Hormone balance and gut health

Your gut health doesn’t start and end with digestive wellness. It has profound implications for endocrine and hormone health as we will explore in this article. The many organs and components of a healthy gut perform functions that directly and peripherally change the production and expression of hormones all across the body.

Reproductive hormones and gut health

For people born with ovaries, estrogen is a hormone produced by that organ that manages their menstrual cycles and affects metabolism and mood. The gut flora regulates estrogen activity by making an enzyme called beta-glucuronidase that converts estrogen to its active form. In times of low gut bacteria diversity, which is also known as dysbiosis, this can lead to a reduction in circulating levels of estrogens. (1)

“The interaction between sex steroids and the vaginal and gut microbiomes is a bidirectional acis that profoundly impacts women’s health across all life stages.” (2)

In short, managing your gut health will directly change the circulation of reproductive hormones.

Blood sugar regulation hormones and gut health

There is mounting evidence that connects the quality of the gut microbiota, which is the collective of microbes that live in your G.I. tract, with the development of insulin resistance. (4)

Furthermore, gut microbes metabolize incoming food from the host's diet and produce metabolites that mimic the effects of hormones and affect human cells. (3)

In certain animal studies, we can observe that the changes in gut microbiota caused by intentional applications of antibiotics, prebiotics, and probiotics to repopulate the gut with beneficial bacteria led to improvements in inflammatory status and insulin sensitivity. (5)

All of this tells us that blood sugar regulation and the onset and prevention of type 2 diabetes has much to do with the quality of the bacteria in our guts.

Mood and mental health hormones and gut health

In a 2014 study, researchers were able to theorize and confirm that gut microbes manufacture hormones and neurotransmitters that mimic and function the same as those produced by humans. And the consequences are that they influence the brain's many functions, including forming memory, regulating mood and stress levels, and changing thought processes using these chemical messenger duplicates. (6) From this, we can see the intimate connection between gut health and endocrine health. 

R’s KOSO and hormone health

Knowing the multilayered impact of gut health on the production, regulation, and reception of hormones in the body, R’s KOSO is a simple and effective way to boost prebiotics, probiotics, postbiotics, and enzymes to improve digestion for hormone health. KOSO is the result of fermenting over 100 different plant foods to create a nutrient-dense whole food product to increase good bacteria in the large intestine and health with breakdown and absorption of nutrients.

Let's get started! 

Author
Keren Chen | CBT Nutritionist
IG - https://www.instagram.com/kombucha.ma...
Web - https://www.kerenchen.ca/​
Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/4FF59S3

Original Photo by @_saki_yamamoto_

References:

1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28778332/

2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8282721/

3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33373432/

4. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0098299712001288?via%3Dihub

5. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21681087/

6. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25402818/

7. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29134359/