“Hormonal balance” and “gut health” are two concepts that have certainly made headlines in recent years. It seems like every other day, some wellness influencer or brand is promoting another way to better “balance” hormones or improve the state of the gut microbiome.

And this, at a time when more and more scientific evidence is emerging and demonstrating that these two areas of health, the hormonal and the gastrointestinal system, are inextricably linked.

So where does this connection lie and what does it mean for you who want to improve your health and live what we call your best life?

How are hormones and our gut bacteria connected?

Our hormones are clever (no exaggeration) chemical messengers that play an important role in many of our bodily functions, including digestion.

Their role can be, for example, the very obvious – to tell us when we are hungry (ghrelin) and when we are full (leptin). However, even if they are not (directly) related to digestion (e.g. estrogen, cortisol, etc.), their relationship with our gut and its functions can be strong.

Many hormones are produced in the gut
Some key hormones are actually made by the bacteria in our gut, explains registered nutritionist Rhiannon Lambert, author of The Science of Nutrition.

“For example, 95% of serotonin (or happy hormone) is produced in the gut,” says Lambert. “Serotonin is also involved in the conversion of melatonin (the sleep hormone) and helps regulate our circadian rhythms. There is also evidence to show that our gut microbiome is also involved in the regulation of estrogens, which are the main female sex hormones.”

Finally, let’s not forget that the gut also plays a key role in absorbing nutrients from our food and supporting the elimination of toxins. If our natural detoxification system goes off track, it can cause hormonal imbalances. In addition, our gastrointestinal tract hosts approximately 70-80% of our immune system cells, resulting in a strong interaction between the intestinal microbiota, the intestinal epithelium and the immune system.

Poor gastrointestinal health = disturbed hormone production

Everything in our body is in a dynamic balance. Therefore, when our gut is not working efficiently, hormone production can be affected, thus having an impact on our mental and physical health.

And this, it seems, works vice versa.

Simply put, high or low levels of certain hormones can affect the way our digestion works, leading to problems like bloating, constipation, nausea or diarrhea.

Which hormones are most affected?
We talked briefly about how serotonin and melatonin are affected by gut health, but many more key hormones are also connected to the gut…

1. Female sex hormones

Research shows that there are microbes that work in our gut and can regulate the amount of estrogen in our body. “This part of our microbiome is a collection of bacteria in the gut capable of breaking down and changing the levels of circulating estrogen in the body,” explains Dr Federica Amati, nutritionist and researcher at Imperial College London.

On the other hand, estrogen and progesterone levels can also have a direct impact on our digestive system in terms of gut motility as well as the composition of our microbiome.

“High progesterone is associated with slowed bowel motility,” says Dr. Amati. “This is very helpful in pregnancy when progesterone levels are high, as it gives our bodies more time to extract as many nutrients as possible from our food to help the pregnancy progress.

However, this condition can cause constipation, so drinking plenty of water and fiber is very important, both during pregnancy and during the second half of our menstrual cycle. That is, when this hormone appears elevated”.

2. Stress hormones

“High levels of cortisol and adrenaline have two main effects on our gut,” explains Dr. Amati. “First, they push us to prefer carbohydrates that are easily absorbed and require little absorption effort for maximum energy. Second, they divert blood flow from our gut to our extremities, which goes into the digestion process.”

In fact, elevated stress hormones have been linked to many digestive problems, and research shows that they can even change the composition of our gut microbiome, through an increase in harmful bacteria. Increased production of stress hormones can also affect gut motility and the ability of the intestinal lining to act as a barrier and prevent bacteria and toxins from leaking into the bloodstream. It’s no wonder, then, that high levels of stress hormones have been linked to conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease.

Interestingly, however, a healthy gut can have a beneficial impact on these hormones. In other words, if our gut is working properly, it can help regulate the stress response as well as reduce anxiety.

Why should we as women care about the hormone-gut relationship?

Recent research has shown that there are key differences between male and female gut microbiomes. In addition, studies have shown that both irritable bowel syndrome and certain autoimmune diseases (eg, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, etc.) are more common in women.

At the same time, our gut can show gender-specific reactions to the exact same diet. The main reason for this? The different hormone levels between the sexes.

What can you do

It’s important to remember that our hormones and gut are part of a much bigger system and are affected by many things in our bodies (as well as each other).

1. Balanced diet and good sleep
Although there is still much research to be done looking at the direct relationship between our gut and our hormones, ensuring a balanced and varied diet is important for many aspects of our health, including our gut and hormone health. It’s also important to make sure our sleep quality is good and that we manage our stress levels, as this can have an impact on how our gut functions and our hormone levels.

2. Intuitive lifestyle
“Recognizing our body’s signals for feeding, resting and socializing, and knowing how to respond, is the first step to being able to live more intuitively,” says Dr. Amati. He also adds that “there is tremendous power in knowing how our bodies respond to the fluctuations of our hormones according to the stage of life we ​​are in.

It is therefore extremely important that we learn to harness our own existing biological power in order to maximize the quality of our health as well as our overall well-being and energy.”

Read more:

Want to boost your social life? Go to sleep

5 secrets of the Italian grandmother for successful pasta