How Does Gut Health Impact Hormone Balance?

This article has been medically reviewed by Dr. Charles Penick, MD

With the growth in the public’s interest in gut health, it’s clear that taking care of our gut is essential for overall wellness. From weight loss to mental health, research is finding more and more evidence that the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates was correct when he said, “All disease begins in the gut.”

But did you know that your gut also plays a significant role in hormone balance? While it may be hard to believe that there is a connection, your lifelong history of constipation may be making your painful periods or mood swings worse. The research tells us that the two are intimately connected.

What is a healthy gut?

Your gut is home to trillions of creatures – bacteria, fungi, protozoa - known collectively as the gut microbiome. These organisms, especially the bacteria, impact our immune health, mood, the risk for certain chronic diseases, blood sugar balance, weight, and more. Our microbiome also plays an essential role in the synthesis and communication of hormones and neurotransmitters, acting as a part of our endocrine system.

As much as we learn about the gut, the research is still in the early stages.

We do know that a healthy gut needs diversity and balance. Diversity refers to the presence of many different types of bacteria, as they all have different jobs. Balance refers to the number of healthy beneficial (or commensal) bacteria compared to potentially pathogenic bacteria. When there is an imbalance of bacterial diversity or the number of certain strains of bacteria, it is known as dysbiosis.

Dysbiosis is associated with a number of health concerns, including hormone-related conditions. For example, a study published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism found that women with PCOS had the least diverse microbiomes compared to women without PCOS.

Why does gut health matter for your hormone balance?

The connection between your hormones and gut health begins with the microbiome. Estrogen regulation occurs in the gut through the estrobolome. The estrobolome is a group of bacteria found in your microbiome that helps to metabolize estrogen.

Estrogen is first packaged by the liver into conjugated, or safe forms of estrogen through the body’s natural detoxification process. It is sent (along with bile) to the gut to be excreted or reabsorbed.

Some reabsorption of certain types of estrogen is normal.

Still, if estrogen that was meant to be excreted is reabsorbed, it affects the balance and potentially exposes a woman to too much or too little estrogen.

Estrogen plays many essential roles in our body, including supporting bone, cardiovascular, and reproductive health. But like everything else, too much or too little can lead to an imbalance and cause health problems.

The estrobolome also makes beta-glucuronidase. Beta-glucuronidase is an enzyme that can deconjugate estrogen or restore it back to an active form once it reaches the gut. Once estrogen is active, it can be reabsorbed in the body and impact estrogen associated conditions.

A Healthy Gut

A healthy gut supports the balance of health-supporting levels of estrogen to be reabsorbed while limiting the amount of potentially harmful and stronger forms.

An unhealthy microbiome can lead to an increase in beta-glucuronidase, affecting the amount of free estrogen in the body. If you have an imbalanced microbiome, it can shift the impact of your estrobolome.

Estrogen imbalance is associated with symptoms like mood swings or painful periods, but also conditions such as:

• Endometriosis
• Weight fluctuations
• PCOS
• Metabolic syndrome
• Increased breast and ovarian cancer risk
• Ovarian cysts
• Hypothyroid

What can you do to support your gut health?

If you struggle with hormone imbalances, it’s time to address the health of your gut. Several important lifestyle factors make a big difference: 

• Eat at least five to seven servings of fiber. Fiber appears to support healthy circulating estrogen levels and promotes regular bowel movements to facilitate the removal of excess estrogen. Fiber also provides important prebiotics to feed your gut bacteria. Note – if you can’t tolerate fiber due to poor gut health, you may have to work on gut healing protocols with a practitioner before adding more fiber.

• Remove foods considered inflammatory to your gut, including alcohol, refined carbohydrates, and processed seed oils like canola oil.

• Address any food sensitivities that could be impacting the health of your gut. Trial an elimination diet or work with a practitioner who can help guide you through the process

• Consider gut-healing supplements to restore the gut’s function and support your health bacteria (ex: digestive enzymes, probiotics, demulcent herbs).

• Control stress. Stress is an independent risk factor for gut dysbiosis. Work on stress reduction, take deep breaths, and also avoid stressing the body through over-training.

