Bloating And Your Hormones
If you struggle with bloating and hormonal issues and are left wondering how the two are linked, then I'm here to break it down for you!
Firstly, it's important to have a basic understanding of the digestive system and it's function, and I have outlined it all here in my Gut Crash Course for you, so make sure to read through this first.
Dysbiosis is a leading cause of bloating and digestive discomfort, whether it's due to poor diet, lack of chewing food, low stomach acid, medications or other long-term stressors, it is a result of poorly digestive food paired with external pathogens that have influenced the microbiome.
The role of the large colon is to ferment all the matter that has moved through the digestive system, and efficiently eliminate it. However, when dysbiosis is at play, food can often ferment in the small intestine (especially if it hasn't been broken down well by the mouth and stomach acid) and it can hang around in the digestive system for longer than it should. All of this contributes to that bloated feeling throughout the day.
If poorly digested food and external pathogens are hanging around in your intestines (small and large) for too long, it becomes a feeding ground for bacteria and thus contribute to dysbiosis and bloating.
This is why going straight in with a probiotic supplement can often do more harm than good, we need to address the whole digestive function first with chewing and mindful eating, supporting stomach acid signally and digestive enzyme production! This starts with a food first approach!
When we discuss the microbiome, we are talking about the whole system including the microbiota (bacteria, funghi, yeasts etc.) their genetic byproducts and their functions. If we just consider bacteria's for a moment, there are two types, gram positive and gram negative. Gram positive are largely beneficial bacterias, and gram negative are often pathogenic bacterias. In a healthy system, native commensal bacterias can control the production and actions of gram negative bacteria to keep the microbiome in check. When we are experiencing dysbiosis, the commensal bacteria can no longer maintain the harmony of bacterial balance.
Gram negative bacteria are known to produce by products called endotoxins. You can consider a cascade of endotoxins as poison to the digestive system (again, a healthy microbiome would keep these in order!), they burden the liver and can cause systemic inflammation if they enter the bloodstream!
The liver is an organ I did not mention in the Gut Crash Course (because it needs a whole crash course itself). A major role of your digestive function is detoxification as your stool is made up of waste products that the body wants to eliminate. But how did these waste products get to the digestive system in the first place?
Your liver and gallbladder.
Your livers job is to take substances such as hormones, heavy metals, pesticides, medications and other compounds and break them down into less harmful substances so they can be safely removed from the body. Your liver DOES NOT act as a filter, this is a common misconception of the livers role as THE detox organ.
There are 3 phases to detoxification, the liver neutralises compounds in phase 1 and 2, then phase 3 eliminates the compound which incorporates your digestive system.
Phase 1 and 2 detoxification in the liver breaks down estrogen metabolites (waste products of estrogen) and neatly packages them, ready to be sent to the digestive system for phase 3 detoxification. The gallbladder releases the packaged estrogen into the digestive system through the bile, this is where it meets the estrobolome.
The estrobolome is a group of bacterias responsible for metabolising estrogen in the digestive system. Your estrobolome is part of your microbiome, and it works to keep your circulating estrogen levels in check throughout the month by producing an enzyme called beta-glucoronidase. Beta-glucoronidase unpacks the estrogen metabolites in the digestive system so it can be reabsorbed into the bloodstream. In a healthy functioning microbiome, beta-glucoronidase will not be raised and the packaged estrogens are efficiently transported through the small intestine, to the colon, where they are then eliminated in your stool.
The problem comes when dysbiosis is at play, high levels of beta-glucorinidase made by the estrobolome unpack high volumes of the estrogen metabolites, resulting in excess estrogen recirculation which further burdens the liver.
Together, excessive endotoxin production and high circulating estrogen continue to feed dysbiosis (your bacterias and funghi feed off estrogen, too!) contributing to further bloating and digestive issues. If you are like me and have endometriosis, this process plays a big role in the famous endo-belly!
Both estrogen and endotoxins are shown to inhibit optimal thyroid function. Thyroid hormone is the conductor of your metabolism, which is responsible for your overall digestive function including detoxification, stomach acid production and stool formation. This article is just touching on the intricate relationship between your gut and your hormones, but if you suffer from bloating, IBS, period pain, PMS, endometriosis, PCOS, adenomyosis, thyroid issues and other hormonal related conditions, then your microbiome probably needs some love!
Addressing digestive function is the starting point, working from mouth down to ensure you're giving your body the food and environment it needs to assimilate nutrients, disinfect pathogens and begin to restore the microbiome balance.
The Gut Crash Course has some starting tips, The Foundations of Nutrition Course outlines the fundamentals to nourishing your body and the recipe repository offers some delicious, gut and hormone loving recipes!