How is Gut Health Connected to my Hormones?
Gut health is often revered as the most important indicator of your overall health, but why so and when did this shift happen? More research is coming out about the importance of the balance of good and bad bacteria located in our gut and the overall effect it has on our health. Some researchers, even refer to the gut as the “second brain,” meaning signals from our digestive system can affect other parts of our body, including the central nervous system that triggers mood changes.
There is no doubt that scientific evidence points to a healthy gut = better health outcomes and it’s no different when it comes to your hormone health. One of the most important functions of your digestive system is metabolizing your hormones. This is especially important if you have estrogen dominance (estrogen levels are higher relative to progesterone levels) or high testosterone. Ideally, you’re having a complete bowel movement everyday to get rid of excess hormones. Otherwise, these excess hormones can tax the liver and show up in symptoms such as acne or poor digestion.
Good gut health is also paramount in balancing blood sugar. The bacteria in your gut play a key role in glucose regulation and insulin resistance and as we know, women with PCOS can struggle with both of these things. The other important thing to consider when it comes to gut health and your hormones is nutrient absorption. You may be familiar with the phrase “leaky gut” which essentially means you’re not able to properly absorb the nutrients from the food your eating because your gut lining is impacted in some way. Women with hormone imbalances usually are deficient in key nutrients such as magnesium, B12, zinc and vitamin D, so to have issues absorbing nutrients from the food we eat on top of this is a recipe for disaster.
Medication such as birth control can also hinder the health of your gut. For instance, when I was on the hormonal birth control pill for 13 years, I struggled with irritable bowel syndrome and always thought this was just part of my genetic makeup and there was nothing I could do about it. However, when I got off the birth control pill and spent several months healing, my digestion improved, and I no longer struggled with irritable bowel syndrome. I was amazed that I didn’t have the digestion issues I had been struggling with for more than a decade.
How can you improve your gut health and your hormones?
In addition to getting off hormonal birth control, here is also what worked for me to heal my gut:
Eliminating gluten, dairy and refined sugar – Start by eliminating these often triggering foods for even just 90 days to see how you feel. These foods can often aggravate the gut especially if you have leaky gut or are struggling with other hormone issues. You may not have to give these foods up forever but it is certainly worth it to test it out for a few months and see how you feel. After improving your gut health, you may be able to have these foods every once in awhile and not be as affected, which is the approach I take now.
Real Food – Again, processed food is not going to help your gut health. Focus on real foods, especially those that are prebiotic such as apples and onions, and those that are probiotics such as sauerkraut, kimchi and kombucha. Collagen found in quality bone broth can also be helpful.
Quality supplements – I recommend a fiber supplement such as organic acacia fiber that you mix into a glass of water, a high-quality probiotic supplement, and magnesium and zinc. All of which set you up for success in creating a host of good gut bacteria.
This is what has worked for me over the years to heal my gut. I’d love to know what has worked for you. Head on over to our private Facebook hormone support community and share your story.