• Eat fermented foods daily such as kimchi, sauerkraut, water kefir, or lacto-fermented vegetables for a healthy dose of probiotics.

Supporting the health of your gut should always be a priority.

But if you are a woman experiencing symptoms or conditions related to hormone imbalance, it’s especially important. By optimizing the health of your gut bacteria, you are not only improving the balance of your hormones, but you are also supporting your overall health. 

How Does Gut Health Impact Hormone Balance?

With the growth in the public’s interest in gut health, it’s clear that taking care of our gut is essential for overall wellness.

From weight loss to mental health, research is finding more and more evidence that the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates was correct when he said, “All disease begins in the gut.”

But did you know that your gut also plays a significant role in hormone balance?

While it may be hard to believe that there is a connection, your lifelong history of constipation may be making your painful periods or mood swings worse. The research tells us that the two are intimately connected.

What is a healthy gut?

Your gut is home to trillions of creatures – bacteria, fungi, protozoa - known collectively as the gut microbiome. These organisms, especially the bacteria, impact our immune health, mood, the risk for certain chronic diseases, blood sugar balance, weight, and more.

Our microbiome also plays an essential role in the synthesis and communication of hormones and neurotransmitters, acting as a part of our endocrine system.

As much as we learn about the gut, the research is still in the early stages.

We do know that a healthy gut needs diversity and balance. Diversity refers to the presence of many different types of bacteria, as they all have different jobs. Balance refers to the number of healthy beneficial (or commensal) bacteria compared to potentially pathogenic bacteria.

When there is an imbalance of bacterial diversity or the number of certain strains of bacteria, it is known as dysbiosis. Dysbiosis is associated with a number of health concerns, including hormone-related conditions.

For example, a study published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism found that women with PCOS had the least diverse microbiomes compared to women without PCOS.

Why does gut health matter for your hormone balance?

The connection between your hormones and gut health begins with the microbiome. Estrogen regulation occurs in the gut through the estrobolome. The estrobolome is a group of bacteria found in your microbiome that helps to metabolize estrogen.

Estrogen is first packaged by the liver into conjugated, or safe forms of estrogen through the body’s natural detoxification process. It is sent (along with bile) to the gut to be excreted or reabsorbed.

Some reabsorption of certain types of estrogen is normal.

Still, if estrogen that was meant to be excreted is reabsorbed, it affects the balance and potentially exposes a woman to too much or too little estrogen.

Estrogen plays many essential roles in our body, including supporting bone, cardiovascular, and reproductive health. But like everything else, too much or too little can lead to an imbalance and cause health problems.

The estrobolome also makes beta-glucuronidase. Beta-glucuronidase is an enzyme that can deconjugate estrogen or restore it back to an active form once it reaches the gut. Once estrogen is active, it can be reabsorbed in the body and impact estrogen associated conditions.

A healthy gut supports the balance of health-supporting levels of estrogen to be reabsorbed while limiting the amount of potentially harmful and stronger forms.

An unhealthy microbiome can lead to an increase in beta-glucuronidase, affecting the amount of free estrogen in the body. If you have an imbalanced microbiome, it can shift the impact of your estrobolome.

Estrogen imbalance is associated with symptoms like mood swings or painful periods, but also conditions such as:

• Endometriosis
• Weight fluctuations
• PCOS
• Metabolic syndrome
• Increased breast and ovarian cancer risk
• Ovarian cysts
• Hypothyroid

What can you do to support your gut health?

If you struggle with hormone imbalances, it’s time to address the health of your gut. Several important lifestyle factors make a big difference: 

• Eat at least five to seven servings of fiber. Fiber appears to support healthy circulating estrogen levels and promotes regular bowel movements to facilitate the removal of excess estrogen. Fiber also provides important prebiotics to feed your gut bacteria. Note – if you can’t tolerate fiber due to poor gut health, you may have to work on gut healing protocols with a practitioner before adding more fiber.

• Remove foods considered inflammatory to your gut, including alcohol, refined carbohydrates, and processed seed oils like canola oil.

