THE GUT-HORMONE CONNECTION: WHY YOUR MICROBIOME MATTERS
WHAT’S THE CONNECTION BETWEEN YOUR GUT AND YOUR HORMONES?
Did you know that over 30 hormones are produced in the gut? It is the body’s largest endocrine organ, making hormones that regulate appetite, satiety, insulin levels, as well as those connected with mood such as dopamine and serotonin. Perhaps surprisingly, the gut can also produce certain reproductive hormones, including testosterone and progesterone.
The gut-hormone connection is important throughout our lives and can be disrupted in either direction at any time. It can be particularly significant during the menopause transition when hormonal changes affect our microbiome, and gut health affects our hormones. Two women may have very similar hormone levels during perimenopause, but the health of the gut will determine how they experience menopause symptoms.
Specific nutrients are needed for the gut to produce certain hormones, so it is imperative that we get the right variety of foods to feed our digestive microbes. An excess of bad bacteria can seriously disrupt these mechanisms, leading to inflammation and a whole host of knock-on effects.
THE ESTRABOLOME
There is a collection of microbes in the gut, known as the estrobolome. These microbes metabolise oestrogen, helping to regulate levels throughout the body. Oestrogen imbalance is one of the major causes of hormone dysregulation and plays a large part in PMS and PMDD, fibroids, adenomyosis, polyps, and endometriosis. When the estrobolome is disrupted, either too much oestrogen is re-circulated or too much is eliminated. An excess of the particular microbes involved is associated with migraines, heavy periods and an increased risk of breast and endometrial cancers. These imbalances are often seen in perimenopause as oestrogen levels fluctuate greatly and start to decline overall.
LEAKY GUT
When digestive health is not functioning well, the gut barrier can become more permeable, known as intestinal permeability or ‘leaky gut’. This allows toxins, viruses and hormones to re-enter the blood stream, and means there may be an excess of certain hormones circulating in the body. For example, excess circulating oestrogen can result in oestrogen dominance and contribute to the various conditions mentioned above.
The inflammation caused by leaky gut can lead to increased cortisol and lowered progesterone, further impacting hormonal balance. It also disrupts thyroid regulation and increases insulin resistance.
The gut-hormone connection is a two-way street, and declining oestrogen and progesterone in perimenopause weaken the gut barrier. This means that leaky gut becomes much more common during the menopause transition, leading to all the problems mentioned above.
MICROBIAL DIVERSITY
We know that having a diverse range of gut microbes is really important for maintaining health throughout the body, and having a large number of beneficial bacteria means that pro-inflammatory bacteria are crowded out. This diversity has been shown to decrease post-menopause. Changes in oestrogen and progesterone impact the environment in which bacteria thrive, leading to one that is less conducive for them to live. This can be seen in vaginal health as well as that of the microbiome.
Specifically, lower levels of oestradiol lead to reduction in the bacteria Akkermansia, Bifidobacterium, and Lactobacillus. Increased progesterone can lead to increased gut sensitivity and IBS-type symptoms.
Healthy nutrition and a wide range of beneficial microbes is extremely important in Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), and can greatly reduce the severity of symptoms.
Fertility is another area greatly impacted by a healthy gut. In men, certain nutrients are needed to produce healthy sperm in a 3-month cycle of production. In women, a healthy gut will help hormones to stay balanced for an optimum cycle to support pregnancy. And, of course, the right nutrients are needed to support a pregnancy through a healthy uterus, placenta, and providing the necessary nutrients for a growing foetus.
IMMUNE ACTIVATION & INFLAMMATION
There is a heightened immune activation during perimenopause and menopause, which can cause increased inflammation. This inflammatory environment favours certain microbes at the expense of more beneficial ones, leading to less diversity and less ability to produce the hormones and neurotransmitters that we need. It can also mean that it is harder for the digestive system to break down histamines, which may lead to heightened food sensitivities, rashes, and flushes of heat.
Microbes that produce Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) in the gut are higher in post-menopausal women. This leads to low-grade inflammation, hot flushes, bloating, constipation and/or diarrhoea, central weight gain, IBS, mood swings and brain fog.
When neurotransmitters are disrupted, we see the results as brain fog, anxiety, and low mood, all of which are commonly experienced during the menopause transition.
In PCOS excess androgen hormones and metabolic disturbance increase inflammation in the digestive system. This particularly disrupts satiety hormones, leading to over-eating and weight gain. Research has found that high fibre diets can improve insulin resistance as much as a pharmaceutical drug like Metformin. This is especially helpful for PCOS sufferers.
Endometriosis is another condition which can be improved with healthy nutrition. Endometriosis is a disease of inflammation,and improved gut health can greatly reduce this. It is interesting to note that a diet high in red meat as a child is associated with endometriosis.
WHAT ARE THE SOLUTIONS?
