Gut Health and Hormones: What’s Really Causing Your Hormonal Imbalance?
Science Based
Written by Amy Myers, MDHormone imbalances can be discouraging, if not downright frustrating. You’re tired of mood swings, feeling bloated, and irregular periods, but you don’t know how to fix them. You’ve heard that gut health and hormone imbalance go hand-in-hand, but could this be the answer to all your symptoms?
As I always say, your gut is the gateway to optimal health. I’m excited to share all about how your gut health and hormonal imbalance interconnect. I’ll detail how gut health and hormones relate, the risk factors of hormone imbalances, and what you can do to start your healing journey. I hope you walk away from this feeling inspired and encouraged to know that healing is possible!
Let’s begin.
Symptoms of Hormonal Imbalance
What are hormones, and how do you know if you have a hormonal imbalance? Hormones are chemical messengers that help your body function. These organic compounds send signals to every cell and tissue and relay information back to the brain through the central nervous system. As part of your endocrine system, hormones regulate metabolism, reproduction, digestion, and more.
Your hormones naturally shift throughout life. Menstruation, pregnancy, menopause, and stress can all affect hormones. When there is a chronic hormonal imbalance, however, it means the body is having trouble bringing itself back into harmony. There may be too little or too much of certain hormones circulating in your body.
Some of the most common symptoms of hormone imbalance include:
- Weight gain
- Digestion problems
- Mood swings
- Fatigue
- Decreased sex drive
- Hair loss
- Acne
- Night sweats or hot flashes
When it comes to gut health and hormonal imbalance, you may notice symptoms that weren’t there before. You may also notice they aren’t going away on their own. Before we go over how to balance hormones naturally, it’s important to understand how certain body systems work together. In this case, I’m talking about how gut health and hormones are closely tied together.
Gut Health and Hormones
By now, you’ve likely heard that gut health is important to whole-body health. I agree, especially since gut health issues such as leaky gut can lead to hormonal imbalances.
What do I mean by that? Let’s think of your gut lining as a drawbridge. Your gut lining is semi-permeable. This lets teeny-tiny boats pass through your intestinal wall and into your bloodstream. These boats are micronutrients. It’s the way your body absorbs the foods you eat. External factors can break apart the tight junctions in your intestinal wall. This leaves the drawbridge open. If left unchecked, you develop a leaky gut. Examples of external stressors include such as food, infections, stress, and toxins,
A leaky gut can also impact your hormone-producing glands. For example, your ovaries, thyroid, and adrenal glands are all responsible for creating estrogen, testosterone, cortisol, and thyroid hormone. When toxins flood your bloodstream, it can interfere with how these hormones interact with your cells. Poor gut health can also negatively affect hormone metabolism. This means that when there is a hormonal imbalance in estrogen, testosterone, thyroid, or cortisol, your body flags the immune system to step in and take over. Inflammation sets in, and left unchecked it can put you on the autoimmune spectrum.
If you notice a gut health and hormonal imbalance issue, you’ll likely see it in your digestive system first. You may experience constipation, painful periods, bloating, and nutrient deficiencies. Your thyroid may begin to malfunction, and it’s all tied to the gut. In fact, certain gut bacteria are in charge of hormone metabolism, particularly estrogen. They’re called the estrobolome.
Estrobolome
As I mentioned earlier, the estrobolome is a collection of gut microbes designed to metabolize estrogen. Estrogen and other hormones circulate through the body in an active state. Once the body uses all it needs, the liver deactivates it and filters it out. The liver then kicks the inactive estrogen to the gut for elimination.
However, sometimes there are not enough estrobolome in the gut. When this happens, the inactive estrogen cannot be eliminated properly. Other bacteria in the gut can reactivate this estrogen, causing it to send out signals once again1 This can contribute to estrogen dominance symptoms, disrupting hormones throughout the body.
Thyroid Hormones
Many people experiencing thyroid disorders have normal lab work. This can be frustrating because they still feel all their symptoms. Medication may provide synthetic T4, but if their cells are unable to absorb and utilize it, it does them no good. The problem then lies in the person’s ability to convert T4 into T3. This happens in several places in the body, including the gut.
The gut converts about 20% of T4 into T3 in the forms of T3 sulfate (T3s) and triiodothyroacetic acid (T3AC). However, in order for these conversions to happen, the gut needs specific enzymes. These enzymes, called intestinal sulfatase, come from healthy gut bacteria. Poor gut health can reduce these enzymes. This makes it difficult for thyroid hormone conversions to happen2 This is why healing the gut improves hormonal imbalances, especially in the thyroid.
Adrenal Glands
Your adrenal glands sit on top of your kidneys. They release cortisol in response to stress. This stress hormone sends out the “fight-or-flight” signal to the rest of the body. Chronic stress increases inflammation in the body. Inflammation alters your gut microbiome and increases intestinal permeability. This leads to leaky gut and other gut health issues. It soon becomes a vicious cycle. A leaky gut sends distress signals to the rest of the body, increasing cortisol levels. Cortisol and gut health correspond through the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA axis)3 Aiming to keep cortisol levels low can ease the burden on your adrenal glands. Doing this promotes better gut health.
Risk Factors of Gut Health and Hormonal Imbalance
Gut health issues are becoming increasingly common in today’s world. That said, certain risk factors can increase your risk for hormonal imbalances. Several factors can cause poor gut health and hormonal imbalances. Let’s go over a few of the most prevalent.
PCOS and Gut Health
Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal imbalance where the ovaries produce too much testosterone. As a result, small cysts develop on the ovaries. Symptoms can include abdominal pain, irregular periods, facial hair, acne, and infertility. How can supporting gut health improve symptoms of PCOS?
As with other hormone-related conditions, PCOS and gut health have an interesting relationship. Intestinal permeability increases when there is gut dysbiosis. This can be due to poor diet, stress, or medications. Increased permeability allows lipopolysaccharides (LPS) to enter the bloodstream. Doing so activates the immune system. In turn, this disrupts insulin receptors. Next comes elevated insulin levels and androgen production in the ovaries4
Gut Health and Menopause
Menopause typically begins between the ages of 40-50 for women. Reproduction comes to an end, and the body undergoes several changes as it enters the next season of life. Hormonal changes can cause a variety of symptoms. You may experience hot flashes, sleep disturbances, and mood swings. Others experience weight gain, digestive issues, and more.
The microbiome also experiences a shift during menopause. Estrogen and progesterone drops, which can alter bacterial diversity in the gut. This creates a hormonal imbalance that can cause digestive issues5 Bloating, constipation, and leaky gut are common during menopause. Poor gut health can also make menopause symptoms worse. In contrast, maintaining optimal gut health may help reduce symptoms, especially digestive ones.
Thyroid and Gut Health
The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland at the center of the front of your neck. It produces hormones that regulate metabolism, body temperature, energy levels, and more. When your thyroid produces too much hormone, you may end up with hyperthyroidism. On the other hand, hypothyroidism occurs when the thyroid produces too little hormone.
Hyperthyroidism can cause increased hunger, weight loss, irritability, and menstrual changes. You may also be sensitive to heat and produce excess sweat. Hypothyroidism is the opposite. You may gain weight and feel cold a lot. Both hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism can make you feel fatigued or have muscle weakness.
There’s a growing emphasis on the link between thyroid and gut health. As I mentioned earlier, the gut helps convert T4 into T3. In order for this to happen properly, a healthy microbiome must be in place. Poor gut health can increase systemic inflammation and hormone imbalance. If not addressed, it can lead to hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism.
Cortisol and Gut Health
You already know that the adrenal glands produce cortisol. Not enough cortisol leads to adrenal fatigue. However, too much cortisol can lead to Cushing Syndrome. This is a hormonal imbalance where the pituitary gland puts out too much cortisol in the body. Common symptoms include weight gain, high blood pressure, and skin changes. Believe it or not, women are three times more likely to develop Cushing Syndrome than men!6
Chronic stress leads to high levels of cortisol. This too increases inflammation, which has a domino effect on your hormones. If your gut is leaky, it cannot metabolize and regulate this hormone. This is also true if you have or have underlying infections. Cortisol-degrading bacteria can then override the beneficial bacteria in the gut. Left unchecked, this can lead to Cushing syndrome7
Balancing Hormones Through Gut Health
The good news is that you can repair gut health and hormone imbalances. If you’re curious how to balance hormones naturally, you have several options.
One way to balance hormones is to reduce stress and anxiety levels. Exercise, meditation, aromatherapy, and Epsom salt baths can also help. Getting enough sleep also restores your body’s process of hormones, especially cortisol. Fueling your body with nourishing foods can feed the good bacteria, encouraging a healthy microbiome. In addition to The Myers Way®, a low Fodmap, low histamine, and Paleo diet can help reduce inflammation and promote gut health.
Last but certainly not least, taking gut-repairing and hormone-supporting supplements can expedite healing. Leaky Gut Revive® uses botanical extracts to soothe the gut. It also contains the amino acid L-glutamine to help repair the gut lining. Collagen Protein is another powerful tool in healing the gut. Probiotics help restore a diverse bacterial community. Additionally, Gut ImmunIG™ helps bind antigens and potential toxins in the gut. Estroprotect uses a combination of amino acids and botanicals to support healthy estrogen levels in women.
Final Word on How Your Gut May Be Causing Your Hormonal Imbalance
Gut health and hormonal imbalances affect countless women every year. Learning the different ways hormones impact your gut can help you make lasting changes. Even if you have risk factors such as PCOS, menopause, or thyroid dysfunction, I want you to feel empowered to take your health back!
Eating nutrient-dense foods, getting enough sleep, and managing stress can help improve gut health and hormone imbalances. Additionally, using the right gut health supplements plays a major role in balancing hormones and reducing your risk for chronic disease.