• Address any food sensitivities that could be impacting the health of your gut. Trial an elimination diet or work with a practitioner who can help guide you through the process

• Consider gut-healing supplements to restore the gut’s function and support your health bacteria (ex: digestive enzymes, probiotics, demulcent herbs).

• Control stress. Stress is an independent risk factor for gut dysbiosis. Work on stress reduction, take deep breaths, and also avoid stressing the body through over-training.

• Eat fermented foods daily such as kimchi, sauerkraut, water kefir, or lacto-fermented vegetables for a healthy dose of probiotics.

Supporting the health of your gut should always be a priority. But if you are a woman experiencing symptoms or conditions related to hormone imbalance, it’s especially important.

By optimizing the health of your gut bacteria, you are not only improving the balance of your hormones, but you are also supporting your overall health. 

References

^[1] Liu, Xiaojiao, and Kezhen Lv.  “Cruciferous Vegetables Intake Is Inversely Associated with Risk of Breast Cancer: A Meta-Analysis.” Breast (Edinburgh, Scotland) 22, no.  3 (June 2013): 309–13.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.breast.2012.07.013.

 

^[2] Higdon, Jane V., Barbara Delage, David E.  Williams, and Roderick H.  Dashwood.  “Cruciferous Vegetables and Human Cancer Risk: Epidemiologic Evidence and Mechanistic Basis.” Pharmacological Research 55, no.  3 (March 2007): 224–36.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phrs.2007.01.009.

 

^[3] Aggarwal, Bharat B., and Haruyo Ichikawa.  “Molecular Targets and Anticancer Potential of Indole-3-Carbinol and Its Derivatives.” Cell Cycle (Georgetown, Tex.) 4, no.  9 (September 2005): 1201–15.  https://doi.org/10.4161/cc.4.9.1993.

 

^[4] Shufelt, Chrisandra L., Tina Torbati, and Erika Dutra.  “Hypothalamic Amenorrhea and the Long-Term Health Consequences.” Seminars in Reproductive Medicine 35, no.  3 (May 2017): 256–62.  https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0037-1603581.

 

^[5] Patel, Seema, Ahmad Homaei, Akondi Butchi Raju, and Biswa Ranjan Meher.  “Estrogen: The Necessary Evil for Human Health, and Ways to Tame It.” Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & Pharmacotherapie 102 (June 2018): 403–11.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2018.03.078.

 

^[6] Thomson, Cynthia A., Emily Ho, and Meghan B.  Strom.  “Chemopreventive Properties of 3,3′-Diindolylmethane in Breast Cancer: Evidence from Experimental and Human Studies.” Nutrition Reviews 74, no.  7 (July 2016): 432–43.  https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuw010.

^[7] Ruan, Xiangyan, Harald Seeger, Diethelm Wallwiener, Jens Huober, and Alfred O.  Mueck.  “The Ratio of the Estradiol Metabolites 2-Hydroxyestrone (2-OHE1) and 16α-Hydroxyestrone (16-OHE1) May Predict Breast Cancer Risk in Postmenopausal but Not in Premenopausal Women: Two Case-Control Studies.” Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics 291, no.  5 (May 2015): 1141–46.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-014-3512-1.

^[8] Ruan, et al.  2015

^[9] Thomson, et al., 2016

^[10] Riby, Jacques E., Ling Xue, Urmi Chatterji, Erik L.  Bjeldanes, Gary L.  Firestone, and Leonard F.  Bjeldanes.  “Activation and Potentiation of Interferon-Gamma Signaling by 3,3’-Diindolylmethane in MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells.” Molecular Pharmacology 69, no.  2 (February 2006): 430–39.  https://doi.org/10.1124/mol.105.017053.

^[11] Thomson, et al., 2016

^[12] Jin, Yucui.  “3,3’-Diindolylmethane Inhibits Breast Cancer Cell Growth via MiR-21-Mediated Cdc25A Degradation.” Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry 358, no.  1–2 (December 2011): 345–54.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-011-0985-0.

 

Medical Disclaimer: This article is based upon the opinions of Revelation Health. The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Revelation Health and associates. This article has been medically reviewed by Dr. Charles Penick, MD for accuracy of the information provided, but Revelation Health encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional.