Whether your menopause journey is hot and flashy, bloated and belly-bulging, brittling your bones, harming your heart, shredding your sleep, or fogging your brain, chances are an imbalanced microbiome is to blame. 

 

The gut microbiome is the collection of bacteria, fungi, and viruses that live inside our GI systems. Our reproductive tracts have their own microbiome too. The population and diversity of a microbiome’s flora not only support the health of the organs they live in but also affect immunity, mental health, and the endocrine system, which in turn, communicates with body systems that metabolize bone and produce vasomotor symptoms like hot flashes and night sweats.

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Enter the Estrobolome

 

Within the microbiome of both the gut and reproductive tracts lives a smaller universe of flora called the estrobolome. Because its chemical processes impact the metabolism of estrogen, anything out-of-whack in this little world can lead to co-morbidities associated with menopause, like poor lipid profiles, cardiovascular disease, and osteoporosis.

 

Estrobolome-estrogen crosstalk is a two-way conversation. Not only can problems in the estrobolome upset hormone balance, but drops in estrogen levels that come with menopause can negatively impact the estrobolome, resulting in a self-perpetuating gut-hormone feedback loop that’s hard to reset.

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An Enzyme Named GUS

 

The tiny residents of a smoothly-operating estrobolome keep hormone levels in balance by producing just the right amount of an estrogen-metabolizing enzyme called beta-glucuronidase (GUS, for short). 

 

If certain bacteria overproliferate, they can boost GUS activity that re-activates estrogen in the GI tract, sending excessive levels to recirculate in the body. When GUS gets too busy, menstrual disorders and hormone-driven cancers like breast cancer can result. 

 

If certain microbe populations shrink, the result can be too little GUS activity, leading to an estrogen shortage that compounds menopause symptoms stemming from already-low levels of the hormone. Indeed, animal research suggests rates of osteoporosis that spike as estrogen levels fall in menopause may be due to a sluggish GUS.

 

Dysbiosis: An Estrobolome in Distress

 

When GUS gets too lazy or too active, dysbiosis occurs. An estrobolome in dysbiosis hosts a disharmonious microbial habitat. Dietary and lifestyle choices are the usual culprits for the neighborhood strife, but antibiotics and birth control pills can also kick things off-kilter. 

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Care & Feeding Instructions for an Estobolome in Dysbiosis

 

Bring your estrobolome back into balance by making your body hospitable to the “good” bacteria but uninviting to the “bad.” Below are three tips to revive the microbial mojo.

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1. Nix the Sugar Fix

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Certain “bad” bacteria feed on sugar, so if you’re eating a lot of it, they are too, and their overgrowth can push out “good” microbes. Cutting out processed food and sweets can help restore balance.

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2. Up Your Probiotic Intake

 

Probiotics are friendly bacteria that work in your colon fermenting short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs)  ––  the main energy sources for cells of the gut lining. Robust SCFA levels can mitigate some of the effects of low estrogen levels. 

 

For example, SCFAs protect against loss of bone density by altering gut pH levels to maximize calcium absorption and improve Vitamin D receptor efficacy. SCFAs also maintain the gut barrier integrity, barring entry to “bad” microbes and toxins, but allowing beneficial flora and nutrients to get to “job sites” in the gut where they modulate lipid and glucose metabolism, and control the body’s immune and inflammatory responses.

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Probiotic Dietary Sources

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Find probiotic dietary sources in fermented foods like kombucha, kimchi, raw apple cider vinegar, cheese, butter, buttermilk, tofu, miso, tempeh, pickles, sauerkraut, soy sauce, sugar-free yogurt, sourdough bread, and alcoholic beverages (needless to say, go easy on this last item, otherwise a different set of health problems can surface.)

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Probiotic Supplements

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Dietary sources of probiotics offer the most bioavailability, but if you’re looking to supplement, choose a probiotic that contains one or more strains of Lactobacillus acidophilus, and contains ​ Colony-forming units (CFUs) per dose in the billions. The more, the better because many won't survive your stomach acids.

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3. Fuel Your Friendly Flora

 

Boost SCFA levels by feeding estrobolome flora the fuel they need to do their fermenting. When you consume certain nondigestible high-fiber carbohydrates called prebiotics they travel through your stomach to your colon, where friendly bacteria ferment them to produce SFCAs. 

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Prebiotic Dietary Sources

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Good dietary sources of prebiotics include ground chicory root, dandelion root, asparagus, leeks, onions, bananas, plantains, sprouted wheat, oats, garlic, artichokes, fresh herbs, yams, burdock root, camas root, coneflower, jicama, partially hydrolyzed guar gum, and yacon root.

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Prebiotic Supplements

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Prebiotics are also available as supplements, usually derived from inulin and fructooligosaccharides found in dietary sources. Many are combined with “corresponding” probiotics in products that contain specific strains and the prebiotics they feed on.

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Before You Take Off

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It’s not just a gut feeling. It’s gut science. Menopause symptoms manifest all over your body but often begin in an estrobolome home to a fractured flora family, caught in the middle of some muddled gut-hormone crosstalk.

 

Diet can drive dysbiosis, but can also bring back balance. Nutrient-dense meals that include fermented foods and prebiotic fiber might be all you need to get back into the spin of things. As always, check with a healthcare professional for help if dietary changes don’t do the trick.