I have to admit, I never thought I would be one of those people who loved to openly talk about pooping, let alone devote a blog to the topic.
Ever since I became a hormone expert, however, poop has become an important focus in ensuring hormones in the body stay balanced. And for a good reason, too!
HOW DOES POOPING RELATE TO YOUR HORMONES?
Pooping doesn’t just move our digested food out of our bodies on a daily basis — it also eliminates toxins and harmful hormone metabolites, such as estrogen.
That’s right. We are talking about estrogen dominance caused by constipation.
This was an issue for me when I was struggling with low thyroid function and Hashimotos.
One of the biggest signs of low thyroid function is a sluggish digestive system and bowels — so it’s worth looking at your thyroid numbers if you are dealing with chronic constipation.
A sluggish digestive system and constipation eventually results in estrogen dominance due to the re-circulation of estrogen metabolites back into our body.
HOW CONSTIPATION CAN CAUSE ESTROGEN DOMINANCE
If you haven’t heard before, estrogen is known as a “use it and lose it” hormone, meaning you need to use and then remove it from the body.
Our liver is responsible for neutralizing our hormones, converting them to a different form, and transporting them to the gut to be packaged up and eliminated through the bowels. So more pooping means better hormone regulation!
Here’s what this looks like for estrogen:
Phase 1: Estrogen goes through a process called oxidation in your liver.
Phase 2: The oxidized metabolites are combined with sulfur, specific amino acids (like a methyl group), or organic acids and then are excreted from the liver to be passed out of your body. To support methylation in Phase 2, nutrients that are methyl donors are needed.
This includes things like:
- Choline
- Tri-methyl-glycine (TMG)
Once this happens, water-soluble, methylated-bound hormones are then transported into the gut.
Phase 3: The hormones can be safely excreted through Phase 3 detoxification.
Once these water-soluble hormone metabolites are in your gut, the estrobolome — which is a collection of bacteria in the gut whose job it is to break down estrogen — can metabolize and excrete estrogen out of the body.
WHAT HAPPENS WITH EXCESS HORMONES IF YOU’RE NOT POOPING CONSISTENTLY
If your gut microbiome isn’t healthy, you can experience reabsorption of estrogen metabolites. An imbalance in your gut microbiome can lead to higher than normal beta-glucuronidase levels and an increase in this enzyme essentially reactivates methylated-bound hormones by removing the methyl group.
When this happens in the gut, estrogen, which is no longer water-soluble, gets reabsorbed into the bloodstream and back into the body.
This imbalance in the gut is caused by:
- Eating processed foods
- An overgrowth of bad bacteria
- Parasites
- Candida
No surprise, these are the root cause issues that also drive constipation.
Once you get estrogen to the colon, if you are constipated or do not poop on a daily basis, that unbound estrogen has an even greater chance of being reabsorbed back into the body where it doesn’t belong. This forces your liver to work extra hard to clear even more estrogen.
Over time, this will lead to symptoms of estrogen dominance, such as:
- PMS
- Heavy periods
- Bloating (water retention)
- Breast swelling and tenderness
- Fibrocystic breasts
- Low libido
- Hot flashes and night sweats
- Headaches (especially premenstrually)
- Mood swings (most often irritability and depression)
- Sluggish metabolism
- Weight and/or fat gain (particularly around the abdomen and hips)
If you only experience constipation once in a while, there’s no need to fret. However, if you are experiencing it frequently or chronically, it can lead to hormone imbalance.
WHAT EXACTLY IS CONSTIPATION?
Constipation is not just an “I cannot go” sensation. You may be suffering from constipation and not even realize it.
There are a few ways you can be constipated:
- Incomplete bowel movement: Feeling like there is more to come out but does not
- Appearance: Poop feels and looks hard, lumpy, and dry
- Infrequent pooping: Bowel movement less than 4-5 times a week
- Need help getting the poop out: This can include manually, with enemas, or relying on colonics weekly as the sole way to empty out the colon.
If you can identify with any of these symptoms more than occasionally, it’s time to make some changes to help your body have more regular bowel movements.
Let’s be honest, the standard American lifestyle leads millions of people to experience constipation — but there are many causes for constipation, from processed grains and meat to medications and nutrient deficiencies.
Some of the many factors that can contribute to constipation include:
- Unhealthy diets full of refined sugar and carbohydrates
- Processed foods
- Alcohol
- Stress
- Dehydration
- Lack of dietary fiber
Luckily, there are steps you can take to heal your gut and colon and ensure you have regular, healthy bowel movements.
DAILY STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TO HEAL YOUR GUT AND COLON
Here are some daily habits you can start to incorporate immediately to heal your gut and colon:
Drink enough water
This means regular still water — not fizzy waters, coffee, tea, juice, or any other beverage because you are bored of water. You need clean, filtered water. This will keep you hydrated — and unlike coffee and tea — it is not a diuretic, which can lead to further dehydration. Staying hydrated will keep things moving!
