The colon and liver may not be the first things to come to mind when you think about hormonal balance. But if it weren’t for the liver inactivating hormones such as estrogen and your large intestine ushering out the deactivated hormones, they would recirculate through the bloodstream sending outdated messages. Get this, the liver inactivates estrogen by a process called conjugation, but if you have a gut flora imbalance, certain gut bacteria produce an enzyme called beta-glucuronidase, which reactivates estrogen. That reactivated estrogen then recirculates through the body causing estrogen dominance.

Do you poop in the morning?   When you poop those broken down hormones are disposed of along with the byproducts of what you ate, dead cells, and gut bacteria. The liver processes yesterday’s waste overnight, so ideally, you should have a bowel movement in the morning shortly after waking.  “The lining of your large intestine is osmotic in nature, meaning that things can travel in and out through the membrane.  If you don’t have an efficient transit time because your liver or large intestine is congested or you’re lacking the necessary nutrients for them to perform their function efficiently, the toxins and other chemicals working their way through this pathway can be reabsorbed into your bloodstream and continue circulating throughout the body.  It’s essential that all toxins and hormones be removed, and quickly.  In particular, if you’re not metabolizing, breaking down, and removing estrogen as efficiently as possible, an excessive amount will accumulate in the bloodstream and lead to menstrual, fertility, and libido issues.” Alisa Vitti WomanCode: Perfect Your Cycle, Amplify Your Fertility, Supercharge Your Sex Drive, and Become a Power Source

Tip #1 My morning ritual:  First thing in the morning (after brushing my teeth) I drink one to two 12 ounce glasses of water with freshly squeezed lemon.  Lemon stimulates the bile. Bile is a natural laxative.  Make sure you smell the lemon to stimulate your saliva glands.  Saliva protects the tooth enable from the incoming acid, it also signals the rest of the digestive tract of incoming substances and prepares accordingly (read more about the brain and digestion HERE).  The filling of the stomach signals the digestive tract to make room by moving out the old through the larger peristaltic  (wave-like action) of the colon.

Tip #2 Proper nutrients from whole foods: The liver needs vitamin B6, B12, folate, and C, glutathione, zinc, selenium, and amino acids from whole foods for proper detoxification. Chronic constipation can be a sign of gut dysbiosis, so see your ND or Functional Medicine practitioner for the proper tests and guidance. Once you’ve ruled out a gut flora imbalance, yeast and parasites make sure you are getting enough fermented foods and prebiotic foods.

Tip #3 Sit less, move more: When we sit all day our internal organs suffer.  Especially if we sit slumped in a chair!  Change your movement habits and your guts (butt and pelvis) will love you for it.

It's crowded in here

Tip #4 Abdominal Therapy: Getting an abdominal massage or Visceral Manipulation™ from a skilled practitioner can help with transit time and organ motility especially Visceral Manipulation™ which focuses on motility and mobility of internal organs.  I often combine specific colon motility techniques with gentle liver “pumping” to aid in the detoxification process. Abdominal therapy also helps us to move out unprocessed emotions that may be getting in the way of our digestive process. Don’t have an abdominal therapist near you? Take my Abdominal Self-Massage online course.

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Are you still constipated? Check out my Constipation A.K.A. Log Jam article.

Sign up for the new e-course dedicated to solving your lack of poop problems.

Tip #5 Balance gut flora.
“Recent studies suggest that gut microbes play another crucial role in the human body by regulating circulating estrogen levels.” source
In my opinion, there’s so much we don’t understand about the microbiome and personally, I don’t like messing with it by popping random probiotic supplements. So work with a qualified Functional Nutritionist or ND before supplementing.
The book I Contain Multitudes, “lets us peer into that world for the first time, allowing us to see how ubiquitous and vital microbes are: they sculpt our organs, defend us from disease, break down our food, educate our immune systems, guide our behavior, bombard our genomes with their genes, and grant us incredible abilities. While much of the prevailing discussion around the microbiome has focused on its implications for human health, Yong broadens this focus to the entire animal kingdom, giving us a grander view of life.”

Reducing stress or changing how you handle stress can have an impact on gut flora. “Exposure to stress led to changes in composition, diversity, and number of gut microorganisms, according to scientists from The Ohio State University. The bacterial communities in the intestine became less diverse and had greater numbers of potentially harmful bacteria, such as Clostridium.” source.

Abdominal Massage for reproductive, digestive and whole body wellness

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