Estrogen Dominance Part 2: The Role Our Gut Plays

Our gut health effects estrogen dominance? Tell me more...

Our gut health is crucial to our overall health for many, many reasons. When it comes to estrogen dominance, there are two major factors involved. 

• One is a microbiome imbalance.

• The second is how often and well we poop! 

The Microbiome’s Role in Estrogen Dominance 

Our microbiome is the community of mostly bacteria, and possibly yeasts, viruses, and parasites or worms that share our body with us. The majority of these bugs exist in our digestive tracts, in particular our colon or large intestines. To give you an idea, for every human cell, there are 10 x more bacterial cells in or on our body. This is a significant ecology that exists within us so imbalances here can really impact our health!

What do I mean by a microbiome imbalance? To help explain this, let’s think of a nice grassy field. 

The grass represents “good bacteria” or the healthy microbiome bugs we want. Weeds represent, “bad bacteria” or “opportunistic bacteria” that can become overgrown and cause problems. Poisonous weeds represent pathogens, such as salmonella or giardia that we often get from food poisoning or contaminated water. 

In a normal field, there will always be some weeds present, but if a lot of grass is present, they have a way of keeping the weeds at bay and the field nice and lush. Let’s say we have a field caretaker who doesn’t like the weeds, or perhaps there are poisonous weeds that he is afraid his horses will eat. So he takes buckets of toxic chemicals and pours it all over the field in hopes of killing these pesky weeds. What happens next is that most of the grass dies along with the weeds because they are living plants as well.  Grass is great at holding space when it is given a healthy environment, but weeds really thrive well in harsh environments. So now that the grass is dead, the “opportunistic” weeds see a great opportunity and start to grow out of control. The field is now worse off than it was originally. In our story, the toxic chemicals represents many rounds of antibiotics or insults to our gut microbiome. 

Our gut is a complex ecosystem, just like a field is. The state of our gut ecology depends on many things. It can become imbalanced as early as the day we are born, from our mother’s imbalanced microbiome or the gut bugs in the hospital we are exposed to. It can become imbalanced over time with many rounds of antibiotics or poor dietary choices. In certain situations such as food poisoning, the seeds of highly toxic weeds may become spread throughout the field. Or maybe we have an overgrowth of really poisonous weeds or a really bad infection that requires IV antibiotics, equivalent to buckets of toxic chemicals in our story. 

Our gut health effects estrogen dominance? Tell me more...

Our gut health is crucial to our overall health for many, many reasons. When it comes to estrogen dominance, there are two major factors involved. 

• One is a microbiome imbalance.

• The second is how often and well we poop! 

The Microbiome’s Role in Estrogen Dominance 

Our microbiome is the community of mostly bacteria, and possibly yeasts, viruses, and parasites or worms that share our body with us. The majority of these bugs exist in our digestive tracts, in particular our colon or large intestines. To give you an idea, for every human cell, there are 10 x more bacterial cells in or on our body. This is a significant ecology that exists within us so imbalances here can really impact our health!

What do I mean by a microbiome imbalance? To help explain this, let’s think of a nice grassy field. 

The grass represents “good bacteria” or the healthy microbiome bugs we want. Weeds represent, “bad bacteria” or “opportunistic bacteria” that can become overgrown and cause problems. Poisonous weeds represent pathogens, such as salmonella or giardia that we often get from food poisoning or contaminated water. 

In a normal field, there will always be some weeds present, but if a lot of grass is present, they have a way of keeping the weeds at bay and the field nice and lush. Let’s say we have a field caretaker who doesn’t like the weeds, or perhaps there are poisonous weeds that he is afraid his horses will eat. So he takes buckets of toxic chemicals and pours it all over the field in hopes of killing these pesky weeds. What happens next is that most of the grass dies along with the weeds because they are living plants as well.  Grass is great at holding space when it is given a healthy environment, but weeds really thrive well in harsh environments. So now that the grass is dead, the “opportunistic” weeds see a great opportunity and start to grow out of control. The field is now worse off than it was originally. In our story, the toxic chemicals represents many rounds of antibiotics or insults to our gut microbiome. 

Our gut is a complex ecosystem, just like a field is. The state of our gut ecology depends on many things. It can become imbalanced as early as the day we are born, from our mother’s imbalanced microbiome or the gut bugs in the hospital we are exposed to. It can become imbalanced over time with many rounds of antibiotics or poor dietary choices. In certain situations such as food poisoning, the seeds of highly toxic weeds may become spread throughout the field. Or maybe we have an overgrowth of really poisonous weeds or a really bad infection that requires IV antibiotics, equivalent to buckets of toxic chemicals in our story. 

This is why daily bowel movements are so incredibly important. 

If you naturally have healthy daily bowel movements, consider yourself lucky and thank your body daily. 

If you are like me and you feel like having daily bowel movements can seem like a delicate process, consider downloading Tribe Medicine’s Proper Pooping Protocol for Stubborn Poopers. 

Many of the tips for improving your bowel movements seem simple AND they work. However, many of us don’t make them a part of our daily routine. Don’t underestimate the simplicity and power of these suggestions. 

Download the complete Proper Pooping Protocol for Stubborn Poopers at www.tribemedicine.com/free 

So just like I always tell my patients, we want most things in our body to be like Golidlocks; everything needs to be just right. Estrogen is an important and necessary hormone and we need enough to be healthy and feel good. AND we don’t want too much either. Addressing your gut is something you have a say in when it comes to your health that can make a big difference not only in your estrogen balance but your overall health in every way. 

I am wishing you healthy & happy guts, a well functioning daily poop train, and beautifully balanced estrogen. 

Dr. Leah Gordon

@tribemedicine