“Is it possible to feel amazing without having to take hormone replacement therapy while going through menopause?” The answer is “yes.”
JeJe Noval’s lilting voice on an Instagram reel got my attention. I was researching the role of gut health in menopause for a series of stories.
She speaks to her audience from her personal experience and as a functional dietitian who specializes in gut and hormone health for women who are premenopausal and menopausal.
Noval is among a contingency of functional practitioners who assist women in improving the balance of gut microbes. These bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites fall out of balance as estrogen levels drop, a condition called dysbiosis that seems to be common during menopause.
However, Noval explained in an interview that dysbiosis is made worse by factors that have nothing to do with hormones, like antibiotics, other medications, and hormonal birth control. Research indicates that dysbiosis can lead to overwhelming vasomotor symptoms like hot flashes, dizziness, skin flushing, and heart palpitations.
Thus, if the imbalance of microbes were corrected, some women could potentially eradicate troublesome menopausal symptoms without reaching for hormonal therapies.
Read on to learn how microbes and hormones impact one another and how that relationship offers opportunities to create a smoother menopausal transition.
