IBS

Gut health and hormone health are closely connected, and IBS symptoms, bloating, irregular bowel habits, discomfort around your cycle, are often linked to the same inflammatory and hormonal patterns that affect fertility and cycle regularity. The gut microbiome influences how oestrogen is metabolised and recirculated in the body, which is why gut symptoms and hormone symptoms so often show up together.

The gut microbiome plays a specific role in hormone detoxification through what's known as the oestrobolome, a collection of gut bacteria that produce an enzyme controlling how oestrogen is broken down and either cleared from the body or reabsorbed back into circulation. An imbalanced gut microbiome can disrupt this process, contributing to oestrogen excess and the kind of cycle and hormone symptoms that go alongside it.

Gut health also has a direct relationship with the vaginal and uterine microbiome. The two environments influence one another, and gut dysbiosis is linked in research to a less favourable, less Lactobacillus-dominant vaginal and uterine environment, which matters for implantation and pregnancy outcomes as well as day-to-day gut symptoms.

As a fertility nutritionist working with a functional medicine approach, I investigate gut health properly, testing for dysbiosis, inflammation and food intolerances where relevant, and build a nutrition plan that supports digestive, hormonal and vaginal microbiome health together, rather than treating them as unrelated.