The Truth About High Estrogen

Today’s email is inspired by a question I get all the time in my question box (and maybe you’ve had this same thought too):

If that sounds familiar, you’re definitely not alone.

There’s a LOT of misinformation out there about estrogen, aromatase, and what it really means to feel “estrogen dominant” or to have symptoms that look like high estrogen.

So, let’s dive deep into why I’m a massive proponent of metformin (not aromatase inhibitors) for people struggling with these issues.

“High Estrogen” Isn’t What You Think

Let me be blunt: 95% of “high estrogen” cases I see in both men and women are NOT because your body is just randomly making too much estrogen out of nowhere.

Instead, it’s almost always a downstream effect of insulin resistance and dysfunctional fat metabolism.

Why? Because the real problem isn’t estrogen itself—it’s the aromatase enzyme that converts testosterone (and other androgens) into estrogen, especially in your visceral fat (the “bad” fat that sits around your organs).

When you’re insulin resistant, you accumulate more visceral fat.

That fat is a hormone factory, but not in a good way: it pumps out inflammatory cytokines, drives chronic stress in your body, and upregulates aromatase.

This leads to excess local production of estrogen in your fat tissue—especially estrone (E1), which isn’t the “good” form of estrogen your body actually wants.

What you experience are symptoms—like water retention, mood swings, libido changes, and poor body composition—that look like “high estrogen,” but the root is almost always metabolic, not hormonal.

Aromatase Inhibitors

If you’ve ever been told to “just take an aromatase inhibitor,” RUN the other way.

Aromatase inhibitors (AIs) like anastrozole or letrozole are blunt instruments.

They shut down aromatase everywhere in your body, not just in the visceral fat, and can create a hormonal wasteland: low estrogen, low testosterone, bone loss, mood instability, poor libido, cognitive decline, and the list goes on.

You need estrogen for optimal health.

It’s crucial for brain function, cardiovascular health, immune resilience, bone strength, and, yes, even for muscle growth and fat loss in the right balance.

The problem in most people isn’t estrogen per se—it’s where and how much it’s being made, and which form (estrone vs. estradiol).

Instead of carpet-bombing your body’s ability to produce estrogen, we need a smarter approach that actually addresses the source of the problem: insulin resistance and visceral fat-driven aromatase overactivity.

High Visceral Fat = Insulin Resistance = High Aromatase

Here’s my working theory after coaching thousands of men and women: If you have “high estrogen” symptoms, it’s almost always because you have excess aromatase activity in your visceral fat—and that’s almost always a result of underlying insulin resistance.

Your body stores more visceral fat when insulin is chronically high (from processed foods, poor sleep, chronic stress, etc.).

That fat becomes inflamed, full of immune cells, and it starts producing way more aromatase than normal.

This ramped-up aromatase activity converts more testosterone into estrogen—especially estrone—in the fat tissue itself, not necessarily in your blood.

Bloodwork may or may not even catch it!

What you’re feeling is the downstream impact of all that local estrogen production: poor energy, fat gain, emotional volatility, low libido, stubborn “belly fat,” and more.

The solution is NOT to block aromatase everywhere.

It’s to fix the metabolic dysfunction that’s causing your body to overproduce aromatase in the first place. And that’s where metformin shines.

Metformin: How It “Normalizes” Aromatase

Unlike aromatase inhibitors, metformin doesn’t shut down aromatase like a sledgehammer.

Instead, it works upstream by restoring metabolic health—targeting the very environment in your fat tissue that causes aromatase to get out of control.

How does it work?

• Reduces insulin resistance: Metformin makes your body more sensitive to insulin, which helps you burn fat—especially visceral fat—more effectively.

• Activates AMPK: This is like flipping the master switch for cellular energy. When AMPK is turned on, your body gets better at burning fat, reducing inflammation, and—here’s the key—dialing down the overexpression of aromatase in your fat cells.

• Lowers inflammation: Less inflammation means fewer inflammatory cytokines, which means less pathological aromatase activity.

• Improves hormonal balance: By reducing excessive aromatase activity (not eliminating it), metformin helps normalize the location and form of estrogen your body produces. You keep the estrogen you need, but stop making too much in the wrong places.

The result? You correct the “high estrogen” symptoms by healing the metabolic dysfunction, not by destroying your hormonal ecosystem.

Why Estrogen Isn’t the Enemy

Let’s set the record straight: Estrogen is not your enemy. 

In fact, it’s absolutely essential for both men and women—for your brain, your bones, your mood, and your sexual health.

The real villain is excess estrone (E1) being cranked out by inflamed, insulin-resistant visceral fat.

Too much visceral fat essentially turns your body into a hormone factory for the wrong kind of estrogen, throwing everything out of whack.

The good news?

When you lower visceral fat (especially by improving insulin sensitivity), you shut down the “bad” aromatase pathway and restore the right estrogen balance in the right places.

That’s why metformin is such a powerful tool: it normalizes the estrogen environment in your body—not by removing estrogen, but by fixing the upstream metabolic signals that drive the wrong kind of estrogen production in the first place.

Metformin for Aromatase Modulation

The research is crystal clear: metformin lowers aromatase expression in fat tissue by improving the metabolic conditions that drive it out of control.

Here’s what you can expect when you use metformin for this purpose:

• Better body composition: Less visceral fat, more lean mass.

• Improved mood and energy: Estrogen levels stabilize, supporting brain health and emotional resilience.

• Balanced hormones: Testosterone and estrogen reach a healthier equilibrium (men often see higher T, women see improved cycles and better perimenopausal transitions).

• Lower inflammation: Less systemic inflammation means a better immune system and less risk of metabolic disease.

Metformin does all this without the side effects of harsh aromatase inhibitors.

It restores balance by addressing the root of the problem.

Save 35% on Metformin at BioLongevity Labs

If you’re ready to get to the root of your “high estrogen” symptoms—without the risks of dangerous aromatase inhibitors—I strongly recommend giving metformin a try.

Not only is it backed by decades of research and my own clinical experience, but it’s also one of the safest and most effective tools we have for correcting insulin resistance and modulating aromatase in fat tissue.

Right now at BioLongevity Labs, you can get metformin for an incredible 35% off:

• 20% is taken off automatically in the store

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Best,

Hunter Williams