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You know how significant it is to maintain a healthy menstrual cycle and you realize that keeping your digestive system in tip-top shape is just as important, too. But you may be asking yourself, “What do the two have to do with each other?” The answer to that quest rests within an understanding of the gut-hormone connection — and what this crucial link means for your overall health.
When one gets out of whack, the other has its issues, too. That’s the way of body parts. It’s not unlikely to find a woman suffering from hormonal issues who also happens to be experiencing digestive disorders — or vice versa. A list of comorbid conditions like this could go on for days. Your digestive system is like the bouncer for your reproductive health — what comes in, must go out, and when you have poor tummy health, Aunt Flo ain’t happy, either.
When dealing with clear hormonal issues, it’s easy to overlook any abnormalities within your gut. After all, hormones are typically associated with the endocrine system and stomach-related elements are usually discussed in conversations centered on the digestive tract. Yet, if you find yourself suffering from the consequences of hormonal imbalances, you may want to address issues occurring within your stomach, too.
So if you’re wondering if there truly is a gut-hormone connection, the short and simple answer is yes. But how are problems of the female reproductive system contingent upon your digestive health and what steps can you take to ensure a harmonious balance between the two?
You may be aware of the fact that hormones play a crucial role in ensuring a women’s reproductive organs are in optimal working shape. But did you know that they influence many areas throughout the body, too? In fact, the stomach itself possesses five essential hormones that help you produce the necessary acids required for digestion and food processing. You can blame good stuff on your hormones, too!
But digestive-related hormones aren’t the only vital hormones in a woman’s body. Thyroid stimulating hormones, prolactin, oxytocin and gonadotropins all play a crucial role in the body’s overall maintenance and regulation of the endocrine system, too. So trade in the ice cream for Greek yogurt to calm your gut with good bacteria.
And if you’re finding it difficult to find the source of hormonal dips that are causing your body to go out of whack, you may want to turn to your gut to find the culprit behind these issues.
Your digestive system’s primary responsibility is to break down, process and absorb the nutrients from the food you eat. When your body receives these critical nutrients, it can effectively create — and break down — hormones with ease.
Symptoms such as bloating, gas and general abdominal discomfort coupled with hormonal imbalances mean you may want to pay more attention to the gut-hormone connection occurring within your body.
If you want to keep your endocrine system healthy, you have to make sure you take care of your digestive health, too. What’s the best way to ensure a smooth-running digestive system? Begin by monitoring the food you eat.
Maybe you’re on your way to the kitchen to empty your cupboards of cookies, cake mixes and pasta noodles as we speak. But eating healthy doesn’t mean giving up on your delectable treats entirely. Dieticians and gynecologists alike recommend eating well-balanced meals that include foods from within the HOPE diet.
What’s the HOPE diet? It’s foods that include the following key nutrients:
And just as it’s important for your body to receive the proper nutrition, it’s also vital to make sure you don’t eat sporadically, too. If you wake up in the morning and don’t feel hungry, then compromise by fixing yourself a quick bowl of delicious fruits or yogurt.
Not only will skipping meals leave your stomach unhappy, but it can impair your insulin and estrogen production, too. If you’re making an effort to cut bad foods out of your life, that’s great! Just make sure to replace them with a healthier alternative as well. Remember, Greek yogurt is the new ice cream.
You can find probiotics in a variety of forms while merely strolling through your local grocery store. From sauerkraut to Greek yogurt, you can receive your daily dose of probiotics while enjoying a delicious bite of some tasty food, too. If you already think you’re getting enough nutritional value, you may be tempted to walk to the snack aisle. Grab the yogurt instead.
Before you think twice about putting these probiotic-rich items back on the shelf, it’s crucial to understand why probiotics are important to health, and how they play a quintessential role in maintaining an overall balanced body and mind.
You’re probably aware of the fact that our body houses trillions of strands of bacteria — especially within the gut. You’re a badass, beautiful ball of bacteria! Your body already produces these beneficial bacteria, or probiotics for short, on its own. Unfortunately, we can also deal with bad bacterial strains, too. You definitely want the good to outweigh the bad.
Probiotics not only work diligently to regulate out blood sugar levels, immune system, metabolism and moods, but they also address many problems of the female reproductive system, too. If you’re experiencing gas, constipation, chronic nausea or diarrhea, your probiotics levels may not be as high as they should be.
A woman’s endocrine system produces many different hormones and each one has a profound impact on our general sense of wellbeing. If your stomach isn’t healthy enough to regulate and produce hormones with ease, it may be time to seek a probiotic supplement.
While researchers are investigating the gut-hormone connection and how a healthy digestive tract leads to a better endocrine system, it’s vital to make an effort to care for both of these bodily systems to experience the sense of wellbeing you deserve.
Think of your body like a well-oiled machine. When one part is in excellent working order, the other parts can function much more easily, too.
