Gut Health and Hormones: What Your Gut Has to Do With Your Cycle

Your friend Riya, the one who reads everything, forwards you a reel at 11 pm: "Your gut controls your hormones!" You roll your eyes. The gut is for digesting dal chawal, surely. Hormones are for doctors and blood tests.

Then you think about the week before your period. The bloating that makes your jeans feel tight. The mood that dips for no clear reason. The way your tummy never felt quite the same after that long antibiotic course last year.

Maybe the reel had a point. The link between gut health and hormones is real, and once you see how it works, it is hard to unsee.

Your gut is the kabadiwala for your hormones. When he does his job well, the whole building breathes easier.

Your liver packs, your gut collects

Oestrogen is one of the main hormones shaping your cycle. Once it has done its job, your liver packs it up for removal, a bit like tying old newspapers into a neat bundle with string. That bundle is then sent to your gut, to leave the body.

Now think of the kabadiwala who comes to your building every week. On a good day, he takes the bundles away. But imagine someone in the corridor cutting the strings and spreading the papers back around the flat: that is roughly what some gut bacteria do. They make an enzyme that cuts the string, which lets used oestrogen slip back into your blood.

Scientists call this group of hormone-handling gut bacteria the estrobolome. When the balance is healthy, oestrogen comes and goes at the right pace. When it tips, too much may be recycled, or too little.

Gut health and PCOS

The gut does not only handle oestrogen. It also shapes inflammation and how your body deals with sugar. Research shows the mix of gut bacteria often looks different in women with PCOS, and animal studies suggest the gut may play a part in the hormone changes seen in the condition. The science is young, so no one can say the gut causes PCOS. But it is a real piece of the picture.

Remember that antibiotic course? Antibiotics save lives, and you should always take them when prescribed. But studies show they can shake up gut bacteria, and the mix does not always return fully to how it was. Your gut may simply need some help rebuilding.

Signs your gut may be talking to your hormones

• Bloating: it gets worse in the days before your period
• Toilet changes: constipation or loose motions that shift with your cycle
• Cravings: the kind that feel impossible to ignore

None of these prove anything on their own, but together they are worth noticing, and worth mentioning to your doctor.

Looking after your gut, Indian kitchen style

You do not need expensive powders to begin. What you eat shapes which bacteria thrive:

• Fibre: whole dals, rajma, chana, vegetables, fruit with the skin on, and millets like ragi and jowar
• Fermented foods: home-set dahi, chaas, and idli or dosa batter
• Variety: different plants feed different bacteria, so mix it up across the week
• Rhythm: sleep and eat at regular times, because your gut follows your body clock too

If you have spent months feeling puffy and moody, and being told you are "eating wrong", let that go. Your gut and your hormones have been talking all along. You are just starting to listen.

Keep the kabadiwala happy, and the corridor stays clear.

Where probiotics come in

Probiotics are live, helpful bacteria. A review of trials in women with PCOS found that probiotic and related supplements supported some hormone and inflammation markers.

Balance in you contains three probiotic strains: Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lacticaseibacillus casei and Bifidobacterium bifidum, at 2 billion of each. A combination of these same three types has been studied in a trial in women with PCOS. They come in one strawberry-flavoured daily drink alongside myo-inositol and zinc, so gut and hormone support arrive together.

Riya's next reel

A few weeks later, Riya forwards another reel. This time you reply first: "Already on it. Dahi at lunch, rajma for dinner." The week before your period feels a little lighter, and your jeans fit just fine.

Your one step today: add one bowl of home-set dahi or a glass of chaas to your lunch.

Written by: Dr. Indraneel

Disclaimer: This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for medical advice. Balance in you is a nutraceutical supplement and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Speak to your doctor before starting any supplement, especially if you have a medical condition, kidney disease or take regular medication, or if you are pregnant, planning a pregnancy or breastfeeding. Individual results may vary.

References

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2. Thackray VG. Sex, microbes, and polycystic ovary syndrome. Trends Endocrinol Metab. 2019;30(1):54-65.

3. Dethlefsen L, Relman DA. Incomplete recovery and individualized responses of the human distal gut microbiota to repeated antibiotic perturbation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011;108 Suppl 1:4554-61.

4. Shamasbi SG, Ghanbari-Homayi S, Mirghafourvand M. The effect of probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics on hormonal and inflammatory indices in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur J Nutr. 2020;59(2):433-50.

5. Ahmadi S, Jamilian M, Karamali M, Tajabadi-Ebrahimi M, Jafari P, Taghizadeh M, et al. Probiotic supplementation and the effects on weight loss, glycaemia and lipid profiles in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Hum Fertil (Camb). 2017;20(4):254-61.