If you’ve been paying attention to ever evolving world of gut health science over the past few years, you’ll be well aware that your digestive system does far more than simply break down food. That there is a dialogue between your brain and your intestines, for example, is now widely known: with the gut:brain connection responsible for managing stress, mood and motility.
There’s other curious links between the system and other parts of your body, too, though. One is the gut:hormone axis. Ever experienced changes to your digestion around your menstrual cycle ? If so, that’s the connection in action.
‘The gut hormone axis refers to the two-way relationship between your gut microbiome and your hormones, which can include everything including the female sex hormone oestrogen, the stress hormone cortisol and your hunger and fullness hormones ghrelin and leptin,’ Dr Emily Leeming, a microbiome scientist and author of Genius Gut , tells WH. How does your gut impact your hormones?
The first reason that the link between the gut and our hormones is a physical one: there are hormone receptors – molecules that ‘read’ and react to hormones – along your digestive system, including for sex hormone oestrogen and mood hormone serotonin.
Secondly, the bacteria in your gut influences and is influenced by hormones. ‘Your microbiome can help to supply your brain with the building blocks of your happy hormone serotonin and your pleasure and reward hormone dopamine,’ says Dr Leeming.
Female hormones are also hugely linked with the function of your gut bacteria. ‘There’s a collection of gut microbes called "oestrobolome" that can recycle oestrogen, allowing it to re-enter the blood stream instead of being excreted,’ explains Dr Naomi Potter , a GP and menopause expert, who is working with probiotic milk drink, Yakult.
Too much or too little of these microbes can result in imbalanced oestrogen levels and lead to problems with libido, mood, bone strength, brain function, immunity and heart health.
And the role is bi-directional, reminds Dr Leeming: ‘Oestrogen has an important role in your gut, affecting both how your gut moves and also how sensitive it is to […]
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