Hormones and the Microbiome
Turns out a certain set of gut bacteria and more specifically certain bacterial genes, called the estrobolome, produce an essential enzyme that helps metabolize estrogen. Your gut therefore is part of the elimination system that is vital in ushering hormones out of the body. This process, when working efficiently, plays an essential role in perfect hormonal balance. And of course, you’ve got to feed the internal ecosystem in the way that promotes the growth of these good bacteria that are there to help take care of you!
Meet your microbiome
This population of friendly bacteria or “gut flora,” as it’s also known, makes up your microbiome. Your microbiome is a main player in regulating your hormones, especially your estrogen levels. Estrogen-dominance as a result of a poorly functioning microbiome leads to every hormonal imbalance symptom or sickness you can think of – infertility, PMS, low libido, cramps and heavy bleeding, and PCOS. Plus, it can make you far more susceptible to estrogen-led cancers like breast cancer.
Approximately 5lbs of bacteria lives inside of you and the quality of their eco-system – the healthiness of the microbial life plus the diversity – governs your health in so many ways. A poor internal ecosystem caused by bad diet, exposure to chemicals and stress, will suppress the good bacteria, promote the bad bacteria, and will lead to a toxic build up of hormones as well as other signs of systemic inflammation.
Research shows us that addressing the microbiome holistically is the only way to get your immune system, digestive system and endocrine system working smoothly. Check out Missing Microbes by Dr. Martin Blaser to learn more.
How do I know if I have a microbiome imbalance or ‘Dysbiosis’ ??
Dysbiosis is a microbiome or gut flora imbalance. These are the first obvious symptoms and signs you will see if this is something that you suffer from badly:
- Bloating and gas
- Acne
- Funky pooping
- Foggy headedness and headaches
- Frequent illness – from colds to yeast infections
- Difficulties losing weight
That’s right – dysbiosis can lead to stalled weight loss. Gut flora is linked to your appetite, digestion and how easily you feel full and satisfied (aka satiation). Studies have shown that obese people have a less healthy and less diverse microbiome to those that are slimmer, and as people who are obese slim down, their gut flora changes. You need healthy gut flora to break down fats and sugars and get them in transit out of your body.
How to maintain a healthy microbiome for happier hormones
New research shows that unless we make a conscious effort, we in the Western world cannot maintain a healthy gut. The mainstream lifestyle works against our microbiome with what we generally eat and how we live. We have to decide to take control of our own health and make the right choices.
There are Flo-fixes that will support healthy gut flora. Here are my Do’s and Don’ts:
Do’s
- DO get rid of the white stuff – that’s dairy, sugar and gluten by following the Flo Living protocol. Try out my free 4-Day Detox and see how much better you feel.
- DO eat fermented foods rich in good bacteria like kimchi and sauerkraut – a couple of tablespoons a day will work wonders.
- DO take a trusted probiotic supplement from a well-established company like Jarrow. Try their Stable-Dophilus formula as it doesn’t need refrigeration. Don’t waste your money or time on any big box store brands as there’s no regulation on the ingredients of their supplements.
The Pill Damages Your Microbiome as much As Antibiotics!
Don’ts
- DON’T ingest too many antibiotics. Avoid eating meat that contains antibiotics and avoid turning to antibiotics every time you have a cough or cold. Overuse will harm your estrobolome. As the antibiotics kill off the bad bacteria, they also kill off the good bacteria and it can be very difficult for the microbiome to bounce back from an aggressive course. More and more of us are becoming aware of the dangers of overuse of antibiotics as we see what happens when superbugs are created that are resistant to any kind of medical treatment. (Read more in Blaser’s book, which I mentioned above, Missing Microbes)
- DON’T use the Pill. The Pill acts like an antibiotic in the gut, destroying the micro biome balance. If your doctor prescribes the Pill for PCOS particularly, you will find it will only worsen the problems of weight gain and insulin sensitivity, because of the impact on gut flora. Just recently new research linked Pill use to an increased risk of Crohn’s disease, a symptomatic disease of imbalance in the microbiome. Click here to read my guide to quitting the Pill. WomanCoders will have read that I don’t think it is an effective treatment for hormonal imbalance issues anyway and now we know for certain it will make your hormonal issues worse.
