May 20, 2025 • 24 mins
On this show, Karolyn talks with functional medicine expert Erica Armstrong, MD, about how the hormones produced in the gut can influence health and how the health of the gut influences hormone balance. In addition to being an expert on hormone balance and the gut microbiome, Dr. Armstrong is an author, podcast host, and founder of Root Functional Medicine.
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Five To Thrive Live is broadcast live Tuesdays at 7PM ET and Music on W4CS Radio – The Cancer Support Network (www.w4cy.com) part of Talk 4 Radio (www.talk4radio.com) on the Talk 4 Media Network (www.talk4media.com).
Five To Thrive Live Podcast is also available on Talk 4 Media (www.talk4media.com), Talk 4 Podcasting (www.talk4podcasting.com), iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, Pandora, Spotify, Audible, and over 100 other podcast outlets.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Any health related information on the following show provides general
information only. Content presented on any show by any host
or guest should not be substituted for a doctor's advice.
Always consult your physician before beginning any new diet, exercise,
or treatment program.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Hello everyone, and welcome to Five to Thrive Live. I'm
Carolyn Gazella and I co host this show with my
good friend doctor Lese Alschuler. So if you've listened to
this show a lot, you know that we love talking
about the gut microbiome. On this show, we will specifically
be delving into the gut hormone connection with functional medicine
(01:03):
expert doctor Erica Armstrong. Doctor Armstrong is the founder and
CEO of Root Functional Medicine. She hosts the podcast Get
to the Root, and she is the author of the
book The pcos Thyroid Connection. But before we dive in,
I'd like to thank our sponsors. Beginning with Cetria, a
patented form of glutathione clinically proven to raise blood gluteothione levels.
(01:26):
Glutathione is the master antioxidant and the bobbody's primary defense
against free radicals. It also helps support respiratory health for
more information, visit Cetria Glutethione dot com. Also cognizanceiticoline, which
is nature's way of keeping the brain's energy producing centers
firing on all cylinders. If you're looking for a way
to enhance your brain function, including memory, focus and attention,
(01:49):
look for Cognizan on the label or go to Cognizan
dot com for more information. Prothriver's Wellness Brain is a
product that contains Cognizant as well as other brains supporting
nutrients and herbs. You can find Prothriver's Wellness Brain online
at pureformulas dot com. There's also pro Thriver's Wellness Sleep,
which combines higher dose melatonin and other sleep supporting natural
(02:13):
ingredients specifically designed for thrivers. You can find Prothriver's Wellness
Sleep also at pure formulas dot com. And doctor Ohira's Probiotics.
It's a best selling probiotic for more than thirty years,
and it contains twelve probiotic strains that our shelf stable,
so no refrigeration is required because of a unique three
year fermentation process, it's a very effective probiotic. Learn more
(02:36):
at doctor Ohira Probiotics dot com. Doctor Armstrong welcome to
the show, and thank you for joining me today. Thank
you for having me well. As I mentioned, we talk
about the gut microbiome a lot on this show. So
why do you feel the gut microbiome has become so
(02:57):
central to our health?
Speaker 3 (03:00):
I mean, it's because of what it does both inside
the gut and outside of the gut, as we'll talk
about today in the gut hormone connection. But our bacteria
ligning and protecting our gut can either help inhibit inflammation
from forming and then circulating through our body, or it
could contribute to inflammation. And the gut microbiome creates post
(03:22):
biotics or molecules like short chain fatty acids that create
this nice protective mucasy layer that keeps the particles that
we ingest from the outside world from getting in and
circulating and causing that inflammatory response. And secondly that some
of the post biotics also communicate with various other organ systems,
including the brain and including being involved in the metabolism
(03:47):
of hormones.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Yeah. You know, it's interesting because I've had the opportunity
to either do a podcast or write about all of
these different axises. Like you mentioned, the brain, the gut, brain,
the gut kidney. I mean, it's really far reaching. So
let's talk specifically about the gut hormone connection. How does
(04:09):
our gut health influence hormonal balance and health in general.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Yes, so starting with how hormones are made, hormones, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, cortisol,
they're all made with the same substrate or the initial
kind of molecule, and that is l DL and that
is typically thought of as like the quote bad cholesterol.
