Menopause Affects Digestive Health

As I have discussed in the past blogs, we know of the common symptoms related to menopause (menopausal flashes, night sweats, irregular periods, insomnia, moodiness, and vaginal dryness). As this website points out, so that as I have mentioned in the past blogs, there's also other less frequent symptoms and issues related to menopause. This site discusses 34 symptoms which are in some way related to menopause and that i would like to discuss one of these simple less familiar ones.

One of the greatest issues that a lot of women may not keep company with menopause is dysbiosis. Dysbiosis is really a term which is used to describe imbalances within the normal flora from the gastrointestinal tract. It has been confirmed that as women enter menopause and hormonal levels begin to fluctuate and alter, this can impact the bacterial organisms dominating within the gut. Overgrowth of bacteria for example, Escherichia coli, Clostridia and fungi is extremely common which can result in numerous digestive issues. Many women will start to experience symptoms for example gas, bloating and changes to bowel motions such as diarrhea and/or constipation. It is extremely common that when i go through any adverse health history with patients and question digestion, women will complain of digestive issues but often don't connect this to menopause. For more information about digestion problems in women

Just like changes in hormonal levels affect the development of bacteria, the bacteria themselves also provide an impact on hormonal levels. Bacteria have the ability to help with metabolizing and recycling estrogens, phytoestrogens and thyroid hormone, which will help to maintain healthy hormonal levels. Women that have a proper balance from the gut flora within the gastro-intestinal (GI) tract, will also have better hormonal balance and ultimately experience less symptoms related to menopause. There are some ways that women can increase their gut flora. Bacteria are extremely sensitive to the meals that are ingested. There are particular foods that can help to advertise the growth of beneficial organisms, for example Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli. These foods are termed prebiotics. Some these include: leek, asparagus, chicory, Jerusalem artichoke, garlic, onion, wheat, psyllium fibre, banana and oats. Other foods that help with maintaining good amounts of beneficial bacteria and keeping potentially pathogenic organism levels low are the ones foods which are fermented or cultured for example: miso, kim chi, sauerkraut, umeboshi, tempeh, soy sauce, kefir, yogurt, and then any kind of homemade pickle.

Another simple method to improve the balance from the intestinal flora would be to health supplement having a probiotic. Probiotics are a supplemental type of bacteria which are known to be beneficial organisms within the GI tract. Supplementing with one of these can aid in assisting to repopulate the standard flora from the GI tract and improve symptoms related to dysbiosis.