Always remember, that once you have the right information about how your body really works, you can start making health choices that finally start to work for you! You can do this – the science of your body is on your side!
to your FLO,
Alisa
Good things come in threes:
I want to hear from you
First, do you have any of the symptoms of dysbiosis?
Second, will you implement any of my Dos and Donts? Tell me how it goes!
Third, you know every one you know is hormonal – spread a little good ovary karma and share this article on social by clicking the buttons below 
Need more Hormone Help?
If you’re needing some health upgrading, it’s time you started you looking into what’s going on with your hormones.
I’ve designed a 4 day hormone detox and evaluation to help you understand exactly what’s out of whack and how you can start getting back to balance so that your hormones no longer have to suffer.
Click here to get your FREE detox and evaluation!
- Birth Control Statistics.http://www.med.
umich.edu/1libr/wha/wha_ contrace_crs.htm - Our Bodies, Ourselves. http://www.ourbodiesourselves.
org/book/excerpt.asp?id=24 - Allen, Kim, “The Pill,” IO.comhttp://www.io.
com/~wwwomen/contraception/ pill.html - “New study widens pill risk for cancers,” Reuters, 10 Aug 2005. http://en.epochtimes.com/news/
5-8-10/31022.html - Women, Heart Disease, and Stroke.AmericanHeart.org.
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier= 4786 - Borenstein, Seth, “Estrogen can bend gender of male fish living in water contaminated by birth-control pill residue,” Knight Ridder Newspapers, 27 Jun 2003. http://www.ourstolenfuture.
org/press/2003/2003-0627-KR- estrogenizedfish.htm
I am not on the pill, but I taking bioidentical testosterone and progesterone to get me through a rough patch right now. Will these also grow the yeast?
Does taking bioidentical progesterone and testosterone do this same thing as the pill in this regard?
Hi Emily – to both of your questions – are you experiencing yeast issues? If not, then get through your rough patch, but then get on the food protocol! xo Alisa
Hi Alisa! I was just prescribed bioidentical progesterone to jump start my period but I wanted to read your opinion on it before I took it! I saw this response and realized I am allergic to yeast. Should I not take it?
thanks so SO much!
lauren:)
Hi Alisa! Your book has changed my life! I only hope to partake in your program at some point when I have the funds! Is it important to eat a variety of fermented foods or is it ok to eat the same raw sauerkraut that I love each day? 🙂 Thank you!
Hi Rachel – I’m so happy to hear that AND I’d love to hear your before and after FLO story! If you’ll share it with us support@floliving.com we’ll send you a gift!
You can stick with the same old sauerkraut – do what you love!! xoxo Alisa
Hi Alisa!
After reading WomanCode and your newsletters-you are like my hormone guru! I do have 4 of the 6 signs of dysbiosis. I cut out gluten and dairy almost 2 years ago but really struggle with completely cutting out sugar! Do you have any tips to do this sustainably? Thank you for all the wisdom you share with women!
Nice! I love being your hormone guru 😉 Hmm, the sugar beast is a hard one to slay. I would say if you’re 80% good, the 20% of the time you indulge will be something your body can handle. It’s not about being strict, perfect, or orthorexic – being in your FLO is about creating an optimal internal ecosystem for your hormones to thrive. I have sugar, but in limited amounts and only in healthy forms – so like in organic dark chocolate, or the agave that sweetens my coconut ice cream, or the honey or coconut sugar that i bake with when i randomly bake something. You see, you can have some, but you should choose wisely. Does that help? xo Alisa
Thank you for the great article. In the email you mentioned the following: ‘Recent research has found that you need to feed one key bacteria to keep your hormones balanced more than you need to kill off the bad ones. Read on to find out if you have this bacteria and how to feed it so you can have more of it and less hormonal symptoms’. Which bacteria is it that we need to have more of? Was it estrobolome? Many thanks x
Yes – it’s the estrobolome – great question! xo Alisa
Is there a particular probiotic supplement you would recommend to replenish estrobolome? With thanks x
Hi,
Interesting article.. do you have a primary source for the information in the first sentence? I’d really be interested in looking into that further! Also, the previous poster asked which bacteria specific you were referring to. The estrobolome is not a single bacteria or even a group, but rather a pool of genes involved in estrogen metabolism (hence the -ome suffix). May want clarify that.
