For Better Hormone Balance, Try a Probiotic

If you are feeling crampy, moody, fatigued, or just not like yourself, chances are it has something to do with your hormones. Hormones fluctuate naturally during various points in our lives—pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause, etc. And at other times if we’re dealing with issues like PCOS, endometriosis, or estrogen dominance. Ideally, hormones feel like they’re working in synchronized harmony, but they can also make your body feel like it’s in total chaos.

Most women aren’t aware that gut health has such a huge impact on hormone balance, or where to start to improve it. Probiotics are essential for gut health, and they can benefit women’s hormone balance in many different ways. You just need to know the best probiotics for women’s hormone balance and how best to use them to your advantage!

Want to learn how to identify and overcome your individual blocks to hormone balance? Join us inside the Superwoman Circle.

Balanced hormones begin in the gut

The collection of good bacteria living in your gut are essential for digestive health, hormone balance, vaginal health, and so much more. These bacteria help combat problems like urinary tract infections and yeast infections by keeping harmful bacteria in check.

When your digestive flora are out of balance it can lead to a disruption in the natural state of your gut, leaving you vulnerable to not only infection and illnesses, but hormone problems too. One easy way to support digestive health is with a quality probiotic supplement. Let’s find out which probiotic strains are the best for hormones, and how to choose the right one for you.

Looking for a gut health supplement that does it all? Learn more about Belly Fix from the East West Way.

Probiotic benefits for women’s hormone balance

Probiotic supplements have been shown to be beneficial in alleviating certain health complaints for women, and provide several incredible benefits, including (1):

Improved thyroid function
Digestive health & regularity
Improved vaginal health (less frequent UTI’s, yeast infections, bacterial vaginosis)
Better mood and mental health
Clear skin
Reduced inflammation
Weight loss

Learn more: Common Hormone Problems That Begin in the Gut

Benefits for Pregnancy

There may not be a better time to take a probiotic than during pregnancy, when hormones are at an all-time high for women.

Probiotics during pregnancy can be beneficial for (2,3):

Lowering blood sugar and insulin levels
Supporting a full-term pregnancy
Supporting a healthy weight gain during pregnancy
Reducing the risk of eczema in while pregnancy, and in infants and children

Read: 5 Steps to Get Pregnant If You Have PCOS

Which probiotics are good for hormones?

There are several different strains of probiotics that support women’s hormonal balance. Some common strains of probiotics include:

Bifidobacterium breve

Bifidobacterium infantis

Bifidobacterium longum

Bifidobacterium animalis

Lactobacillus acidophilus

Lactobacillus paracasei

Lactobacillus plantarum

Lactobacillus bulgaricus

Lactobacillus rhamnosus

Streptococcus thermophilus

Saccharomyces boulardii

Lactobacillus are the most concentrated in the gut, endometrial, and vaginal microbiome of healthy women, suggesting they have a strong role to play in women’s hormone balance (4).

Probiotics enhance your estrobolome

The microbiome in your gut is home to a collective of specialized bacteria known as the estrobolome. The estrobolome’s primary role is to metabolize estrogen. Ideally, the estrobolome keeps estrogen in a balanced state—not too little or too much—but just right.

A healthy estrobolome is beneficial for endometriosis, estrogen dominance, during perimenopause, and may even help reduce breast cancer risk.

The estrobolome can influence estrogen levels in two ways:

By directly metabolizing estrogen and;
By producing compounds that can either increase or decrease estrogen levels.

Probiotics have been shown to influence the estrobolome in a positive way, and this can lead to improved hormone balance (5). These changes included an increase in bacteria that metabolize estrogen and a decrease in bacteria that produce compounds that increase estrogen levels

Probiotics for PCOS, endometriosis, and estrogen dominance

PCOS, endometriosis, and estrogen dominance are all conditions that can be helped by probiotics. Probiotics can improve gut health, which in turn can help to reduce symptoms and improve hormone balance.

PCOS

For women with PCOS, probiotics can help to regulate the root causes of symptoms like weight gain and acne (6). Research has also shown probiotics are effective at improving other aspects related to PCOS such as high cholesterol, insulin resistance, high testosterone, and inflammation. In one trial, probiotics were shown to significantly reduce BMI, lower serum insulin and lower blood lipid levels. Probiotics that may benefit PCOS symptoms are:

Lactobacillus casei
Bifidobacterium bifidum

Read: PCOS and Leaky Gut

Endometriosis

Endometrial inflammation is a hallmark of endometriosis and a major factor in its establishment and progression. Researchers have found that the uterine microbiome is normally made up of about 90% Lactobacillus species, and about 10% other bacterial types. However, they noticed that higher levels of non-Lactobacillus bacteria may trigger an inflammatory response. They then suspect that altered endometrial microbiota (or non-Lactobacillus-dominance in this case) may be related to the development or worsening of endometriosis (7).

Researchers also noticed an imbalance of Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes, two other important bacteria species. This imbalance is suggestive of dysbiosis in women with endometriosis.

Estrogen dominance

Estrogen dominance occurs when there’s an excess of estrogen, or your body can’t properly metabolize it. It can lead to weight gain, breast tenderness, and mood swings before your period. Estrogen dominance is common in both premenopausal women and around perimenopause.

For women’s health, probiotic strains that can help bolster the estrobolome to metabolize excess estrogen are (8,9):

Lactobacillus gasseri
Lactobacillus acidophilus

Watch: Top 6 Supplements to Reverse Estrogen Dominance

Give good bacteria a boost for hormonal balance

You can enhance digestive health and hormone function easily by making a few changes to your daily routine.

Eat plenty of fiber, which provides prebiotics to nourish the beneficial bacteria in your gut.
Eat a healthy diet overall with plenty of fruits and vegetables, quality proteins, and healthy fats.
Take a supplement with both a prebiotic and probiotics.

How to choose the best probiotic for women’s health

There is a wide variety of probiotics to try in powder, gummy, or capsule form. Probiotics help support digestive healthy, immune health, and hormone balance.

Look for a probiotic with at least 5 CFU. On the label of probiotic supplements, you’ll find a measurement of the number of live bacteria contained inside. This is called a CFU or “colony forming unit”. This tells you how many live organisms were in the product when it was made. The right probiotic dosage for you isn’t necessarily the highest (as some can reach as much as 500 CFU), but varies based on several factors, such as why you’re taking it, the types of strains included, and your microbiome health. One highly reputable review found that 5 billion CFU or greater per day was “significantly more effective than a lower dosage” (10).
Be picky with quality. Does your probiotic supplement come from a reputable company? Was it manufactured to ensure potency, and that the live bacteria will still be present by the time it reaches your gut?
Avoid binders and fillers. Some probiotic supplements contain a variety of fillers or binders. These are often made from lactose, corn, or other material. If you have food sensitivities or allergies, it helps to find out if there are hidden allergens in your supplement products.
Choose a probiotic with a variety of strains. Your microbiome is made up of hundreds (or more) different types of bacteria. Choosing a probiotic with at least 4 different strains of bacteria is a good way to make sure you’re getting a good diversity of these beneficial flora.

Hormonal imbalances can cause a host of issues for women, but luckily there are things we can do to help our bodies find balance. Probiotics play an important role in keeping our digestive systems healthy, and when our guts are happy, so are our hormones. By choosing a high-quality probiotic supplement and eating a diet rich in gut-healthy foods, we can support our bodies in achieving hormonal harmony. Have you tried using probiotics to ease symptoms of hormone imbalance?

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