An imbalanced Gut Health For Women can lead to a slew of issues, from GI distress to skin conditions. The culprits may include food allergies, stress, hormones, medications (including antibiotics), and dietary factors.
A healthy microbiome is a key to avoiding these problems. The good news is that there are ways to boost the number of beneficial bacteria in your digestive tract.
Stress
Stress is the body’s reaction to something that causes you anxiety or a feeling of being overwhelmed. It can be positive when it helps you meet a deadline or avoid danger, but prolonged stress can lead to health problems including digestive disorders.
Acute stress is a short-term response that occurs quickly and usually passes. Chronic stress, however, may cause long-lasting changes in your body and your mind.
Hormones
During stress, your body releases various hormones that activate the “fight-or-flight” response. These hormones increase heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate. They also tense your muscles and make you sweat more.
Cortisol and adrenaline are the main stress hormones. They increase glucose levels in your bloodstream to enhance brain and muscle functions, but they can also decrease the number of prostaglandins that help keep your stomach acid at a healthy level. They can also slow digestion and lead to sudden evacuation (diarrhoea).
Food Allergies
Food allergies occur when the body’s defenses mistake harmless foods for dangerous invaders, triggering an allergic reaction that can range from mild to life-threatening. They trigger itching, hives or swollen lips and face, wheezing, an upset stomach and even difficulty breathing.
Scientists have discovered that beneficial gut bacteria can prevent and even reverse food allergies. When the microbes in the gut become out of balance – a condition called “dysbiosis” – it can trigger an allergy.
One microbe in particular, Clostridia, can produce a metabolite called butyrate that could help prevent or even reverse food allergies, researchers found. Chatila says the findings are a major step toward understanding how the bacterial flora in the digestive tract contributes to health.
Hormonal Imbalance
Hormones are tiny chemical messengers that have profound effects on your body, including controlling your appetite, weight and mood. Fortunately, healthy lifestyle habits can help balance hormones naturally and allow you to feel your best.
Hormonal imbalances can also affect a woman’s digestion and overall gut health. For example, estrogen and progesterone levels change dramatically during menstruation and menopause, which can lead to digestive issues like diarrhea or constipation.
Weight Gain
Your Gut Health For Women is a complex chemical factory that breaks down food, regulates hormones, excretes toxins and produces healing compounds. It’s also a key site for immune cells that help protect the body from infections and bacterial growth.
The good news is that you can improve the health of your gut bacteria and microbiome to support your overall well-being. The best way to do this is through a whole food diet that includes plant foods and healthy fats.
Increasing your intake of fibre-rich prebiotic foods can also improve the composition and diversity of your Gut Health For Women. This can be done by adding a variety of different types of fruit, vegetables, pulses and nuts to your diet.
Diet
Your diet has a major impact on your gut health. It influences which bacteria take up residence in your gut and how many types of microbes are there.
Having a diverse gut microbiome can help prevent chronic diseases, such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes. It can also reduce inflammation and promote healthy weight.
Eating a plant-based diet with lots of fruits, vegetables and whole grains is associated with having a more diverse microbiome composition. Called alpha diversity, this richness is generally viewed as a positive sign for health.
Final Words:
Including probiotics and prebiotics (foods that feed the healthy bacteria) is another way to improve your Gut Health For Women. Foods rich in these compounds can also help balance the good and bad bacteria in your gut, says Rossi.