Poopin’ For Hormonal Balancing

Yes, you read the title correctly “Poopin’ for Hormonal Balancing” is really a thing and we are going to explain why! We will be talking about a topic everyone does, but never talks about. Your bowel movement, or pooping habits, have everything to do with your hormonal balance. We will talk about how constipation can throw off hormones leading to increase PMS, hot flashes, and contributes to lumpy breasts. We will cover what is a healthy bowel movement and what would be considered constipation; then, we will give you some tips you can try at home to improve your colon health and hormonal health.

What is a Healthy Bowel Movement Habit?

A healthy bowel movement is 1 to 3 times per day, formed, brown, banana shaped, easy to pass, with no blood, mucus, or undigested food. The common question I like to ask is “Can you sit, squat, and go with ease and not wait too long for the poop to painlessly pass?”

What is constipation?

Constipation is not just “I cannot go” sensation. There are a few ways one can be constipated:

• Incomplete Bowel movement: Feeling like there is more to come out but does not

• Poop feels and looks hard, lumpy, and dry (reference images 1 and 2 below in the chart).

• Bowel movement less than 3 times a week

• Need help getting the poop out such as manually, enemas, or relying on colonics weekly as sole way to empty out colon.

How Does Constipation contribute to Hormonal Imbalance?

Bowel Movements and hormones have an intimate relationship because constipation, or lack of frequent and complete bowel movements, can contribute to hormonal imbalances; while hormonal imbalances such as higher progesterone levels can contribute to more constipation.

Our body produces hormones through the Endocrine glands, serving as relay messengers between organs and glands such as the pituitary gland, thymus gland, thyroid gland, ovaries, pancreas, testis, and others. These hormones are carried via the blood and circulation system. The Liver is in charge of filtering out the blood, separating the already metabolized hormones (already used), and releasing bile via the Gallbladder to poop out the waste.

When one experiences constipation, the poop sits longer in the colon and the metabolized hormones such as estrogen, cortisol, and others, will re-enter the body. These metabolites from estrogen such as 16-alpha-hydroxyestrone are toxic to the body and disrupts the endocrine glands’ ability to produce new hormones because the older and used hormones are still in the blood stream. These toxic estrogen contributes to lumpy breasts and increase risk of cancers. There is a reason why one feels sluggish and have brain fog while constipated because certain toxins will re-enter the body if not regularly cleared out of the colon.

What are the causes of constipation?

There are many causes of constipation:

• Not enough fiber

• Not enough water intake (optimal goal is half you body weight in ounces)

• Food allergies and sensitivities causing inflammation, hemorrhoids, and other symptoms

• Insulin (blood sugar) level imbalances

• poor gut bacteria imbalance

• higher progesterone 2 weeks before period can cause slight constipation

• common side-effect of medications

• past trauma: scar tissue, or emotions, stored in the colon, solar plexus, and pelvic floor make it difficult to relax and “let go” literally and figuratively.

• Low stomach acid does not signal to the Liver to release bile to digest food properly.

  Tips to Help Ease Constipation & Balance Hormones:

• Increase Fiber: Whole food nutrition through fruit, vegetables, and protein sources are great ways to slowly increase fiber. It is important to add one thing at a time and slowly to avoid gas pains and flatulence because increase fiber will get things moving. “The US Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine recommend that women under 50 have a fiber intake of 25 g/day and over 50, have 21 g/day”. Here are some examples of what has fiber and about how much: 2 cups of raw vegetables equals 10 grams of fiber. A good size salad will have about 2 cups of vegetables and paired with cooked, lean protein will help.

• Herbal Bitters have been historically and medicinally used for balancing digestion and metabolism. The Bitter flavor helps stimulate matters of the heart with emotional eating and physically stimulates the digestive enzymes in the stomach, small intestine, pancreas, and liver to get ready for digestion. It is important to take herbal bitters before eating, so one can balance digestive distress, control appetite, improve metabolism, increase bile production to help with constipation, and more. Here is a list of herbal bitters that can be used as a herbal tea, herbal extract (I recommend Herb Pharm products), or even in cooking: Angelica root, bitter orange, slippery elm, artichoke leaf, Cardamon Seed, Milk Thistle, Ginger Root, Dandelion, and Burdock Root.

• Acupuncture is a great tool in balancing digestion by locally stimulating the vagus nerve (a major nerve from the brain that connects to all major organs) and communicates to the mid-brain to calm tension, improve communication to the brain and gut to digest/relax, and much more.

• Stress-management: Stress greatly impacts our gut health, colon, and hormonal balance. Stress keeps us in fight, flight, and/or freeze mode. In order to have healthy digestion, we need to be in rest and digest mode (parasympathetic) while we eat. If we are in stress mode, our bodies’ main focus is to move, so blood will go to the limbs ready to respond and away from the digestive organs. When this happens, eating while stress will leave food sitting in the stomach longer, ending up fermenting causing gastritis and inflammation, and the colon is unable to relax. The colon needs to be able to relax to function. If one holds tension, then, the ability to let go a bowel movement is effected.

• Processing unresolved trauma: When you are ready to slowly address unresolved trauma, the combination of talk therapy and Somatosensory therapy help process, release, and integrate. The body holds memories creating tension. This tension and constant state of fight-flight-freeze mode may contribute to hormonal and digestive imbalances. Some ideas for somatosensory therapies include EMDR, ART, Acupuncture, TRE exercises, Yoga, Breathing Exercises, and Mindfulness.

• Water intake: goal to reach half your body weight in water (oz)

  • Weight (pounds)/2= optimal level of ounces of water per day

  • Drinking water schedule: 2 cups in the morning before breakfast, 1 cup of water 1 hour after breakfast, 1 cup 30 minutes before lunch, 1 cup 1 hour after lunch, 1 cup 30 minutes before dinner, 1 cup 1 hour after dinner, 1 cup (sip only ) before bed.

    Drinking water 30 minutes before a meal kick-starts the metabolism, only sip beverages during a meal

Here is the Bristol Stool Chart for poop visual reference:(See Below).

Remember, ways to balance digestive and hormonal health varies for each person, but we all have the pooping and hormonal systems in common. If you need guidance in addressing constipation and hormonal imbalances; feel free to book a consultation with us to see how Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture may offer relief.

Thank you!

Danielle Dickshinski, L.Ac.

Thriving with Eastern Medicine & Acupuncture

203.687.0069

temacupuncture.com