Living in our gut are billions of organisms which play many roles. They are both good and bad gut bacteria. They have an important role in producing chemicals including vitamins and short chain fatty acids which are used by our gut cells and our body. The food we eat is a large driver as to the bacteria and the fermentation they achieve.
They’re also responsible for producing enzymes that help to metabolise (eat up) and recycle hormones,. Hormones are chemical messengers that control a lot of our body functions and feelings. They tell us when to sleep, eat, dictate our moods and blood sugar levels. So the gut flora is really important when it comes to removing hormones from your body when they aren’t needed, and keeping hormones in balance. If this doesn’t occur properly we can get hormonal imbalance.
There are a number of important hormones that can be affected by our gut flora, we’ll look at each briefly in turn.
Cortisol, the stress hormone
Cortisol is a stress hormone. It’s released when we are stressed and controls our blood sugar levels, metabolism, inflammation and even form memories. When we have too much cortisol our body’s are under enormous stress and inflammation. Good levels of gut flora can help to reduce the levels of cortisol in our body, which keeps us calm.
Estrogen
Estrogen is also a hormone that is metabolised by gut flora. It affects menstrual cycles, mood and other factors mostly in women. Estrogen dominance is a common issue with women, and occurs when hormones aren’t being regulated properly. This occurs for many reasons, but a healthy gut flora can really help to make estrogen levels in the body balanced. Symptoms might be infertility, PMS, cramps, heavy bleeding, low libido, PCOS. It can also make your body more prone to estrogen-related cancers like breast cancer. A good digestion can really assist in keeping our estrogen balanced by allowing it to be flushed out of the system rather than being reabsorbed and building up.
Insulin
Insulin is important to regulate blood sugar levels and avoid weight gain, insulin resistance, and diseases developing such as diabetes. Studies show that good gut flora can help to promote optimal insulin levels so that the pancreas secretes insulin efficiently, allowing the glucose to be absorbed from our blood to be used for energy
Leptin, for appetite
Leptin is a hormone made by our fat cells to determine how full we feel and send a signal to our brain to stop eating. Sometimes we can become resistant to this hormone and our brain thinks it needs to keep filing up. This can lead to weight gain and other illnesses. The good flora in our gut increase our sensitivity to leptin so that our brain gets the ‘full’ messages when it should.
Melatonin, for sleep
This important hormone tells our body when it’s time to rest, in response to the amount of light at the end of the day. There is an amino acid called Tryptophan which converts serotonin (also known as the happy chemical) into melatonin. Our good gut flora increase our body’s levels of tryptophan which regulate the levels of melatonin in our body and allow us to get proper amounts of sleep.
Oxytocin, for love
This wonderful hormone is known as the cuddle hormone, it can signal contractions during labour for women, trigger lactation and really help the bond between mum and baby. In men it can increase feelings of love and attachment, and affect testosterone production. Our good gut bacteria can increase levels of this hormone in the body.
Testosterone, for libido
Testosterone is a hormone that enhances libido in both women and men. It also stimulates the production of new blood cells, triggers puberty and helps in male characteristics in men. Good bacteria can increase testosterone levels
Read more on how to eat your way to a healthy gut
