How is your gut health linked to hormonal imbalances

Your gut microbe is the foundation of your health. The gut is the largest immune organ in the body, acting as the gatekeeper, preventing toxins, and harmful microbes in food from entering the bloodstream. "Good gut health is possible only when you have more of the good bacteria than the bad ones. In fact, 80 per cent of your immunity is in your gut. The gut cells produce a variety of immune cells that help in fighting infections. The microbe has an impact on how our immune system responds to infections, allergies and toxins," says Tanisha Bawa, certified nutrition coach, and founder of TAN|365.

Stressing on the importance of gut health, she adds, "If you struggle with poor gut health, you are inviting poor immunity, inflammation and chronic illnesses. That's why people experience symptoms like brain fog, constipation, gas, acidity, joint pains, skin conditions, hair fall."

The connection between gut and brain

Bawa explains, "The gut is also known as the second brain. Our brain consists of a hundred billion neurotransmitters that constantly send messages to our body on how to function and how to behave. Our gut is home to such neurotransmitters as well. Because of this strong gut-brain connection, the gut is also extremely sensitive to emotions like anger, anxiety, sadness and joy. Hence, you may notice if you are anxious or stressed, you may experience indigestion, and likewise a troubled gut can send distress signals to the brain causing us to feel stressed or anxious."

How is gut health linked to hormonal imbalances

"The gut microbiota plays a major role in the reproductive endocrine system, throughout a woman's life, by interacting with hormones like estrogen, androgen, insulin and others. It is the imbalance in the gut microbe composition that can lead to several diseases and conditions such as pregnancy complications, PCOS, endometriosis, thyroid," explains Bawa. Below, the nutrition expert explains how gut health is linked to the various hormones in our bodies.

Estrogen levels
Estrogen is a hormone that plays a major role in skin, and reproductive health. A lack of estrogen can cause hot flashes, mood swings, and an irregular menstrual cycle while an excess of it can increase the risk of endometriosis, and PCOS. Estrogen regulation occurs in the gut through the estrobolome.

The estrobolome is a group of bacteria found in your microbiome that helps metabolise estrogen. If you have a higher count of the harmful gut bacteria than the helpful ones in the gut, this leads to an estrogen imbalance which is associated with the symptoms mentioned above.

Impact on thyroid
A healthy gut microbiome not only keeps your immunity system healthy, but also activates thyroid functioning. However, if you have a leaky gut i.e. where the gut lining is extremely permeable and allows various substances to leak out of the digestive tract into the bloodstream, this can negatively affect the thyroid function by slowing it down and triggering an immune response.

The gut produces hormones which directly communicate with the thyroid through the vagus nerve, and this process is referred to as the gut-thyroid-axis. If the gut is unhealthy and unable to communicate well, it can weaken thyroid function. Additionally, the quality of microbiota influences the uptake of minerals like iodine, selenium and zinc that are important in maintaining a healthy thyroid. All these minerals play a major role in supporting the thyroid function and research has found a clear link between thyroid dysfunction and insufficient levels of these minerals.

Serotonin levels
At least 80 per cent of our serotonin, also known as the happy hormone, is produced in the gut and it has an implication in almost every type of behaviour such as hunger, being emotional, being moody, and cognition. Therefore, if you often tend to feel quite low or are extremely moody, you may need to pay attention to your gut.

5 Practises that can deteriorate your gut health

Lack of sleep
Lack of sleep can negatively impact the quality of the microbiome and cause larger health issues. Poor sleep can disrupt hormones like Ghrelin, which signals hunger and Leptin, which signals satiation. When these hormones are dysregulated, our appetite can be thrown off causing us to feel hungrier than normal. This, in turn, leads to overeating and craving sugary foods, both of which can negatively impact digestion. We may also crave sugary foods to compensate for the lack of energy we feel when we don't sleep well. However, these foods are not only inflammatory, they also create intestinal permeability and feed the bad bacteria in the gut.

Falling into a deep sleep is one of the few times when the body can completely relax and rejuvenate. Balance is restored, information and food are processed, organs recharge, and the microbiome can reset.

Lack of movement
Research suggests that a sedentary lifestyle can be as unhealthy as smoking. Think of what happens if you sit on your leg for too long. Circulation is cut off, which causes the feeling of your leg falling asleep. The body needs movement to allow proper circulation of blood and energy and keep the muscles strong and healthy. Muscles are located in the digestive system as well, namely, in the mouth, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine. Research has shown that the microbiome improves after six weeks of regular physical exercise. Physical movement is essential for gut health.

Stress
Have you ever paid attention to the fact that it's hard to digest a meal when you are upset or stressed or perhaps, even get constipated? This is because the system we rely on daily to digest our food malfunctions when we are stressed. Stress can also alter the gut microbiome, which can lead to poor overall health.

You may not even recognise when you are stressed because it has become ingrained in your daily routine. Stress can be experienced in many physical ways like irritability, forgetfulness, brain fog, disrupted appetite, racing heart, and sweating, to name a few. When you are experiencing stress, it sends signals to your brain to go into the "fight or flight" mode. The brain prepares and sends all your energy reserves to the parts of your body that need it most. When this happens, our digestive system takes a hit as it is considered "non- important" during times of fight or flight.

Managing stress is key to maintaining good digestive health. However you choose to de-stress and prioritise self-care, it's an essential component in allowing the body to function properly. Managing stress regularly allows the body to be in a relaxed state, known as "rest and digest," and this is what supports good gut health as well.

Non-stop snacking
Munching every two hours has now become a rising trend. You need to give your body time to digest the previous meal, which can take up to 3-4 hours. Every 90 minutes, post meals, the small intestine has a cleaning wave, known as the Migrating Motor Complex (MMC) that sweeps the bacteria out and towards the colon. If this motility is disrupted by constant munching, the MMC may be compromised and as a result, you may face bacterial growth in the small intestine which can cause a host of digestive issues.

Poor diet
Whatever you consume will feed your microbiome, for better or for worse. Just as dietary fibres and probiotics feed the good bacteria, an abundance of processed foods can feed the unhealthy bacteria which can cause gut dysbiosis (an imbalance of good and bad bacteria) and overall poor health.

Processed foods contain artificial ingredients including colour, flavourings, preservatives, food additives, emulsifiers, and sugars, all of which cause inflammation, damaging the gut wall and increasing the possibility of a leaky gut. A leaky gut is a condition when food particles and toxins are able to enter your bloodstream causing health conditions to crop up. For example, a leaky gut negatively affects the thyroid function by slowing it down and triggering an immune response. Eating foods rich in refined carbs like pasta, pizzas, noodles can also lead to a leaky gut.

Vegetable refined oils are still used by most to cook their foods. These oils get oxidised easily and cause damage to your DNA, age your cells and induce inflammation, which harms the gut and increases the risk of heart diseases. Instead, opt for ghee or mustard oil. Excessive consumption of sugar is the biggest danger to gut health, be it adults or even children. This causes a spike in insulin, accelerates aging and hormonal imbalances.

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