But LDL is also in healthy fats and very necessary
(04:35):
for our bodies to function and make hormones. And you
have to be able to absorb those fats. And so
starting in the gut, the absorption of fats takes nice
digestive enzymes to surround and pull those those fats in.
And so it also depends on your diet, right if
you're eating enough appropriate healthy fat for you. The second
(04:58):
way is that in inflammation, and so inflammation does not
stay in the gut.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
There's a fast.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
Blood supply that circulates it through all the organs, and
inflammation really affects, for example, in women, ovarian self and
so an egg quality. And so if you have a
lot of inflammation, you may experience premature ovarian quality issues,
(05:25):
and when your egg quality is declined, the body will
decide that it is not safe enough to ovulate, and
so you will not ovulate, which means then you will
not produce the robust progesterone that happens after ovulation, and
so it all started back in the gut, and protecting
that inflammation as one of the key areas of protecting
(05:47):
ovarian function. And the last thing is the way that
hormones are metabolized. So after your body is done using estrogen,
for example, it has to go through the liver in
a couple of phases. It has to get like methlated
and get things attached to it so it becomes a
safer estrogen to eliminate. And when it goes after the liver,
(06:09):
it goes back into the gut to either be eliminated
in the stool or reabsorbed. And the gut microbiome is
very influential in this because some of the gut microbes
produce beta glucuronidase, and some beta glucuronidase is good, we
need that, but a lot of beta glucurani dase will
actually cause us to recirculate some of the estrogens that
(06:31):
our body was done with, and it can lead to
this hormonal imbalance, a relatively higher estrogens than we were
meant to have because it had already gotten through detax.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Right, and estrogen imbalance, as we have talked a lot
about on the show, you know, can really recavoc on
your health. It can lead to estrogen dependent cancers. Can
you talk a little bit about cortisol. You mentioned it briefly,
but we like to talk about cortisol because it's the
stress hormone. So, how does increased inflammation that you're talking
(07:07):
about and gut health, how does it influence cortisol, either
negatively or positively.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
Yeah, So the brain is going to sense inflammation as
stress on the body, and cortisol will be secreted to
help to try to combat that. So like when people
are you know, sometimes in the ICU, they give like
a huge dose of a cortisol or pread in the
zone because the body has been under so much stress,
(07:34):
and they do that to try to, you know, help
people get their energy back up after that. And so
it's a body's natural response to the brain's natural response
to stress, including the stress caused by inflammation, is to
send a signal from the hypothelements to the pituitary down
(07:56):
today adrenals to secrete cortisol.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Yeah, So basically what you're saying is the health of
our gut. If our gut is in good shape, it's
going to positively influence all of these hormones and hormonal
cascades and what the hormones do in the body. But
if our gut health is dysbiotic or problematic and it's
having difficulty, then our hormones are actually going to be
(08:22):
negatively impacted because of our.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
Gut health, right.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Cool, Okay, So what types of hormonal issues are influenced
by our gut in In other words, are there specific
symptoms or conditions that's going to let us know that
something maybe off when it comes to the gut hormone connection.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
Yes, we treat all kinds of hormonal issues at root,
from irregular periods or pcos polycystic ovarian syndrome to perimenopause
in the hormone fluctuations that are happening there and then pause.
