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| Poor gut health - hormonal imbalance |
After lots
of extensive research in recent years, scientists now believe that the
influence of gut microbiome (bacteria) goes far beyond digestive health. It
affects your overall health and particularly your hormonal balance. This
explains why there’s so much talk about gut health in wellness circles at the
moment.
Why is gut health
important?
Optimising your
gut health is the best way to keep your hormones balanced. Gut health is so vital
thanks to the following functions of the microbiome:
· Helps the synthesis
and hormonal and neurotransmitter regulation
· Enables the absorption
of macro and micronutrients
· Performs a vital
function in the immune system
· Aids in the regulation
of the body’s estrogen levels
Good health
actually starts in the gut, but how exactly does poor gut health lead to hormonal
imbalance?
Let’s jump straight
into it:
Estrogen
reabsorption and recirculation in your body
Did you know that once
estrogen is ‘deactivated’ by the liver, it is excreted through your bowel? But,
if your gut lacks fibre to bind to and carry the estrogen out, it can be reabsorbed
by the body and recirculated. This can lead to estrogen dominance (generally
referred to as hormonal imbalance), resulting in symptoms such as heavy
periods, fluid retention, PMS, breast tenderness and postmenopausal breast cancer. Solution? Eat high fibre foods
like brown rice, fruits, legumes, cabbage, seeds, carrots, brussels sprouts, vegetables
and psyllium husk.
Metabolization
of estrogen and excess enzyme production
Another factor that causes your hormonal imbalance
is your microbiome or, more precisely, your estrobolome. When the microbes that
form your estrobolome metabolize estrogen in the gut, they produce a certain
enzyme. But if you’re experiencing dysbiosis (Gut flora imbalances) and an unbalanced estrobolome,
this enzyme will be produced in excess. This can allow excess estrogen to be
reactivated and recirculated throughout your body. That can result in symptoms
of estrogen dominance (hormonal imbalance).
Worsens the low-estrogen state in
post-menopausal women
When beta-glucuronidase
producing-microbes cause gut microbiome to experience dysregulated activity, that
may worsen the low estrogen in post-menopausal women. This can also affect estrogen
levels in menstruating women and increase their chances of getting endometriosis
(expansion of the uterine lining to
other organs). This may lead to further hormone dysregulation and the thickening
of increased scar-like tissue that bleeds and causes pain during normal
menstrual cycles. It can also lead to infertility.
Difficulty producing serotonin; the
brain hormone
Poor gut
health also impacts the ability of your body to produce serotonin, a
neurotransmitter or brain hormone which regulates your mood and appetite. Remember
that 90% of your serotonin production happens in your gut. No wonder poor
gut health can cause low moods and poor appetite! High estrogen levels also increase
serotonin levels as well as the number of receptors in the brain. To be clear, your estrogen levels reach their highest
point at ovulation and go low before your period. Think of how your mood usually
reduces while your hunger levels increase just before your period. During that
period, both serotonin and estrogen levels are low.
Now you
know how poor gut health can affect your hormonal balance. So, what can you do
to prevent it from occurring? In the next article, you will learn how to
improve your hormonal balance by improving your gut health.
Note that
the above advice is general, so it may not work for everyone because everyone
is different! Once you suspect that you have poor gut health or hormonal
imbalances, consult a doctor.
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