Your hormones as produced by your glands throughout the body (thyroid, adrenals, and reproductive organs) all exist in a delicate balance, fluctuating according to that time of the month, general health states and of course the latest discovery – your gut microbiome.
Hormones affect everything and in the same breath your gut is everything so understandably they are related. Hormones regulate emotions, hunger habits, metabolism and much, much more but so does your gut!! Interesting to say the least! For the next statement will blow your mind!!
Your Gut Microbiome Regulates Your Hormones!
Your gut microbiome regulates your hormones. So when your gut microbiome are healthy, so too your hormonal activity will be reflected healthily. Women are especially impacted when hormones are thrown off balance resulting in:
- Hypothyroidism
- Autoimmune thyroid disorders including Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and Grave’s disease
- Polycystic ovary syndrome
- Oestrogen dominance, including low progesterone
- Perimenopause
- Menopause
- Stress-related fatigue (dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal or HPA axis)
- Low testosterone
- Low oestrogen
- Osteoporosis
- Endocrine disruption from toxins
- Hyperthyroidism
Your gut microbiome plays an important role in most of these conditions. The various roles of the gut microbiome within in the endocrine system include:
- Synthesizing and secreting most hormones
- Regulating the expression of these hormones
- Inhibiting the production of certain hormones in other organs of the body
- Enhancing production of hormones throughout the body
This means your gut microbiome isn’t just producing hormones, it’s also telling the other glands in the body how much or how little of each hormone they should be creating and releasing.
Gut Microbiome Produce Hormones
Melatonin: Your sleep hormone is dependent on your serotonin levels. 90% of your Serotonin is produced in the Gut and from there your Melatonin. Without the right microbes making serotonin, you won’t get enough melatonin, which can make it difficult to fall asleep, stay asleep, and maintain a level of calmness.
The Gut Microbiome Produces Norepinephrine and Epinephrine
These are your stress hormone regulators as associated with our fight-or-flight response. When these hormones are increased in the body, they cause an acute stress response, which leads it:
Too much of these hormones for too long can cause stress, anxiety, and depression and if your look at the modern-day trends when it comes to autoimmune conditions this is one of the biggest problem areas. Certain bad bacteria have been associated with higher levels of norepinephrine and epinephrine. And, of course, this is one of the areas where the Imsyser 12 strain probiotic is tops in countering these baddies with enough good ones daily to optimise your conditional responses and triggers in the gut and so too the hormonal response in return.
The effect of chronic stress on the gut is bi-directional. The hormone that releases the stimulus for cortisol, corticotropin releasing hormone, can poke holes in the gut lining, leading to increased intestinal permeability. With Leaky Gut Syndrome you exponentially increase your risk and exposure to more toxic exposure thereby also increasing the risk for increased auto-immune triggers and responses. This becomes your next vicious circle!!
Gut Microbiome Affect Your Oestrogen
Estrone, oestradiol, and estriol (3 forms of Oestrogen) are also generated by the gut microbiome. Healthy microbiome produces more estriol and is incredibly beneficial to the body assisting in securing strong bones. A healthy gut microbiome produces beneficial estriol and maintains a healthy balance of the other oestrogen metabolites.
Not only does your gut microbiome help create more estriol and maintain oestrogen balance overall, but also helps metabolize excess oestrogen to keep it from causing our modern day oestrogen associated problems:
- weight gain
- mood issues
- painful menstrual cycles
- breast cancer
- endometrial cancer
- prostate cancer.
Gut Microbiome Affects Your Thyroid
We all know the value of a healthy thyroid and this modern-day condition has no respect for sex or age with modern day toxicity. Low microbial diversity and concentration has been correlated with high levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). High TSH levels can lead to the overproduction of T3 and T4 thyroid hormones. High T3 and T4 can cause hyperthyroidism and make you feel anxious, jittery, and cause unexplained weight loss.
If you ignore hyperthyroidism, it can lead to hypothyroidism as your thyroid becomes overworked. Hypothyroidism is also associated with alterations in the gut microbiome. It causes fatigue, intolerance to cold, and weight gain.
Unhealthy gut Microbiome manifest in:
- Gas, bloating, abdominal discomfort
- Chronic diarrhoea, constipation, or both
- Fatigue or low energy
- Chronic stress
- Brain fog/decreased cognitive function
- Carbohydrate intolerance.
- Itching of the vagina or anus
- traveller’s diarrhoea
- Depression or anxiety
- Sinus congestion and/or bad breath
- Use of antibiotics?
- Reflux, heartburn
- Food sensitivities
- Various autoimmune conditions
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