General info about hormones
Hormones are like a see-saw. When the see-saw is balanced, the body works well and the moment one side touches the ground (hormonal imbalance), the body starts indicating that there is a problem.
Estrogen is one of the most important female sex hormone that is responsible for the growth process of the body. It is required particularly during puberty, pregnancy and even involved in the menstruation cycle and also regulating bone strength.
It is crucial to have a balance between estrogen and another important female hormone called progesterone. When the balance between these gets thrown off due to low levels of progesterone or perhaps high levels of estrogen being produced naturally, leads to a condition called estrogen dominance.
There can be many factors that can lead to estrogen dominance such as insulin and cortisol (stress) hormones imbalance, poor sleep pattern, weight gain, genetics, poor diet such as processed foods, excessive intake of soy products and even chemical estrogen through various sources like shampoos, cosmetics etc. But what is surprising is that one of the most uncommon and unknown causes of this imbalance is constipation.
The bowel movements indicate the health of your gut and the gut microbiome. If you are having too many or too little trips to the toilet, then it's important to find the root cause of the issue as it can have many side effects.
Gut issues like constipation can have an impact on the whole body. If the food is not being digested optimally and there is a malabsorption of nutrients, then naturally it's bound to have resulting issues like lack of energy, skin problems like acne, insomnia, stress & anxiety etc.
Constipation is especially more problematic for women as it can lead to hormonal imbalances which in turn leads to other problems.
How does constipation cause hormonal imbalance
If you really think about it, when you haven't had one bowel movement a day and you feel all backed up and cramped, it's bound to make you feel a little restless and not feeling your best. To have optimal health, it is really important to have a healthy routine of bowel movements. By healthy, it means you can either go to the bathroom between 2-3 times a day but once a day is a must when you feel completely evacuated.
Most of us living this modern lifestyle which comes with stressors, a less than stellar diet - high in processed foods and not drinking enough water, has made constipation a common issue. The intake of fiber is minimal, which you normally get from eating the veggies and wholegrain, instead there is an easy access to processed foods which last longer than the fresh foods, is the reason for all the gut issues that people suffer these days. Constipation has almost become a new ‘normal’ for a lot of us. But this isn’t the end of it, with constipation comes further problems especially for the women as it can really mess with female hormones i.e. can lead to hormonal imbalance.
Common issues such as mood swings, anxiety, skin problems and even headaches are some of the outcomes of the out-of-order hormones. Without a doubt, there is a connection between backed up bowels and hormonal imbalance caused by it.
Constipation can worsen hormonal imbalances because if your body is not detoxifying to get rid of the excess hormones such as estrogen, it leads to a condition called estrogen dominance.
Here, let's learn all about the constipation-hormone connection and what to do to get your body back into balance ASAP.
What happens when your bowels are infrequent or delayed or lack proper evacuation due to constipation?
You may have heard before, estrogen is known as a “use it and lose it” hormone, which essentially means that you should use it and then remove it from your body.
Firstly a quick background on hormone creation - The hormones are binded by the liver i.e. they are converted into their methylated form (conversion from fat-soluble form into water-soluble form).
Once this happens, water-soluble, methylated-bound hormones are then transported into the gut from where they can be eliminated. In the gut, these metabolites are broken down by the estrobolome, which is a collection of bacteria in the gut i.e. they metabolise and then excrete the excess out of the body through the colon.
When you excrete waste regularly, the estrogen metabolites are also flushed out of the body along with the toxins.
But, if your gut microbiome isn't healthy, the estrogen metabolites stick around longer in the gut and get reabsorbed in the bloodstream.
An imbalance in your gut microbiome can lead to higher than normal beta-glucuronidase levels which is essentially an enzyme that reactivates methylated-bound hormones by eliminating the methyl group. The estrogen is now no longer water soluble, so it gets reabsorbed in the bloodstream making its way into the body again from the gut. Now we have an excess of these hormones (estrogen dominance) that further makes the liver work even harder to clear more estrogen.
Naturally, constipation worsens the estrogen dominance because the body's natural elimination process is hindered and the excess estrogen does not leave the body through the excretion process, resulting in hormonal imbalance
Over the time, this will lead to symptoms of estrogen dominances:
Weight Gain (especially abdominal weight)
Mood swings, anxiety, depression
Low Libido (low sex drive)
Fatigue
Tender/Fibrocystic Breasts
Insomnia
Irregular periods and PMS
Bloating
Brain Fog
Night sweats & hot flushes.
Headaches/Migraines
Can it be the other way that estrogen dominance can be one of the reasons for constipation?
Why women are more often constipated than men.
Women tend to be more constipated than men for a couple of reasons.
Firstly women have a longer colon than men by 4 inches.
Secondly, due to the strong connection between female hormones and constipation. Women who are pregnant or in their menstrual cycle seem to experience constipation because of the fluctuation in the hormones i.e.an off balance between estrogen and progesterone. However, studies have shown that estrogen delays gastric emptying by delaying the transit time of the food, thereby causing constipation.
Dont take constipation lightly!
The crucial takeaway is that constipation should not be taken lightly as it can have harmful impact in the long term and cause more serious issues. Rather than reaching out for laxatives to give you short term relief, you should opt for natural solutions that treat you holistically. Alterations in your diet and lifestyle will give more sustainable and long lasting results.
Here are some remedies that will not only help your constipation but will help you find balanced hormones.
Fiber rich diet - Fiber or roughage are planted based food that add bulk to the stool to make it easier to pass. They also speed up the transit time of the food from the gut, which means that they help facilitate bowel movements and elimination of unnecessary substances from the body, thereby preventing constipation.
Fiber rich diet includes wholegrain cereals, vegetables, fruits (like apple, berries, oranges, pears), beans, seeds, nuts etc.
These foods help excrete the estrogen which reduces the chances of it being reabsorbed back in the colon and hormonal imbalances.
Probiotics - Probiotics are live beneficial organisms that support gut health by improving the regularity of the bowels.
Magnesium - Foods that are rich in magnesium support gut health but are also responsible for regulating the hormones. You should incorporate foods such as green leafy veggies, fish, beans, legumes, whole grains, bananas in your diet consistently.
Manage stress levels - it is important to manage your stress, as it can increase the level of cortisol “stress hormone” in the body which sends the body into fight or flight mode. It causes blood flow to divert from the gut to the other organs, slowing the digestion activity and absorption of the nutrients.
On otherhand, high cortisol increases the blood sugar levels and leads to insulin resistance. Insulin resistance in itself is a major reason for hormonal imbalances.
Stress can be managed with the help of meditation, deep breathing techniques, and even yoga.
Conclusion
Women are more likely to suffer from constipation and hormonal imbalance as they both go hand in hand. If you are a women suffering from constipation due to various diet and lifestyle factors, then it's likely that it will worsen the hormonal balance of your body.
Inversely, it may be that you have estrogen dominance due to reduction in progesterone or high production of estrogen due to various external reasons then it can lead to constipation. Estrogen has the tendency to slow the process time of the food in the gut, so it takes longer for the food to reach the colon which may lead to constipation.
If consistent modifications are made to the diet and lifestyle such as drinking enough water, eating fiber rich foods, avoiding processed foods, adding more wholegrains, veggies, nuts seeds and probiotics, our gut microbiome will have enough good bacteria which in turn leads to good health.
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