Your Gut, Your Hormones, and Your Energy: The Overlooked Connection
If you’re tired, bloated, moody, or stuck in fat-storing mode… it’s probably not “just stress” or “getting older.”
It could be your gut messing with your hormones — and your hormones dragging down your energy.
This is the part most doctors miss:
Your gut isn’t just for digestion. It’s the control center for your whole damn system.
Let’s break it down.
1. Your Gut Talks to Your Hormones 24/7
Your gut is where:
Hormones get metabolized
Estrogen gets detoxed (or recirculated if your gut’s sluggish)
Cortisol signals get amplified or dampened
Blood sugar gets regulated based on what and how you absorb
If your gut is inflamed, constipated, overrun with bad bacteria, or just wrecked from years of antibiotics and processed food…
You better believe your hormone balance is going to feel it.
2. Estrogen Dominance? Check Your Gut First
Ever feel puffy, irritable, heavy, or have gnarly PMS despite “normal” estrogen levels?
Here’s a sneaky culprit: Estrobolome dysfunction.
That’s the group of gut bacteria responsible for processing estrogen.
If those microbes are off, your body might reabsorb estrogen instead of clearing it. That leads to estrogen dominance symptoms — even when your bloodwork looks “fine.”
Translation?
You won’t fix your hormones until you fix your gut.
3. Your Gut Controls Your Energy More Than Your Mitochondria
Yes, mitochondria matter. But if your gut lining is inflamed or leaky:
You won’t absorb nutrients like B12, iron, or magnesium (all critical for energy)
You’ll have more low-grade inflammation (which drags your cortisol and thyroid down)
You’ll spike and crash harder after meals
This creates the “I’m exhausted but wired” feeling I see in so many patients with gut issues.
4. Your Gut Makes Hormones Too
About 90% of your serotonin — your “feel good, stay motivated” hormone — is made in the gut.
It also helps regulate melatonin, which impacts your sleep, recovery, and metabolism.
Gut off?
Mood crashes, cravings spike, motivation tanks.
5. What to Look Out For
If any of these sound familiar, your gut-hormone axis needs attention:
Bloating after meals (or random bloat without reason)
Constipation or loose stools
Hormonal acne
Mid-day crashes
PMS that wrecks you for a week
Brain fog
Poor sleep despite “doing everything right”
What You Can Do About It
Start simple:
Prioritize gut-healing foods: bone broth, cooked veggies, fermented foods
Cut out gut irritants: seed oils, artificial sweeteners, gluten (test it!)
Optimize digestion: chew your food, take bitters or enzymes if needed
Support detox: magnesium, fiber, water — basic, but critical
Still feel off? That’s where root-cause testing comes in.
I look at stool analysis, hormone panels, micronutrients, and inflammation markers to build a personalized plan — not a one-size-fits-none protocol.
Final Thought
You can take all the bioidentical hormones or supplements you want…
But if your gut’s not right, your hormones won’t be either.
Fix the foundation. Energy, metabolism, mood, and hormonal balance start in the gut — and that’s where I start with most of my patients.
Ready to dig deeper?
Schedule a consult— and let’s start with what’s actually going on under the surface.