Take a 20-30 min walk every day
Daily exercise is super important to aid digestion and balance your hormones. This is a simple daily habit that really packs a punch for your whole-body health!
Rest to digest
Your body needs to be in a relaxed state to digest properly. Proper digestion leads to proper elimination. Rushing around in-between bites or directly afterward won’t allow your body to do its thing, so make sure you take time to let your food digest.
Don’t allow stress to rule the roost
If you’re constantly running from one task to the next, how is your body supposed to get the signal to release and keep you pooping consistently? Stress is no good for the gut, and your gut is where all the magic happens so that you can remain healthy and eliminate it properly.
Some steps you can take to help you relax include:
- Take deep, calming breaths throughout your day
- Incorporate some yoga, meditation, or quiet time to bring your stress levels down
- Allow your body to relax — remember, it’s healthy to have downtime!
Boost your daily fiber
Most of us don’t get enough fiber. The average adult gets approximately 11 grams per day, but we need at least 35 grams. It’s time to up your fiber consumption… Because pooping should be easy!
There are two types of fiber:
- Soluble fiber: This helps give bulk to your stool.
- Insoluble fiber: This helps get the poop out nicely.
To boost your fiber:
- Increase your non-starchy fruits and vegetables, like berries and green leafy veggies.
- Mix in things like flax seeds, chia seeds, and oats (if tolerated) to help boost healthy fiber levels.
- Add fiber to your smoothies. I actually carry a fiber blend for this reason. Most women need to keep things moving to help to heal estrogen dominance, and my Pure Daily Fiber is a simple way to instantly up your daily fiber intake (without having a gritty powder that you have to choke down). Check it out here.
Magnesium to the rescue
Adding magnesium citrate or a magnesium oxide supplement to your daily routine can be very beneficial to help keep you pooping.
I love my Magnesium Restore because it contains magnesium glycinate and magnesium oxide. I recommend three capsules every night to move things along while also providing hundreds of other health benefits, including:
- Calming the nervous system
- Easing anxiousness
- Aiding with sleeplessness
- Supporting hormone production
Grab the complete Magnesium Restore supplement here!
Magnesium citrate is good for pinch moments when you’ve really got to get things moving, but I don’t recommend it for daily use. I always have some on hand to naturally get my gut moving, especially if I’ve been traveling or dealing with extra stress!
Try a detox
If these solutions above are just not cutting it, it’s time to give your gut and liver a gentle yet effective reset. That’s why I created my 14-Day Detox Program. It’s often what’s needed to really initiate healing in the body, starting with two of the most important detoxification systems: the digestive system and liver.
HOW A 14-DAY DETOX CAN HELP YOUR HORMONES
I am asked sometimes: Why a 14-day detox? Why not three, five, or seven days?
I choose 14 days because two weeks makes a massive difference in not only how you feel but how your body actually functions.
Some of the many benefits of a detox can include:
- More energy, more pooping
- Stable blood sugar levels
- Improved mood and focus
And, weight loss is sometimes a by-product — some people lose 15 lbs because their body was looking to release that weight.
I also chose two weeks because 14 days gives people enough time to:
- Eliminate dangerous mucoid plaque buildup in their large intestine
- Address impacted poop due to constipation
- Reset insulin levels and restore liver function
These benefits all come without starving, crashing, and burning like you can on an unsustainable juice cleanse, which will whack out your blood sugar levels.
Too often, we don’t cleanse gently enough for long enough to get real results.
But this detox was designed for the perfect amount of time with the least amount of guesswork and hassle.
I built this program with a very busy person in mind, just like you. I built it for every busy superwoman who has a day job and a night job at home, who has work, travel, and family commitments — all in the same day. Let’s be honest — that’s you!
Over the past three years, approximately 5,000 people have successfully completed the full 14 days and experienced incredible results in their energy, sleep, focus, hot flashes, mood, and metabolism.
For some of our detoxers, their inflammatory markers dropped, H-AIC dropped into the normal range, liver enzymes came into the normal range, and Triglycerides dropped 25-50 points.
SUPPORT YOUR GUT AND HORMONE HEALTH WITH A 14-DAY DETOX TODAY!
If you are ready to take the first step toward really healing your body, say yes to yourself and get your 14-Day Detox today.
My 14-Day Detox supports the balancing phase I and II metabolic pathways to get your gut health back on track.
It’s complete with everything you need to ensure you’re giving your body the support it needs to get rid of excess hormones, keep your bowel movements regular, and help you keep your gut and colon health up.
FREE DOWNLOAD: Dr. Mariza’s Top 11 Supplements for Hormone Health
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