I’m a 56yrsoldlady,andIliveinNigeria.ihavebeendiagnosedashavinghypothyroidism®urgitationoftheheart since 2007
I’m on comicardis80mg&levothyrosine25mcgandnow since4wks now I havebeenhavingvertigo
please helpme
I’m living in nigeria
Hello Alisa,
I will definitely implement your do’s!
I have some questions regarding the probiotic supplement: how should I take it, with food? without food? before or after a meal? first thing in the morning? and for how long do you recommend to take it, one month? two months? six months?
Thank you,
Hi Luisa, take it anytime you can get into the habit – it doesn’t actually matter. I would take it for 3 months to re-establish good flora and then you can move to more like once a week. xo Alisa
I have most of those symptoms. I am going to start the detox this weekend.
I see fermented foods mentioned here, but they are not included in the detox. Is it okay to include them in the detox? Cruciferous vegetables are best for me when fermented due to my hypothyroidism.
Hi – I’m 56 y.o., in the throes of menopause–hot flashes, weight gain–although I exercise daily. I’ve been drinking kefir recently and I wonder if that’s a good enough probiotic. I’d love to lose approximately ten pounds, but it’s very hard at this point.
I purchased the FLO protocol when it first came out and I keep stumbling with it because of my IBS. I had IBS years ago when I first started birth control and then Spironolactone and it has gotten so bad that I break out terribly from probiotics and fermented foods (along with a heck of a lot of other things). I could never figure out why I still had such terrible acne on birth control (a type commonly given to PCOS sufferers) and 200 mg/day of Spiro. I went to doctors all the time and no one seemed to catch on it was my gut. A few years ago I did an elimination diet and discovered how many foods were giving me acne. When I told my docs how I improved my acne, they said “something shifted internally” and it wasn’t what I had done with the foods. :/
In any case, I still struggle with acne and flatulence and have no idea what someone like me can do to improve this situation. I look like H E double hockeysticks from the pills and lack of vitamins for so many years, I’m 35, and well, I just don’t know who to go to. Can you recommend someone or something to help? My stomach doctor gave me the FODMAP diet (which seems restrictive and unhealthy), probiotics (which I can’t take), and Miralax…Again, no help.
PS-I’ve been tapering off the Spiro and I’m down to 50 mg now but breaking out badly. I’m afraid to go of the birth control at this point in my life because I look so rough and going off with such IBS issues (and prob the inability to absorb vitamins) would make things worse. I’m also toying with the idea of not eating grains but it makes meal planning quite challenging…particularly for breakfast. Eeekkk. Maybe I should soak them?
Thankfulness to my father who stated to me concerning this
weblog, this weblog is in fact awesome.
Alisa, thank you for this info. I’m dealing with some severe gut issues and the image on this page gave me hope for being easeful and joyful with a healthy gut. Thank you~
Hi Alisa,
I am suffering anxiety and depression. According to clinical psychaitrist, i have OCD.
Doctor has prescribed Betacap 40 mg, serenata 200 mg and clofranil 50mg..
I have been taking these tablets since 4 months..
My health is better now. But naturally i could not come out of anxiety and depression.
Anxiety started when i met with life threating accident in september. At the begining state we could not get know that its OCD. Begining i was used something is going to haapen to me or to my closed ones. In the month of december, once i felt like hitting my husband. That was strange feeling for me.. so i googled it and i got to know about OCD and i started feeling that i have OCD and i may harm myself or others. Destructive thoughts started cmg whatever i see..Anxiety became worsen and started shivering always and was not feeling to have food and sleep. I had taken two councellings before going to clinical psychiatrist. Dactor said that its OCD only, it started after accident.
