4 Tips to Balance your Hormones for better Gut Health
How do hormones impact our digestion?
Hormones and nerves in our body work together to send messages from the brain to the gut to direct digestion. They control things like speed, appetite, motility, and more. A hormone imbalance could be the cause of your constipation, diarrhea, stubborn belly fat, nausea, or stomach pain.
What hormones are at play?
There are over 50 gut hormones. For today, we’ll focus more on sex hormones like estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone that are naturally fluctuating throughout the month.
Progesterone slows down digestion and when out of balance can cause bloating and constipation. Estrogen has the opposite effect, speeding up digestion and often leading to diarrhea and making you more prone to spasms. Healthy levels of testosterone actually reduce gut inflammation, protect from leaky gut, reduce brain fog, and reduce the negative impacts of cortisol on the digestive system. Low testosterone is linked to increased severity and occurrence of IBS.
Cortisol is going to get an honorable mention here despite being a stress hormone and not a sex hormone because studies show that in individuals with IBS, cortisol levels are usually significantly higher than in individuals without IBS.
What does Chinese Medicine say about Hormones?
Traditional Chinese Medicine has been around for over 3000 years, way before our understanding of hormones or our ability to test for them but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have anything to say about hormone health. There are many modern studies on the effects of acupuncture and herbal medicine on hormone health, digestive health, and autoimmune conditions, but to keep it simple I just want to discuss this from a big-picture perspective.
Typically when we talk about hormones in Chinese medicine, we’re talking about the Liver Official (not quite the same as the actual Liver organ but there is a good deal of overlap). We know from Western medicine that the Liver is responsible for the majority of detoxing the body does, and this includes needing to rid the body of excess hormones in the blood and it metabolizes hormones in the body, activating some and deactivating others. This is also true in Chinese Medicine, and we see the Liver Official as in charge of storing the blood and ensuring the smooth flow of Qi. Its relationship to qi and blood also means that it supports the Spleen’s role in regulating digestion, so by boosting Liver health we can have a positive impact on hormone health and digestion. Below, I’ll provide some tips for supporting your Liver and regulating hormones.
4 Tips for Supporting Your Hormones:
Get your body moving: The Liver is prone to stagnating and this will impair all of its functions of metabolizing and detoxing hormones. Having a goal of moving your body for 30 minutes a day can have a significant impact on improving your hormone health. This can be walking, lifting weights, jogging, stretching, doing a circuit workout, or something fun like rollerblading, dancing, or taking a Goat Yoga class. The best movement is the one you’re going to stick to doing regularly and not dread.
Relieve your frustration: The emotion associated with the Liver is anger, and this emotion is perfectly healthy when felt and allowed to move through the body so it can be let go. When we stifle ourselves, hold our thoughts in to not ruffle any feathers, or can’t find healthy movement forward in situations, frustration and anger fester. Frustration thrives on us feeling stuck in situations. This will agitate the Liver and cause stagnation, again impairing its ability to carry out its job.
Find ways to reduce frustration and anger in your life, or find healthy outlets for that emotion. Some ways you might do that are exercise, therapy, a night with your best friends where you can vent and then have some fun, and finding ways to share how you really feel in the moment when you notice the frustration creeping in. You are allowed to take up space, have opinions, and express your emotions even if it makes other people uncomfortable (appropriately of course). I know all you people-pleasers out there are cringing reading that but as a recovering people-pleaser (as Brene Brown says) I can tell you from first-hand experience it really does make a difference in your overall health.
Supplements to Support the Liver: There are some great supplements out there that will support healthy detoxification and metabolism of the liver. Milk Thistle supports healthy liver function, protects the liver from environmental toxins, restores damaged cells, and eases inflammation. Dandelion Tea can also be a great way to support healthy liver function as it detoxes the liver, encourages healthy bile production, supports healthy blood sugar levels by promoting insulin release, and is high in vitamin K. There are many great Chinese herbs for liver support and you can reach out now for a consultation to get an individualized formula.
Eat Sour Foods: Sour is the flavor of the Wood element, which consists of the Liver and Gallbladder. Try incorporating more pickled foods, vinegar, tomatoes, kiwi, or oranges into your diet. These foods are all used in Chinese nutrition therapy to get the liver moving, regulate qi, and detox the blood. Lemon juice and sour kraut are also great options!