And so the gut is important in all of those
(09:05):
phases of hormones and possible imbalances and hormone imbalanced symptoms
can be really vague, so it can be hard to pinpoint,
Hey that I feel like that's a hormonal imbalance. I mean,
some of them are more tele tale, like, especially if
you start missing periods or your periods space out or
become too short. That is often more clearly indicated there's
a hormonal imbalance. But other symptoms like brain fog and fatigue, forgetfulness,
(09:30):
kind of word finding issues, or even like joint pains, anxiety, depression,
all of these kind of symptoms can be associated with
a hormone imbalance.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Interesting because you've just mentioned some pretty diverse group of symptoms,
you know, anything from anxiety to fatigue to joint pain,
so there can be both mental and physical symptoms. Are
there tests that can be done to determine if something
is out of whack with the gut hormone connection.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
Yes, and you can test. The best test for hormones
probably still is serum a serum blood draw for the
major hormones like estrodial progesterone, HLSH, testosterone, dagas. Sorry I
rambled those off quickly. You can get a good blood
level with that if it's possible. We also recommend trying
(10:28):
to do a urine test. For hormones where we can
see how they're being metabolized, and that actually gives a
pretty good clue into that gut connection. So there's some
tests like the Dutch test. We have one on our
root website that's very similar to the Dutch test. It's
the dried urine So you collect samples at four points
of the day and you can see how your hormones
(10:50):
are fluctuating through the day. And the important thing about
the metabolism of hormones is what estrogens can turn into.
There's a couple different pathways that that they can go
down in Some estrogens, but depending on how they're metabolized,
are more toxic than others, you know, leading to certain
cancer risks.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Right, Okay, so let's talk about solutions, starting with our diet.
What can be done when the gut hormone connection is
not functioning optily. So you've done the tests, you've looked
at the symptoms, and now you're you've made the conclusion, Okay,
something's off. Are there things that can be done with
(11:30):
the diet to help correct things? Yes?
Speaker 3 (11:34):
Absolutely, and so the number one thing to do is
balance your blood sugar. Insulin resistance can be a big
driver of hormonal imbalance, and actually it can affect the
gut health and drive some inflammation there too, and vice versus.
Some of the gut bacteria can make you more susceptible
to insulin resistance. So step one in hormone balance is
(11:56):
to balance your blood sugar, and by that I mean
eat your meals balanced in protein, healthy fat, and fiber.
And we have a way of doing this at Root.
We call it the root plate, where half of the
plate is non starchy veggies, a quarter of the plate
is starch, including some of those starchy veggies, and then
a quarter of the plate is lean protein, and then
(12:17):
one to two tablespoons of healthy fat, those healthy fats
that are important for making hormones and for stabilizing blood sugar.
So I would say that's step one. Step two is
diet diversity. A lot of people eat healthy, but they
eat the same things every day or every week, and
so they're not getting that dietary diversity that's so important
to get those different types of bacteria growing for a
nice robust diversity.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
And they've got microbiome and so yeah, can you talk
a little bit more about that, because honestly, I don't
think we talk enough about diet diversity, because I think
you're right. Even with myself. You know, I get into
you know, I like to eat Mediterranean, but I get
into these habits where I'm eating similar things all the
(12:59):
time time, and I don't have a lot of diet diversity.
So talk to me a little bit about that.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
Yeah, So different phytonutrients are the colors in foods can
actually feed different bacteria. For example, acromancia, which gets a
lot of press, certain foods like pomegranate seeds will make
you more likely to grow more acromancia because acromancia likes
to eat that type of phytonutrient. And we do something
(13:26):
at root where we do a thirty plants a week
challenge with people and it can include nuts and seeds,
any type of plant and vegetables of course, and it's
actually pretty hard to get thirty plants. But there was
a large study done showing that people who eat thirty
different plants a week have a more robust microbiome.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Interesting, give us some examples of some of those plants.
I mean, you mentioned pomegranates, but give us some more
examples of what might be included in those the diverse plants.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
Yeah, so unripe bananas, the more green they are, the
more resistant starch they will have, which the bacteria like
to eat to create their post biotics. It fermented veggies,
so like pickles and sauer kraut with cabbage. Then colored
(14:22):
greens are actually really great and easier to grow. I've
heard from our podcast from at recent interview I did.
