How your gut impacts hormonal balance during menopause (and how to keep your gut healthy)

The human body contains more gut bacteria than human cells. In fact, about ten times as many. It is important to stay on friendly terms with this motley crew of bacteria, because they play an essential role in keeping the body healthy. Gut bacteria impact your digestion, immune system, metabolism and hormones. This is why having good gut health is extra important in perimenopause and beyond. 

What is the relationship between the gut and hormonal balance? How do you cultivate a healthy gut microbiome with food? 

The intestines and oestrogen

We choose not to think about this when we eat, but bacteria in the gut microbiome do more than just help with digestion. Scientific research into the human body shows that our intestines are involved, among other things, in the metabolism of hormones and, in particular, the breakdown and removal of used oestrogens.  

A healthy gut breaks down oestrogens efficiently. A compromised gut (when your gut microbiome is out of balance) can impair the elimination of excess oestrogen from the body, leading to an accumulation of oestrogens. This can disrupt hormonal balance during menopause. 

Oestrogen impacts the gut microbiome and the gut microbiome impacts oestrogen. It’s a vicious cycle.

Gut health during the menopausal transition

As levels of sex hormones decrease from the age of 40, gut microbiome diversity is reduced or plateaus. A study into ageing found that gut microbial diversity changes throughout the human life span: young adult women have higher gut bacterial diversity than men, but as women approach middle age, this pattern changes.  

This implies that the composition and diversity of the microorganisms in the gut reduces with age. And that’s unfortunate, because a healthy gut microbiome can influence how well you cope with symptoms of the menopause like anxiety, stress, low mood and fatigue.  

Higher gut biodiversity is associated with better health and healthy ageing, also before and after menopause.

In addition, sex hormones, in particular oestrogen, influence how the gut communicates with the brain. The more balanced your hormones are, the more stable this process is. If your gut health is compromised it can lead to or exacerbate hormonal issues, such as mood swings, irritability, sleep problems or weight gain. 

Improving gut health through diet

In short, when you are going through menopause, looking after your gut health is the smart thing to do. Today, we know that a healthy gut flora is more important than ever. It should come as no surprise that your diet plays a vital role in maintaining a healthy gut microbiome. By this, we mean a diet rich in fibre, probiotics and prebiotics, and low in sugar. So, what can you do? 

• Eat fibre. Fibre is the magic ingredient here. Adult women should aim to eat 25 grams of fibre a day. However, on average, most adults consume less. For optimal gut health, you need to eat a variety of colourful fruits and vegetables. Eat a rainbow every day! Whole grains, nuts and flax seeds are also good sources of fibre. 
• Not experiencing any gut issues? Then opt for legumes twice a week. Legumes are also high in fibre. 
• Try probiotics and prebiotics. Probiotics and prebiotics support a healthy gut. Foods that are high in probiotics include yoghurt, kefir, sauerkraut and kimchi (fermented products) and prebiotics can be found in bananas, whole grain products and asparagus. You could also consider taking a supplement. 
• Reduce your intake of sugar and processed foods. It is completely OK to allow yourself a small amount of sugar once in a while. But eating too much sugar or processed foods feeds the ‘bad’ bacteria in your gut and reduces gut microbial diversity. If you are craving for something sweet, then eat a few strawberries, a banana with peanut butter, extra dark chocolate or some dates with almond butter. 
• Cut back on gluten. Gluten intolerance is fairly common. Gluten can trigger inflammation in the intestines. This can lead to a variety of health issues, including increased levels of the stress hormone cortisol. And guess what: the biggest inhibitor to oestrogen and progesterone production is elevated cortisol levels. 

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