How Gut Health Impacts Hormonal Balance
Most women look to their hormones when symptoms flare like acne, PMS, bloating, mood dips, but the real root cause often starts somewhere else entirely: your gut.
Your gut and hormones are constantly talking to each other. When digestion is sluggish, your microbiome is out of balance, or nutrients aren’t being absorbed properly, your hormones feel it. And so do you. Let’s break this down simply.
Why Your Gut Matters for Hormones
Your gut is home to trillions of bacteria, collectively known as your gut microbiome. When this community is balanced, it supports almost every system in your body; digestion, immunity, mood, skin, and yes, hormone regulation.
When it’s not balanced, you may notice fatigue, breakouts or eczema, PMS or irregular cycles, bloating or constipation, low mood or anxiety and sugar cravings. Your gut is a big deal, and it plays a massive role in how your hormones behave.
One: Detoxification & Hormone Clearance
Your liver detoxifies hormones (like estrogen), then sends them to your gut to be excreted.
This only works if your bowels are moving regularly. When you’re constipated, those hormones hang around too long, get reabsorbed, build up and can trigger symptoms like:
- PMS
- acne
- bloating
- estrogen dominance
Gut motility is one of the simplest (and most overlooked) ways to balance hormones.
Two: Dysbiosis (When Gut Bacteria Are Out of Balance)
A disrupted microbiome, also known as dysbiosis, can interfere with estrogen metabolism, drive inflammation, worsen PMS and breakouts, trigger sugar cravings, affect blood sugar and insulin and worsen mood and energy dips.
Certain gut bacteria even control whether estrogen gets eliminated or reabsorbed. When these bacteria are out of balance, hormones follow.
Three: You Are What You Absorb
You can eat well, take supplements, and do everything “right”, but if your gut lining is inflamed or compromised (often called leaky gut), your body can’t absorb nutrients properly. Without nutrients like zinc, magnesium, vitamin A, B vitamins, and essential amino acids, hormones lose their building blocks. Healthy hormones require healthy digestion. Signs nutrients aren’t being absorbed well:
- bloating
- fatigue
- breakouts
- persistent PMS
- slow recovery
- ongoing cravings
5 Simple Ways to Support Your Gut for Happier Hormones
One: Eat more fibre
Fibre supports regular bowel movements and helps clear excess estrogen. Daily Hormone + Hormone Balance are naturally rich in gentle fibre to support this process.
Tip: Drink enough water or fibre can backfire.
Two: Reduce inflammatory / ultra-processed foods
They disrupt the microbiome and increase inflammation. Aim for an 80/20 balance of whole, nutrient-dense foods most of the time, flexibility the rest.
Three: Drink more water
Most constipation is actually dehydration. Aim for 2–3 litres a day (more if you are breastfeeding or training).
Four: Reduce stress
Stress directly impacts gut motility and microbiome balance. Try lowering caffeine, swapping high-intensity training for walking or pilates, eating slowly and prioritising rest.
Five: Nourish the gut lining
Nutrients like glutamine, zinc, and vitamin A support repair. Our Digestive Soothe blend includes marshmallow root and slippery elm, two of the best herbs for calming, soothing, and supporting the gut lining.
Want to go deeper?
Learn more about herbs that support your hormones in our journal post 5 Adaptogens Every Woman Needs for Hormonal Balance.