Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: Kathleen on October 23, 2016, 02:21:27 PM
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Hell ladies.
I recently came across a study that was investigating the link between Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and the gut microbiota.
The study was done on rats and found that Faecal Microbiota Transplantation ( FMT) and Lactobacilllus (a normally occuring gut bacteria) transplantation improved oestrous cycles and decreased androgen biosynthesis in rats with POS.
The scientists concluded that there was a link between hormone production and the gut microbiome and this made me wonder if diet has more of an effect on our hormones than we realised. The scientists also quoted a previous study showing that " postmenopausal women with a more diverse gut microbiome exhibited elevated urinary oestrogens and oestrogen metabolites ". I take this to mean that these women were producing and disposing of their hormones more efficiently than women with a less diverse gut flora. The rat study also showed that the increase of Latobacilli caused an increase in oestadoil and estrone levels and concludes that sex steroid concentrations could be regulated by interventions such as FMT and Lactobacillus transplants.
I thought all of the above was food for thought ( sorry about the pun ) and supports the idea that a healthy diet could help us balance our hormones as well as improve our general health. Surely a win win!
Take care all.
K.
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I read about FMT healing a woman who had CiDif.
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I am seeing a nutritionist and it's all centred around the gut microbiome. Most disease starts in the gut, feed the immune system through the gut ( this has also come via my daughter who is doing a second degree in epidemiology) don't no about the oestrogen bit .
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Hi
They seem to be linking gut flora with a whole host of things now. I watched a program about those with good flora kept naturally slim and to test this they compared twins and their diets, one twin was overweight with bad flora and the slim one had good flora. There must be other factors involved such as metabolism but then does a good metabolism come back to gut flora and liver function?!
It's really interesting! As you know I had to change my diet totally due to the gallstones but that change has meant I lost weight immediately (had been trying for ages and nothing happening!), improved digestion although I can't say that the phases of night sweats have gone even though I'm on hrt.
Eat lots of pre-biotic foods to encourage good gut bacteria, I've also found a daily probiotic helps as well.
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I think if the gut is 'off colour' then it can cause over-all feelings of being unwell, from really really ill to lack of energy. Once the gut is more stable then the person will regain energy levels = ability to exercise. My gut is the basis of all my problems :'(
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Hello again ladies.
The gut flora has been described as a new frontier for the study of disease and medicine and this has only been possible since about 2001 when scientists were able to gene sequence the bacteria.
Wombat62 - I saw a television programme where a scientist said he could accurately identify lean and fat people just by looking at their gut bacteria profile.
Although I find this subject very interesting ( can't you guess lol ) what I would really like to know is what foods can get rid of our horrible meno symptoms, if I knew that I'd eat it by the bucket load!
Take care all.
K.
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Apparently the Japanese ladies didn't have as many menopause symptoms until more recent years due to the amount of soya in their diet. Also they ate a lot of fish and due to being insular and an island race, didn't have Western input.
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This all makes sense as my investigations (before I knew it was perimenopause) were all around my gut as I had slow transit for many years. I had a bowel test by a gastroenterologist and was found to have almost zero lactobacillus and lots of streptococci. Probiotics always made me feel worse though and, on the odd occasions I took them, antibiotics made me feel good.
There is almost definitely a link but I still don't fully understand it.