Episode 4: Healing Estrogen Dominance through Diet and Detox Support with Magdalena Wszelaki

Ali Segersten Mar 08, 2025
episode 4

Estrogen dominance is a hormonal imbalance that affects many women, often without them realizing it. Symptoms can range from painful periods, mood swings, and fibroids to more serious concerns like breast cancer and thyroid issues. In Episode 4 of the Restorative Nourishment Podcast, I had the pleasure of speaking with Magdalena Wszelaki, a hormone health expert and author of Overcoming Estrogen Dominance and Cooking for Hormone Balance. She shared her personal journey with estrogen-related health struggles and the crucial role diet plays in restoring balance.

One of the biggest culprits behind estrogen dominance is poor estrogen metabolism, which is heavily influenced by gut and liver health. When these systems are compromised—due to an inflammatory diet, processed foods, or environmental toxins—proper estrogen metabolism can become imbalanced, leading to unwanted symptoms. Magdalena emphasizes the importance of nutrient-dense, whole foods, particularly cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, and radishes, which support estrogen metabolism. She also highlights the need to do an elimination diet, removing dairy, gluten, soy, eggs, corn, and sugar to reduce inflammation and support hormone balance.

In addition to diet, Magdalena stresses the importance of avoiding toxic skincare products, household chemicals, and plastics that contain harmful xenoestrogens. Supporting liver function with bitter foods, herbal teas, and ensuring regular elimination is also key. If you’re looking for practical steps to start balancing your hormones naturally, this podcast episode is packed with invaluable insights. Watch the full conversation to dive deeper into the powerful connection between food, hormones, and long-term wellness!

Watch or Listen to Episode 4: 

Listen on Spotify

Listen on Apple Podcasts

Watch on YouTube

Remote video URL

Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:

Magdalena's websites:

Magdalena's books:

Supportive diets and articles:

ALI-2023-PHOTO-VERTICAL-2

About the Author

Alissa Segersten, MS, CN

Alissa Segersten, MS, CN, is the founder of Nourishing Meals®, an online meal-planning membership with over 1,800 nourishing recipes and tools to support dietary change and better health. As a functional nutritionist, professional recipe developer, and author of The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook, Nourishing Meals, and co-author of The Elimination Diet, she helps people overcome health challenges through food. A mother of five, Alissa understands the importance of creating nutrient-dense meals for the whole family. Rooted in science and deep nourishment, her work makes healthy eating accessible, empowering thousands to transform their well-being through food.

See More

Nourishing Meals Newsletter

Email updates.

Add Comment

Related Posts

WINTER SQUASH-CUTTING BOARD-1
Apr 28, 2025

11 Restorative Foods That Support Deep Transformation

When you've taken the courageous step of removing inflammatory foods and potential sensitivities from your diet, your body enters a remarkable phase. One of renewal and receptivity. This is the replace phase. The time to fill your plate with foods that rebuild, repair, and restore. Replacing isn’t just about substitutions, it’s about intentional nourishment. This is where food becomes medicine—where digestion begins to strengthen, the microbiome starts to diversify, and the nervous system begins to regulate. It’s not simply about finding a gluten-free bread or a dairy-free milk. It’s about delivering the nutrients your cells need, soothing inflammation at its root, and laying the groundwork for deep healing. When you feed your body this kind of nourishment, food becomes more than sustenance—it becomes sacred medicine.

Read More
BLUEBERRIES STRAWBERRIES MINT-12
Apr 22, 2025

How to Use the Low-FODMAP Diet to Relieve IBS and Calm Gut Inflammation

Some of us don’t just feel digestive distress—we feel like our bodies have become unpredictable strangers. When every bite becomes a question mark, how do we find our way back to trust, ease, and belonging in our own skin? For those living with persistent digestive issues, eating is rarely simple. Even healthy foods like garlic, onions, apples, and lentils can set off a cascade of symptoms. The gut becomes a battleground. The joy of food disappears. And we’re left asking: Will I ever feel normal again? In the remove and replace phase of healing, we eliminate problematic foods and replace them with nourishing alternatives—foods that calm inflammation, soothe the digestive tract, and help regulate immune function. This is the part of the journey where rebuilding begins.

Read More
LAVENDER FIELDS SUNSET-1
Apr 18, 2025

How to Leave the Known and Rewire Your Brain for Lasting Change

There comes a moment, often disguised as discomfort, when you know it’s time to change. Time to stop shrinking into old patterns that once kept you safe, but now keep you stuck. Time to step over the edge of the known and into the luminous unknown where real change begins. But if you’ve ever tried to shift your diet, a habit, a thought loop, or a way of being that feels like second nature, you know how hard it can be. Your mind may long for transformation, but your nervous system clings to the familiar—even when it no longer serves. This isn’t weakness. It’s biology. Your brain is wired to protect you—to favor what’s known, what feels safe, what conserves energy. It stores habits—of thought, behavior, even self-talk—like well-worn trails in the forest. Walking a new path requires effort, repetition, and, most of all, self-love.

Read More
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DIET FOOD-2
Apr 14, 2025

How to Do an Anti-Inflammatory Diet to Calm Inflammation

Our bodies are always speaking to us. And at some point, the signs become too loud to ignore. We wake up tired. Our digestion feels off. We are holding on to extra weight. Our skin flares, our moods swing, and we barely recognize the energy we once had. We know we aren’t eating the way we should—but we also don’t know where to begin. It all feels overwhelming, so we keep putting it off. And eventually, we begin to wonder...“Is this just how I’m supposed to feel now?” When your body feels inflamed, tired, bloated, or foggy—despite your best efforts to eat well—it may be a sign of hidden inflammation quietly impacting your energy, digestion, and clarity. Through a therapeutic, whole foods-based approach, the Anti-Inflammatory Diet offers a powerful path to restore balance by removing common food triggers, calming the immune system, and nourishing your body at a cellular level.

Read More
YELLOW MUG OF HOT TEA
Apr 07, 2025

Digestive Health, Food Sensitivities, and the Role of the Nervous System

Every day, millions of people walk through life carrying symptoms they’ve come to normalize: bloating after meals, fatigue that never lifts, skin rashes, joint pain, brain fog, chronic sinus issues, or relentless anxiety. They reach for antacids, pain relievers, or other quick fixes—attempting to silence the body’s signals instead of pausing to ask what those symptoms are truly trying to reveal. Every symptom is a doorway into reclaiming your health and your life. They are not signs that your body is broken—they are signs that your body is speaking. That something within you is asking to be witnessed, nourished, and healed. Meet your symptoms as an ally to your growth and healing. Food sensitivities are not merely about "cutting out the wrong foods." They are a sign that the inner terrain—the gut, the immune system, the nervous system—is asking for restoration.

Read More
GLUTEN-FREE CHERRY-ALMOND MUFFINS-22
Apr 03, 2025

Swap This for That: A Guide to Healthy Food Sensitivity Alternatives

If you're walking the path of healing, there's a moment when you begin to see that what you remove from your diet isn’t just about restriction—it’s about making space for deeper nourishment. With each new nourishing food choice, you are rewriting old patterns. You are actively reshaping the story of your health. You are rewiring your body and brain toward the state of vitality and well-being you desire. So as you begin to explore new food swaps for old, familiar favorites, remember that with every bite, you are powerfully shifting your internal chemistry. You are turning down inflammatory pathways. You are turning on healing and anti-aging pathways. And you are creating a future self who feels more vibrant, resilient, and at home in your body.

Read More