The good news is that there are loads of ways we can improve our gut health, enabling our overall health and our hormones to improve too.
NUTRITION (see also Eating Right for Your Hormones)
Increase plant diversity in your diet: many nutritionists now recommend 30+ different plants each week. This will provide you with the right amount of fibre (sometimes called prebiotics) to feed your healthy microbes. It will also help the estrabolome and oestrogen elimination. High fibre foods will also help satiety, metabolic problems and reduced weight gain.
Certain plants are called phytoestrogens as they bind to oestrogen receptors and help reduce oestrogen dominance. These include flaxseeds (linseeds), soy products like edamame, tofu and miso, chickpeas, lentils, and sunflower seeds.
Avoid sugar and refined carbohydrates. These lead to the over-production of oestrogen and testosterone, and to insulin resistance.
Avoid ultra-processed foods which do not feed your good microbes, allowing inflammation in the gut to take hold.
Eat foods high in Omega-3 fatty acids as they feed the beneficial gut bacteria and reduce inflammation. These include oily fish, seaweed, nuts and seeds.
Vitamin D helps to maintain a healthy gut barrier - found in oily fish, egg yolks and mushrooms.
Fermented foods actually increase the diversity and number of healthy bacteria in your gut. Examples are sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, miso, sourdough bread, live yoghurt, kefir and aged cheeses.
Cruciferous vegetables - broccoli, cauliflower, kale and cabbage - are high in fibre and support the liver to help detoxify and eliminate excess hormones.
Certain micronutrients are needed to produce certain hormones. For example, the thyroid, which governs much of our metabolism, needs iodine - found in seafood, seaweed, milk, cheese, and eggs. Folate is needed for healthy pregnancies and energy - found in leafy greens, legumes and citrus fruits. Zinc and selenium are needed for healthy sperm. Zinc is found in red meat, poultry, shellfish, dairy products and eggs, and selenium in brazil nuts. Walnuts have also been found to have marked improvement on sperm health.
SUPPLEMENTS
While good nutrition is best for overall health, there is a place for probiotic and prebiotic supplements.
This is especially true when gut health has become imbalanced and we want to regain health more quickly than would otherwise be possible.
The best way to supplement is after gut health testing (see below) so that you can pick the specific strains of bacteria and fibre needed.
There may also be a need to supplement with Omega-3s or Vitamin D to help with inflammation and leaky gut.
LIFESTYLE
Interestingly, exercise leads to greater gut diversity.
When we are stressed, cortisol and adrenaline are raised. Digestion is de-prioritized, slowing digestive transit. When stress continues long-term, this can lead to inflammation and leaky gut. Chronic stress also overrides hormone production more generally.
Sleep is crucial for gut health. Poor sleep is linked to reduced microbial diversity, leaky gut and inflammation. It also affects appetite regulating hormones such as ghrelin and leptin, leading to poor food choices and weight gain when disrupted. Lack of sleep also triggers a stress response leading to the problems of stress mentioned above. It can also work the other way, in that improved gut health contributes to better sleep.
ENVIRONMENTAL TOXINS
Substances found in certain products are known as endocrine disruptors as they can have a negative impact on the hormonal systems of the body.
These can be found in cleaning products, laundry detergents, body creams and washes, shampoos, makeup, scented products, non-stick coatings and certain plastics.
Examples include parabens, triclosan, BPAs, PFAS (‘forever chemicals’), flame retardants and pesticides.
It is important to remove these from our environment as much as we can, but especially to make sure we are not ingesting them with our food. Always check labels and consider changing cookware away from non-stick coatings, and food storage containers away from plastic.
GUT HEALTH TESTING
Gut health testing (see here for more details) provides a wonderful way to see what is really happening to the health of your digestive system. It gives great insights into which microbes are disrupted and which areas of the body are affected.
I use the high quality GutMapDx testing to provide my clients with these valuable insights. These enable us to produce a plan covering all aspects of nutrition, supplements and lifestyle, helping clients regain a balanced microbiome and a flourishing hormonal system.
WORK WITH ME
I specialise in hormonal health, and when you work with me I look at your whole life to provide a holistic solution. We work together with a plan using homeopathy, nutrition, supplements, and lifestyle changes to rebalance your hormones and your whole system. I find gut health testing an extremely valuable tool in getting to the root of many issues. Improving gut health improves all aspects of health and allows all the other solutions to work much better.
If you are interested in gut health testing, or working with me with homeopathy and health coaching, please do reach out and we can discuss ways we can work together.
I offer a FREE DISCOVERY CALL which you can book here:
You may also enjoy GUT HEALTH AND DNA TESTING, EATING RIGHT FOR YOUR HORMONES, MENOPAUSE INSOMNIA, and WHY YOUR LIVER NEEDS SUPPORT.
Thank you for reading!