We’re slightly obsessed with peri-menopause, menopause and post menopause. We are getting incredible results and really love the positive impact we’re making with our patients :).
I’ve been talking a lot about the combination of bacteria inflammation and hormones and how the two affect women during peri/post menopause.
But today, I wanted to go even deeper on what changes in the gut microbiome during this season.
We’ve pulled together some really juicy research for you today (links in the footer of our email).
So much happens IN THE GUT, during this season!
And it’s not because of hormone changes – but it’s a natural occurrence…
You could just look at these changes and see WHY women have so many symptoms – without ever considering the reproductive hormones changing.
75% of the symptoms experienced during this season have little to nothing to do with your hormone changes.
- The trigger: Cytokines.
- What does this elevated inflammation look like?
- Cytokines, The Microbiome & The Nervous System
- What can you do to achieve your best health and be symptom-free?
- CASE STUDY: Patient with Long Term Dysbiosis, 15kgs overweight
- We often find hormones can ignite the process, rather than cause the problem.
The trigger: Cytokines.
Cytokines have significant changes after 40 years of age.
These changes have a direct impact on the gut microbiome.
You may recall hearing “cytokine” before….
Cytokine storms were mentioned heavily during the “delta” phase of the pandemic in 2021…
Cytokines are a category of small proteins important in cell signalling.
Two groups of cytokines are of special importance during peri/post menopause:
- (IL)-1α, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-17, IL-20 and (TNF)α – ProInflammatory Cytokines, and,
- IL-20 – Essential to Tissue Repair and Wound healing
The Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines L-1β, IL-8 and TNF-α increase during this season – so women are more likely to experience inflammation.
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What does this elevated inflammation look like?
Inflammation doesn’t just mean pain.
- Inflammation is actually linked to insulin resistance.
So insulin increases and glucose levels rise due to underlying inflammation. This is one of the keys to obeseness and diabetes. - Inflammation can also effect mast cells, histamines, and the immune system.
Therefore, effecting body temperature, susceptibility to hay fever, histamines, colds, viruses, and/or flues. - And inflammation can increase pain levels, like joint pain, arthritis, headaches, muscle aches, recovery times.
Now I want to explain these cytokine roles so you can see if there is a connection with the cytokine change in the microbiome for you.
Like the decreasing of oestrogen and progesterone, our body is designed to have these cytokine changes too.
Symptoms from changes in cytokines are normally caused because of bacteria overgrowth or gut dysbiosis, not because of the cytokines.
There is a statistically significant decrease in serum levels of IL-20 in women with natural or surgical menopause than in fertile and premenopausal women.
Women in [and after] menopause have elevated levels of the key pro-inflammatory cytokines, i.e. IL-1β, IL-8 and TNF-α in comparison with fertile women.
This is why between after 40, it’s important to pay attention to your body and your symptoms.
Hormones are not always the answer…
Bacteria Imbalance is often the source of symptoms during the cytokine change.
Pro-inflammatory cytokines disrupt the Th17 cells,which is important mediators of immune responses against extracellular bacteria and fungi. Hence why bacteria inflammatory symptoms start to arise.
This is one of the key reasons women after 40 start to suffer from gastrointestinal challenges like:
- diverticulitis
- gastritis
- IBS
- constipation
- reflux
- heart burn
- SIBO
And it’s one of the reasons, with chronic gut dysbiosis, women experience bacteria-driven:
- weight gain
- pain
- arthritis (eg: septic arthritis)
- histamine intolerance
just to name a few…
Cytokines, The Microbiome & The Nervous System
During this season, the nervous system is the second most impacted system due to an underlying chemical imbalances (hormonal OR bacteria related).
This is one of the key reasons for symptoms like:
- moodiness
- anxiety
- depression
- low mood
- low libido
- brain fog
- poor concentration, and,
- temperature irregulation
Cytokine storms have a great impact on the vagus nervous system, which stretches from the gut up to the brain.
And the HPA axis is most impacted by the changes in hormones, which effects the adrenal hormone that effects the nervous system.
Many doctors note this period, as women just getting ‘older’.
But we believe you can actually achieve your best health during this peri/post menopausal time!
What can you do to achieve your best health and be symptom-free?
We often like to test several markers to identify if there is underlying inflammation in the body.
If we are just using blood tests, we like to look at CRP, liver markers, kidney markers, and a full nutrient panel are beneficial to detect whether symptoms are being caused by inflammation.
When there are systemic gastrointestinal challenges, we find one of the best tests to do is looking at bacteria, virus, and parasites extensively.
Weight gain can often be a consequence of long term gut dysbiosis. You don’t have to accept gaining weight as a part of getting older.
CASE STUDY: Patient with Long Term Dysbiosis, 15kgs overweight
Below is an image of three key bacteria markers for healthy metabolic function.
You’ll see they are all in deficit.
This patient is 53, had a hysterectomy last year, and suffered from
- IBS,
- Endometriosis,
- PCOS, and
- Fibroids.
She was on bio-identical thyroid medication and bio-identical progesterone, but couldn’t budge the weight. The screenshot of her bacteria panel really explains why…
She suffers from leaky gut, so her bacteria was leaking into the wrong places.
Doctors put her on hormones to address her symptoms, and before her hysterectomy, was getting an iron infusions every six to ten months. [She wasn’t absorbing nutrients.]
Post menopausal, six months ago, she was 15 kilos overweight, and riddled with anxiety.
This is one of the reasons we do so much testing. We need to find out what is the cause. It’s not always as simple as just ‘insulin resistance’ or ‘hypothyroidism’.
If there is a bacteria overgrowth, insulin resistance can be driven by bacteria inflammation.
There’s so much we can see in bloods, and hormones aren’t the only thing to blame.
If you are struggling, whether you are in peri-menopause, or well past menopause now, I encourage you to test further. Your body is/has changed, and if you are having symptoms, there’s more than likely something chemically related to the problem, causing the inflammation.
Weight gain, mood changes, fatigue, changes in bowel movements, pain, aches, all these things are often connected to nutrient deficiencies and/or bacteria dysbiosis.
We often find hormones can ignite the process, rather than cause the problem.
Which is why we like to investigate further, and encourage our patients to use hormone replacement therapies as a bridge, not necessarily as a long term solution.
Cytokines can be a big reason why women still suffer from symptoms even after they have HRT.
I hope you have found this helpful.
If you would like help with your symptoms and are ready to get to the cause of the problem, we’d love to help you! You can organise a free introductory phone consultation with us here:
I look forward to connecting with you again soon!
Have a lovely Sunday.
Warmly,
Carrie