But really what you want to do is look is
get the different colors. You could try to get each
different color into your diet every day, and you can
include fruits and that fruits as long as you're eating
the whole fruit with fiber that counts in those fhito
(14:44):
nutrients too.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
Yeah, we talk a lot about adding color and eat
the rainbow and things like that, so that we're very
much tracking with you there. Okay, so let's switch gears
and talk about from a lifestyle perspective. Are there things
we can do from a lifestyle perspective to strength the
the gut hormone connection.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
Yeah, so we talked about how cortisol can play a
role here, and so some type of stress reduction activity daily,
whether that's going outside for a walk, taking screen breaks,
getting up from your computer, doing a meditation or a
worry journal, just something that you do every day for yourself,
(15:23):
and it doesn't have to be long, it can be
ten minutes. We just want to break that cycle. And
as we mentioned in blood sugar balance is also very
important for lifestyle and cortisol because when your blood sugar
is up and down, your cortisol is going to be
spiking in order to try to stabilize your blood sugar.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
What about sleep, I'm upset with sleep and getting a
good night's sleep because we know that you know, lack
of sleep can actually have some pretty negative health effects.
So how does root handle sleep?
Speaker 3 (15:58):
Yes, it is a great point that is very important,
and I'm also obsessed with it. I will not sacrifice sleep.
A consistent bedtime and weak time is really important for
the melatonin cycles, which is also implicated in hormone balance
and estrogen balance. So really starting with if it's too
hard to start with the same exact bedtime, sometimes it's
(16:20):
easier to start with the same exact weak time and
then your body kind of naturally will start to adjust
over time to having those those consistent times. We also
support sleep, especially in perimenopause with progesterone. We also use
magnesium glycinate. It's our favorite type of magnesium at root
(16:40):
because the glycinate part is very calming and it's very
well absorbed, and so we'll do that at bedtime.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
Yes, I definitely do magnesium glaconate. And so I'm glad
that you mentioned dietary supplements because I wanted to see
what is I mean. You're a medical doctor, you're a
function medical expert. Do you have like an overarching philosophy
when it comes to dietary supplements.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
Yes, As functional medicine doctors, we don't necessarily shy away
from supplements like some more conventional doctors do. We like
to use data whenever pass those So, for example, we
will check for nutrient deficiency so that we can give
data driven recommendations, especially things like zinc levels. We check
(17:29):
those on our root cause panel, and we check red
blood cell magnesium. So we'll use the lab testing to
drive those decisions. And we also use supplements when we're
trying to help repair the gut as more of a
reparative solution than some of the conventional symptom control options.
So we'll do things like replace essential digestive enzyme so
(17:52):
to help people absorb those gats. It can help with
bloating and nutrient absorption. And we'll use probiotics of course,
prebiotics depending on the symptoms and the testing that we do.
Sometimes sometimes we can help people based on their symptoms
with that too.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Yeah, I'm a big fan of probiotics, and I would
say that looking at the scientific literature, I think we're
finding that prebiotics are just as important and maybe even
a little bit more important.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
Yes, I would agree with that, Yeah for sure.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Okay, what else do you recommend when it comes to
enhancing the gut hormone connection?
Speaker 3 (18:35):
I think, you know, I think we didn't touch on
exercise yet, but that's important, and especially strength training. So
we know that strength training can help with insulin resistance,
which can be a huge driver for hormone imbalance. So
the more muscle that you have, the more spot you
have to tell your sugar where to go for insulin
(18:59):
to drive that sugar into the muscles to be used
for energy, and so it helps with metabolism. So strength
training at least twice a week is very important, especially
for women to prevent osteoporosis. The other thing strength training does, interestingly,
is that helps women make testosterum, which can also be
one of those hormones and perimenopause that can be deficient.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
Yeah, I'm glad that you brought up exercise. We're big
into exercise around here. I noticed that you talk about
female health. Does Root address the guys? I mean when
it comes to testosterone and other hormonal issues that men
may face, or do pretty much focus on female health? Yes,
(19:44):
great point. I was talking a lot about.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
Women in this episode, but we definitely have male members
and we work with companies to that, you know, manufacturing
companies that predominantly male, and a lot of those lifestyle
changes that I just mentioned do apply to your male
audience as well.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Yeah, exactly. So tell us a little bit more about
Root Functional Medicine. What is it and why did you
want to create Root Functional Medicine.
