How Your Gut Affects Hormones, Mood and Energy
The Hidden Connection Explained
When we think of digestion, we usually picture our stomach and intestines breaking down
food. But did you know your gut is in constant conversation with your brain, hormones,
and immune system?
At Gold Coast Digestive Health, we often see clients struggling with fatigue, anxiety, poor
sleep, and hormonal imbalance, all of which can be traced back to the gut. Understanding
this connection is the first step toward restoring balance naturally.
The Gut-Brain-Hormone Connection: Your “Second Brain”
Your gut isn’t just a digestion machine. It’s lined with over 100 million nerve cells and
produces many of the same neurotransmitters your brain does, including serotonin,
dopamine, and GABA, the chemicals that regulate mood, sleep, and motivation.
When your gut microbiome (the community of bacteria in your intestines) is out of balance, it
can send distress signals to your brain, contributing to:
● Low mood or anxiety
● Brain fog
● Poor sleep
● Low motivation and fatigue
This is why naturopaths often refer to the gut as your “second brain.”
Read More About Your Second Brain!
How Gut Imbalances Disrupt Hormones
Hormones act as your body’s communication system, controlling energy, stress response,
fertility, and metabolism. But here’s the key:
Many of these hormones are influenced by your gut flora and the health of your
digestive tract.
Let’s look at three important connections:
- Estrogen Balance and the Gut
A specific group of gut bacteria, called the estrobolome — helps metabolize and regulate
estrogen.
When these bacteria are imbalanced (often due to antibiotics, stress, or diet), estrogen
levels can become too high or too low, contributing to:
● PMS or irregular periods
● Weight changes
● Mood swings
● Fatigue or low libido
- Stress Hormones (Cortisol) and the Gut
Chronic gut inflammation can trigger the HPA axis, your body’s main stress pathway.
This leads to increased cortisol production, which over time can cause:
● Sleep disruption
● Energy crashes
● Weight gain around the midsection
● Feelings of burnout
3.Thyroid Function and Nutrient Absorption
Your gut is where crucial nutrients for thyroid hormone production, such as iodine, selenium and zinc are absorbed.
Poor digestion or bacterial overgrowth (like SIBO) can block absorption, leading to low
thyroid symptoms such as tiredness, dry skin, and low mood.
Signs Your Gut Might Be Impacting Your Hormones and
Mood
You may be surprised how often clients come in for hormonal or mental health concerns and discover their gut is at the root of the problem. Common signs include:
● Bloating or gas after meals
● Constipation or loose stools
● Unexplained fatigue
● PMS or irregular cycles
● Anxiety or low mood
● Skin breakouts or dullness
● Brain fog and poor focus
If several of these sound familiar, your gut health may be influencing far more than digestion.
Functional Testing: Getting to the Root Cause
At Gold Coast Digestive Health, we use advanced functional testing to identify
imbalances, such as:
- Comprehensive stool analysis (to assess microbiome diversity, inflammation,
parasites) - OAT testing (for metabolic pathways)
- SIBO breath testing (to detect small intestinal bacterial overgrowth)
- Hormone and adrenal profiles (like the DUTCH test)
- Food intolerance and microbiome mapping
And many more..
These tests provide a clear picture of how your gut, hormones, and energy systems are
interacting, allowing us to create a personalized naturopathic treatment plan.
