An amazing fact that you might not be aware of is that only 50% of your cells are human – the rest of you is bacteria, fungi, parasites and viruses. That might sound alarming but the truth is that these microbes, which make up your ‘microbiome’, perform some very important functions.
Important chemicals such as serotonin (the happiness neurotransmitter) and GABA which calms our brain are made by bacteria – these are just two examples and there are many others. We also have bacteria that help to remove (or metabolise) harmful toxic oestrogens from our body AND also activate helpful oestrogen. The gut microbiome is actually the principal regulator of circulating oestrogens in your body!
What this means is that the health of your gut and your hormones are intimately connected. This is what is termed the ‘estrobolome’: the bacteria and fungi in the gut that influence the oestrogen circulating in your system. Essentially we need to understand that this group of about 60 species of bacteria in the gut known collectively as the estrobolome affects oestrogen levels, which in turn can impact weight, libido and mood.
The liver and gut work together to break down oestrogen and maintain the right amount of oestrogen in the body. The estrobolome includes bacteria that produce beta-glucuronidase, an enzyme that can revert healthy oestrogen back into its unconjugated, active form. This is a key enzyme needed to ensure that the little bit of healthy oestrogen you make in menopause is available for cells around the body.
Gut dysbiosis is an imbalance of the gut bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract. Dysbiosis disrupts homeostasis by reducing microbial diversity and is associated with increased oxidative stress, inflammation, and damage to DNA repair mechanisms. Our modern way of life tends towards destroying microbes in our gut and around our body. This can happen in various ways including:
- Antibacterial soaps
- Antibacterial toothpaste or mouthwash
- Taking antibiotics
- Eating meat from animals treated with antibiotics
- Toxic man-made foods such as MSG, preservatives, artificial sweeteners, food colourings, food additives and hydrogenated oils.
- Birth control pills and HRT
- Other allopathic drugs such as antidepressants, PPIs, NSAIDs, statins, beta-blockers etc,
- Exposure to EMF and wifi
Fortunately there are many ways to restore the health of your microbiome. Intermittent fasting can be helpful as well as altering the foods you eat by focusing on more prebiotics, probiotics, and polyphenol foods along with a high fibre diet rich in diverse phytonutrients and fermented foods. Eating a wide diversity of foods is important because different foods feed different bacteria. For example prevotella species grow best on carbohydrates whereas dietary fibre favours bifidobacteria. The more variety you have in food choices the more your microbes can thrive.
Homeopathy can be a great help in restoring the microbiome. When the gut has been affected through multiple courses of antibiotics then it can be beneficial to use homeopathic remedies to detox this drug layer and also detox steroids if they have been used. Bowel nosodes are a group of remedies made from species of bacteria found in the bowel and they can be very useful alongside a detox or used on their own in certain cases. Polybowel nosode is a combination of all the bowel nosodes which is often used to treat cases where the microbiome needs to be rebuilt.