Speaker 3 (20:10):
Yeah. So Roots started as a functional medicine practice and
it has grown to an online telehealth functional medicine practice
in forty eight states where you can work with a
Root doctor and a dietitian. You can either start with
lab testing or you can add individual visits with one
or both of us.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
Cool, So where can people find out more about you
and your work?
Speaker 3 (20:39):
Root Functional Medicine dot com is our website. The lab
test that I was talking about can actually be found
on the website. And then I am probably most active
on LinkedIn.
Speaker 2 (20:49):
Okay, cool, and they would just look for doctor Erica
Armstrong or would they look for Root Functional Medicine. Both
of those would work. Okay, cool, Okay. Before I let
you go, I want to talk a little bit about
your book, The PCOS Thyroid Connection. Tell us a little
bit about that book and what people would discover if
they pick up a copy.
Speaker 3 (21:10):
Yeah, I didn't know I was going to be writing
this book, But what happened was we kept finding this
connection in practice. And what was happening when we were
testing in our blood panel for hormone and balances and
for just regular screening, we were finding a lot of
pc us and thyroid occurring together. And then as we
dug deeper, we found that a lot of them had
(21:31):
the same root cause or root causes, and one of
the big ones was Scott Health and we put together
some very natural ways of addressing both pcus and thyroid
that were really getting great results. When started having regular
periods again, you know that wouldn't have happened and the
conventional treatment was often, you know, just to give a
(21:52):
pill for that, which kind of overrides the system. But
we were doing it a much better way to affect
overall health and inflam levels and quality of life, and
that was sustainable, and I just felt that it needed
to be shared so that we could impact more lives.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
Yeah, I would agree. I did an entire show about
the gut thyroid access and it was fascinating and it
was one of those ones that I didn't expect that
there would be such an interplay between the gut and
thyroid function. So it's not surprising to me. I was
(22:30):
a little surprised that PCOS has such a strong thyroid connection.
Speaker 3 (22:36):
Yeah, and again it's that inflammation. Sometimes it's inflammation that's
driving insulin resistance, which seventy percent of women with PCUS
have insulin resistance on top of it, but at its core,
they're both inflammatory conditions.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
Yeah, I know that's the key. Well, I want to
have our listeners go to your website root functionalmedicine dot com.
It's a wealth of information, it's a great program, and
obviously functional medicine is very effective. And I want to
thank you again doctor Armstrong for joining me today. Well,
(23:11):
thank you so much for having me well great. Well,
that wraps up this episode of five to Thrive Live
once again. I'd like to thank our sponsors pro Thrivers
Wellness Sleep formula, Cetria Glutathione, the superior glutathione to support
liver and immune health, Cognizance Citacoline and pro Thriver's Brain
formula to help enhance memory, focus and attention, and Doctor
(23:35):
o'hira's Award Women Shelf Stable probiotic. This has been a
great show. May you experience joy, laughter and love. It's
time to thrive everyone, have a great night. Sh
Any health related information on the following show provides general
information only. Content presented on any show by any host
or guest should not be substituted for a doctor's advice.
Always consult your physician before beginning any new diet, exercise,
or treatment program.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Hello everyone, and welcome to Five to Thrive Live. I'm
Carolyn Gazella and I co host this show with my
good friend doctor Lese Alschuler. So if you've listened to
this show a lot, you know that we love talking
about the gut microbiome. On this show, we will specifically
be delving into the gut hormone connection with functional medicine
(01:03):
expert doctor Erica Armstrong. Doctor Armstrong is the founder and
CEO of Root Functional Medicine. She hosts the podcast Get
to the Root, and she is the author of the
book The pcos Thyroid Connection. But before we dive in,
I'd like to thank our sponsors. Beginning with Cetria, a
patented form of glutathione clinically proven to raise blood gluteothione levels.
