Did you know that your digestion and gut health can affect your hormones? This is why it’s so important to take care of your gut and fuel your body properly. If you have any issues with your gut, such as constipation, diarrhea, or any underlying gut imbalances, this can impact your hormones and can be a huge reason why you are having hormonal imbalances.
Making sure you’re pooping daily (yes this is important) is crucial to remove toxins and estrogen. Not having a daily bowel movement can recycle toxins and estrogen into your body. When you are constipated, this can lead to estrogen dominance. You may have symptoms such as breast tenderness, weight gain, irregular periods, acne, fertility issues, sleep issues, thyroid issues, and more. If you’re not having a daily bowel movement and having hormonal issues, these may be related. It is crucial to look at your gut health alongside your hormonal symptoms.
We need a healthy gut microbiome to absorb nutrients, regulate your hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, regulate your thyroid hormone, remove toxins and estrogens (in our poop), and maintain good blood sugar control. Not only does your gut microbiome produce hormones, but it actually tells your body how much to produce and release. There is a group of bacteria that actually produce an enzyme, also called beta-glucuronidase, that converts estrogen into its active forms.
If there is any sort of gut dysbiosis, such as too much or too little of this bacteria, our estrogen levels can be off. Gut imbalance is also a stressor on our body, which can elevate our cortisol levels (stress hormone) and cause further disruption to our other hormones. If you have symptoms such as weight gain, cardiovascular disease, and cognitive decline, you may have too little estrogen. However, if you’re having symptoms such as anxiety, breast tenderness, PMS, mood swings, and headaches, you may have too much estrogen circulating in your body.
Gut health is something I am constantly talking about because it impacts not only your hormones, but your metabolism, mental health, and immune system.
Ways to support your gut health include:
Managing stress
Eating real whole foods
Limiting processed sugar and processed foods
Taking a SPORE probiotic
Getting daily movement in
Sleeping 7-8 hours each night
True health begins with the gut!
*As always, this is not medical advice