{"id":21946,"date":"2024-04-04T06:53:13","date_gmt":"2024-04-04T04:53:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/?p=21946"},"modified":"2024-04-04T06:53:45","modified_gmt":"2024-04-04T04:53:45","slug":"the-links-between-gut-health-and-menstruation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/the-links-between-gut-health-and-menstruation\/","title":{"rendered":"The Links Between Gut Health and Menstruation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our bodies are mysterious machines made up of complex systems that are all interconnected. Many women are familiar with how uncomfortable PMS is, but they may not be aware of how gut health can impact their hormones, directly affecting their menstrual cycles – and vice versa. <\/span><\/p>\n

Our bodies are home to a vast community of fungi, bacteria, and viruses that mostly reside in the skin and large intestine. This microbiome and their various genes contribute to a number of processes in your body, such as your immune system, digestion, and mood. Your hormones affect your gut microbiome, and since hormones direct your menstrual cycle, your gut microbiome plays a significant role with your period.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How Estrogen and Your Gut Impact Each Other<\/span><\/h2>\n

Estrogen metabolism is managed by a specific group of bacteria in your gut known as the <\/span>estrobolome<\/span><\/a>. Most of the estrogen in your body is produced in your ovaries and then circulated all throughout your body, where it interacts with other organs and tissues. That active estrogen eventually will end up being filtered by your liver, where it is deactivated, and then sent off to your gut. When your estrobolome is balanced, most of the deactivated estrogen is processed efficiently through the large intestine and leaves the body through your stool.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, if your gut isn\u2019t functioning properly, your estrogen levels can become nonoptimal. Certain types of gut bacteria produce an enzyme called beta-glucuronidase which has the effect of reactivating the inactive estrogen that was sent to your gut. <\/span><\/p>\n

If you have an overpopulation of this type of bacteria in your gut, then active estrogen gets sent back and recirculated in your body at much greater levels than what your body was designed for. This can result in a host of problems, because the system that is supposed to reduce the estrogen levels in your body is doing the reverse.<\/span><\/p>\n

An Unbalanced Gut Can Exacerbate PMS Symptoms<\/span><\/h3>\n

Since your gut health and microbial diversity impacts how well your body is handling estrogen, if your estrobolome is unbalanced, your estrogen levels may be too high and cause your periods to be much more uncomfortable than they should be.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Estrogen Dominance\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Estrogen dominance is when your body\u2019s estrogen levels are too high in relation to progesterone. While estrogen is a necessary and important hormone in the body, an imbalance in the body is bad news (just like with most other hormones). In this case, it can cause excess bloating, mood swings, headaches, etc. <\/span><\/p>\n

You may be surprised to know that since PMS is directly correlated to your <\/span>hormonal balance<\/span><\/a>, PMS can actually improve when your estrogen and progesterone levels are balanced properly. This pathway of elevated estrogens released from the gut has such a significant impact on your body that a <\/span>recent study<\/span><\/a> even connects breast cancer development to gut dysbiosis. <\/span><\/p>\n

Everybody\u2019s sensitivity to estrogen levels differ, as do symptoms of estrogen dominance, but some common symptoms include:<\/span><\/p>\n