I started yoga, pranayama and tried to do meditation.. i am not able to do anything. I dont want to take medicines. During early mornings i feel more anxous and depressed. I will feel better only after taking tablets. PLease guide how to come out of this.
Take a look at Kelly Brogan’s website (she is a Functional medicine practitioner (similar approach to Alisa) but she is also a psychiatrist and there is lots of support for people, especially women, taking psychiatric medications and how to find alternatives and come off them
Hi Alisa,
I ditched sugar, dairy (except kefir yoghurt) and gluten about 10 weeks ago.
My energy improved a lot and by the way I drink your coconut/water/lettuce/lemon.celery/parsely juice everyday, yum! I’m having a slight freak out though, 6 weeks after changing to the new anti-inflammatory diet I developed thrush-like symptoms. I found this strange as I do EVERYTHING you can do to not get a yeast infection, not to mention I’ve only had them when pregnant, it’s been 3 years since then. Did a lab test- it was not a fungal infection but gram positive bacilli. I’ve had it for 6 weeks now and have had to break my promise to myself not to visit any doctors this year and have been put on antibiotics which I am so against and they are not working 🙁 🙁 🙁 Do u have any thoughts about ph balance/hormones here? Have you heard of this kind of backwards step before from diet change? Whys is my body not correcting this floral imbalance? I literally could not be eating cleaner or healthier or less inflammatory the last 3 months. Also, ACV, probiotics, magnesium, zinc, aloe vera you name it, i have taken it every day for the last year. My cycles were getting really good too. Doctor said my balance is just ‘out’. Lady at health food shop said changing your diet can ‘stir up’ bacteria- but now I can’t get rid of it, so uncomfortable. I never had any womens issues before having children (had surgery last year which uncovered bladder endo.) Haven’t taken the pill in 10 years. I’m 35. Thank you for your wisdom. Love your blog.
Hi Alisa!
Thanks for the interesting article!
I was wondering if a hormonal IUD like Mirena would cause similar gut flora disturbances as the Pill?
Since the levonorgestrel is going straight into my uterus bypassing the whole digestive system, I was curios to know if it affected my gut bacteria or not!
Yes I have this exact same question about the mirena IUD! can you let us know your thoughts, Alisa? 🙂
The Mirena is a hormonal birth control, hence wit will affect your hormones!
Alisa
Can you please elaborate? I think additional information would be helpful for those who don’t understand the endocrine and digestive interactions. Thank you!
Yes it affects hormones but does it kill the gut bacteria like oral OC’s?
Thanks dear Alisa
I have MS so i decided to quit any chemical medication but I started a new diet I am raw vegan but I didn’t know why. now after reading your blog I understood and I will continue with more energy.
Hi Alisa- I am getting ready to start another round of IVF and just stumbled upon your blog looking for dietary advice. This is just what I was looking for. I have been off birth control for many years now and have been doing most of this minus a few key items like removing Dairy which I am now doing especially since my intolerance has turned into a full blown allergy. . I have two questions 1. Do you think butter should also be eliminated – it doens’t seem to casue me any issues but I am concerned about inflammation. and 2. I am being stimulated and that protocol includes a couple weeks on birth control- what can I do to counteract the negativity of this on my gut? Thanks so much
Hi Keriann,
If you have a dairy intolerance, you should not eat butter. Go for Ghee or coconut oil instead!
To support your gut, take a good probiotic, eat fermented foods, and if digestion becomes an issue, you can support yourself with a digestive enzyme for a bit!
Good luck!
Alisa
I have BV and am a new fan to your blog which I’m in love. I am a habitual reader and from reading I understand that eating raw veg does not help women with hormonal issues but instead we should eat them steamed. If this is not so please reply.
Hi Latoya,
Raw veggies can be great, it really depends on how your digestion is and your specific symptoms. Generally I recommend varying you cooking methods with the phases of the cycle!
