast tenderness & fibrocystic breasts, chronic fatigue, decreased libido, depression, fibromyalgia, hair loss or thinning, infertility, migraine, miscarriage, osteoporosis, period problems, PMS, polycystic ovaries, thyroid problems, uterine fibroids, weight gain & water retention. Naturopathy is extremely effective in restoring hormone balance.