How Menopause Affects Gut Health
My Friends... I am very excited to announce the launch of the Menopause Health and Fitness Specialist Course in January 2023 through the MedFit Education Foundation. In the coming weeks I will be sharing excerpts from this course, so be sure to subscribe below so you can see the latest and greatest topics in menopause health and fitness. Enjoy! -Carla
The “gut” as defined by the stomach and the intestinal tract, is a multi-organ system involved in digestion. It has its own complex network of nervous system innervation and in recent years, has been characterized as a separate division of the autonomic nervous system, which is the involuntary system involved in the stress response (“fight or flight”) and the parasympathetic system (“rest and digest”). The complex interplay of these neural networks puts the gut in the center of the systems that promote our very survival.
Within the gut is a population different bacterial subtypes known as the “gut microbiome”. These bacteria function in digestion, management of inflammation, production of vitamins B and K, body composition, sleep, immunity, mental wellness, exercise performance and estrogen regulation.
Optimizing gut health becomes particularly important during the menopause transition when estrogen levels and receptor function are changing.
To learn more about the relationship between the gut microbiome and estrogen function, check out this excerpt from the Menopause Health and Fitness Specialist Course that I will be launching through the MedFit Education Foundation in January 2023. The course will replace the current Menopause Fitness Specialist Course.