Too Much Estrogen In Your Gut
The Gut Bacterial Microbiome Includes bacterial genes whose products are capable of metabolizing estrogens
Your gut is probably your biggest source of excess estrogen. All estrogens (including estrogen-like environmental toxins) are detoxified through your intestinal bacteria. If your bacteria are not healthy, you will reabsorb the hormone estrogen, whether you are male or female.
The gut contains a collection of microbes, called the estrobolome, responsible for metabolizing estrogens. The estrobolome produces an enzyme (beta-glucuronidase) that breaks down active estrogen which helps the liver detox
and filter used estrogen and maintain proper hormone levels throughout the body [1].
When your gut is healthy, everything works great and hormones are balanced. When you have gut issues or dysbiosis, the beta-glucuronidase enzymes levels in the estrobolome increase and can’t do their job properly, which could produce either a deficiency or excess of toxic estrogen [2]. Everything goes haywire.
Chris Kresser, a leader in functional medicine, really keys in on the importance of estrogen in the body: “It regulates body fat [distribution and storage], female reproductive function, cardiovascular health, bone turnover, and cell replication. Gut dysbiosis has the potential to alter the estrobolome, disrupt estrogen homeostasis, and impair these processes, promoting the development of chronic diseases” [1].
In short, your sick stomach might be causing a whole world of other issues via hormonal imbalance. The ones that come to mind easily are typically female issues such as endometriosis; polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS); and breast, endometrial, cervical and ovarian cancer. But you might not have been aware of all the other issues that can come from hormone imbalance and affect BOTH women AND men such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and prostate cancer (obviously just in men). All of the aforementioned include an imbalance of estrogen in the body.
How do you test your tummy to figure out if this is what’s going on? A GI MAP (Gastrointestinal Microbial Assay Plus) is the best way to collect the results. A sample of your stool will be examined for pathogens including bacteria, parasites and viruses that could be screwing up your system. A GI MAP can also test your levels of the beta-glucuronidase enzyme to see if they are normal or if they are blocking your estrogen from getting to your liver [2].
And once you know what’s causing all your hormone imbalance symptoms, then what? Well, it’s time for some changes. You’re not going to get better by continuing on the way you have been, and that means you’ll likely have to change your diet and lifestyle.
You might already be trying to eat healthy. Maybe you have a largely plant-based diet. But there are lurkers out there, even in the so-called “good for you” foods. Some plants have a high amount of estrogen that can be absorbed into the body after ingestion. These are called phytoestrogen. The most notable is soy, which is encouraged as a good alternative source of protein instead of meat, but it can be dangerous to your system if consumed in large quantities. Also included on this list are tempeh, flax, oats, beans, rice, apples, carrots, coffee, and even beer [3]. If you’re diet includes too many phytoestrogens, you are putting more estrogen into your body than it can process, and you might need to dial it back a bit, substituting other forms of healthy foods.
Also, PROBIOTICS! Not just a buzzword anymore, science has proven the good impact of probiotics on your gut. Trials with broad-spectrum Lactobacillus probiotics have been found to:
- Regulate estrogen and testosterone—good for those suffering with PCOS
- Suppress ectopic tissue grown—is helpful for healing those suffering from endometriosis
- Prevent bone loss—for those at risk for osteoporosis
- Demonstrate anti-carcinogenic effects in breast tissue—suggesting that supplementation may be useful in the prevention of breast cancer [1]
- Probiotics can be a great place to start to balance hormones naturally verses going straight to hormone replacement therapy. Natural hormone replacement is always better than prescription drug therapy.
So let’s figure out what’s going on in your gut that’s causing your male or female hormone imbalance, and we’ll balance it together.
To order broad-spectrum Lactobacillus probiotics or other supplements to balance hormones, click on the link to our store.
1. https://kresserinstitute.com/gut-hormone-connection-gut-microbes-influence-estrogen-levels/
2. https://www.planetnaturopath.com/hormones/high-beta-glucuronidase-and-how-it-affects-estrogen-and-detoxification/
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytoestrogen
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Heidi Toy Functional Medicine Blog
Did you know most people didn’t have refrigerators in their homes until well into the 1900’s? It wasn’t even invented for large scale commercial use until the mid 1800’s [1]. So how did people keep their milk cold and make their food last longer? Fermentation. It sounds like a gross concept, because we often associate fermentation with a bad odor, but foods like cheese, yogurt, sauerkraut and pickles are all fermented foods. And those aren’t gross, are they? Well, some might disagree with me about sauerkraut, but that’s beside the point. Fermented foods are digestive aids. Microscopic living organisms in fermented foods help extend the food’s shelf life, enhance flavor, and help the body absorb minerals. These organisms pre-digest the food, getting rid of harmful components, and create more vitamins and enzymes than the food began with. Enzyme-rich foods have many benefits including [2]: Increase digestibility of food we eat Boost immune system Increase alkalinity; neutralizing pH levels Provide a healthy balance of friendly flora in the gut (Learn more about your microbiome in my other blog posts ) Tone the colon and help with elimination Control cravings for unhealthier foods Eliminate toxins and undigested wastes in the body In the “old days,” people use to ferment all kinds of foods through pickling, canning, pasteurization and added salt. Nowadays, however, large scale fermentation has lost many of its nutritious benefits due to the need for speed to get the product on the shelf as fast as possible and as cheap as possible. The only true fermented foods you will find are sauerkraut, kombucha, yogurt and kefir, beans, wine and beer, some meats (such as salami and pastrami), legumes and nuts (such as tofu, soy sauce and miso), sourdough bread, and various kinds of vegetables [3]. Fun facts about sauerkraut: The Germans “stole” it from the Chinese! Sauerkraut (probably not labeled as such for the Chinese, but the same recipe) was one of the main foods for those who built the Great Wall of China. Genghis Khan brought it to Eastern Europe during an invasion. It also contains high levels of vitamin C, and sailors often took it on long journeys to prevent scurvy.
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