Alisa
Hi! I was wondering how long it will take hormones to regulate once the gut has healed/begun healing? I had my levels tested a few months ago, and my progesterone was VERY low (almost nonexistent). I’ve been doing the GAPS diet to heal my gut for the past four months. My periods are still not anywhere near regular. Just wondering when I can expect my hormones to balance/how long it takes typicallY? Thank you!
Hi Jessica,
It really varies. It also depends on a few other factors like blood sugar balance, adrenal health, and liver health.
Alisa
Hey, Alisa! Two questions for you:
-I am trying the Jarrow Dophilus probiotic supplements. How many do you recommend taking a day?
-What effect does a Mirena IUD have on the microbiome? I am on blood thinners (ironically, due to blood clots from taking the Pill) and it is the only form of birth control my doctors feel safe with me being on.
Thanks!
Hi, I’m wondering about the elimination. You say to eat fermented foods, but to cut out cruciferous vegetables and gluten. Does this not include sauerkraut and sourdough? They are fermented foods, but also in the elimination section.
Thanks,
Stephanie
I’m Currently taking antibiotics to treat H Pylori infection that I have. and I also have three fibroids. It concerns me because i’m taking really strong medications. I did order some probiotics as I hear they are good o take while on such an aggressive treatment. My doctor recommended for me to go to a fertility doctor to discuss what steps to follow and if surgery will be needed. have a 6cm, 4cm and 3 cm fibroid. I really don’t want the surgery because im afraid of the long term effects. It’s so overwhelming when you have two different things going on and trying to find the right answer. I must say after reading this article it seems like the proper nutrition is necessary along with the right supplements.
Yes Diana!
Proper nutrition, selfcare and supplements are all critical! Please reach out to my team if you want more clear steps on how to proceed! Let us know how we can support you.
Alisa
The links for the Jarrow item does not work. I’m not sure which one of the ones there is what you would recommend. Is it Jarro-dophilus or fem-dophilus. Could you post a new link please?
Hi Alisa,
I’m wondering if the estradiol patch (HT) will harm the gut microbiome the same way that birth control pills do?
I’ll be starting it soon after a prophylactic hysterectomy and oopherectomy.
I’m currently battling with SIBO and want to get it under control. Hoping that starting HT won’t undo all the hard work I’m putting in right now to balance my gut health.
Thanks,
Jennifer
Hi Alisa,
I love your site! My partner gets UTI’s frequently and it’s related to sex with me, her male partner. We are also dealing with HPV. We have committed to changing our diets. Do you have recommendations for men to ensure they stop infecting their partners? I noticed the comment about taking D-mannose. But, does your 4 day detox apply to men as well?
Thank you,
Jim
Hello,
I love the feedback and everyone being open. So I’m begging for help. I have been suffering from UTI’s, yeast and BV for over a year. I was on so many antibiotics the year before all this issues due to dental work and a surgery. I’ve been given antibiotics and creams to cure the UTIs , yeast & BV but they come back. I’m tired I’ve been tested for thyroid, diabetes, stds and HIV and I’m perfectly fine. I’ve tried organic creams and depository’s and lots of probiotics not helping. What can I do?
Hello,
I have terrible insulin resistance, but was able to get my weight stable last year. I started a probiotic and my appetite increased substantially and I started gaining weight again. I stopped the probiotic (even though it did help my sleep and digestion). 1 year later and I’m still gaining weight and can’t stop. Do you think the probiotic was doing something to the gut bacteria that stressed out my body and made my insulin levels increase? I’ve talked to several practitioners and holistic drs and no one can give me answers. Thanks!
Hi LISA, I wanted to know if after removing fibroid by surgery it will grow again
Hi Badu, fibroids can return, especially if one doesn’t make changes to support hormonal health. I recommend picking up a copy of Alisa’s book, WomanCode – his will help you start to see where you can make shifts to diet and lifestyle that can reduce the chance of them growing back.
XO, Christina – FLO Coach