(01:26):
Glutathione is the master antioxidant and the bobbody's primary defense
against free radicals. It also helps support respiratory health for
more information, visit Cetria Glutethione dot com. Also cognizanceiticoline, which
is nature's way of keeping the brain's energy producing centers
firing on all cylinders. If you're looking for a way
to enhance your brain function, including memory, focus and attention,
(01:49):
look for Cognizan on the label or go to Cognizan
dot com for more information. Prothriver's Wellness Brain is a
product that contains Cognizant as well as other brains supporting
nutrients and herbs. You can find Prothriver's Wellness Brain online
at pureformulas dot com. There's also pro Thriver's Wellness Sleep,
which combines higher dose melatonin and other sleep supporting natural
(02:13):
ingredients specifically designed for thrivers. You can find Prothriver's Wellness
Sleep also at pure formulas dot com. And doctor Ohira's Probiotics.
It's a best selling probiotic for more than thirty years,
and it contains twelve probiotic strains that our shelf stable,
so no refrigeration is required because of a unique three
year fermentation process, it's a very effective probiotic. Learn more
(02:36):
at doctor Ohira Probiotics dot com. Doctor Armstrong welcome to
the show, and thank you for joining me today. Thank
you for having me well. As I mentioned, we talk
about the gut microbiome a lot on this show. So
why do you feel the gut microbiome has become so
(02:57):
central to our health?
Speaker 3 (03:00):
I mean, it's because of what it does both inside
the gut and outside of the gut, as we'll talk
about today in the gut hormone connection. But our bacteria
ligning and protecting our gut can either help inhibit inflammation
from forming and then circulating through our body, or it
could contribute to inflammation. And the gut microbiome creates post
(03:22):
biotics or molecules like short chain fatty acids that create
this nice protective mucasy layer that keeps the particles that
we ingest from the outside world from getting in and
circulating and causing that inflammatory response. And secondly that some
of the post biotics also communicate with various other organ systems,
including the brain and including being involved in the metabolism
(03:47):
of hormones.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Yeah. You know, it's interesting because I've had the opportunity
to either do a podcast or write about all of
these different axises. Like you mentioned, the brain, the gut, brain,
the gut kidney. I mean, it's really far reaching. So
let's talk specifically about the gut hormone connection. How does
(04:09):
our gut health influence hormonal balance and health in general.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Yes, so starting with how hormones are made, hormones, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, cortisol,
they're all made with the same substrate or the initial
kind of molecule, and that is l DL and that
is typically thought of as like the quote bad cholesterol.
But LDL is also in healthy fats and very necessary
(04:35):
for our bodies to function and make hormones. And you
have to be able to absorb those fats. And so
starting in the gut, the absorption of fats takes nice
digestive enzymes to surround and pull those those fats in.
And so it also depends on your diet, right if
you're eating enough appropriate healthy fat for you. The second
(04:58):
way is that in inflammation, and so inflammation does not
stay in the gut.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
There's a fast.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
Blood supply that circulates it through all the organs, and
inflammation really affects, for example, in women, ovarian self and
so an egg quality. And so if you have a
lot of inflammation, you may experience premature ovarian quality issues,
(05:25):
and when your egg quality is declined, the body will
decide that it is not safe enough to ovulate, and
so you will not ovulate, which means then you will
not produce the robust progesterone that happens after ovulation, and
so it all started back in the gut, and protecting
that inflammation as one of the key areas of protecting
(05:47):
ovarian function. And the last thing is the way that
hormones are metabolized. So after your body is done using estrogen,
for example, it has to go through the liver in
a couple of phases. It has to get like methlated
and get things attached to it so it becomes a
safer estrogen to eliminate. And when it goes after the liver,
(06:09):
it goes back into the gut to either be eliminated
in the stool or reabsorbed. And the gut microbiome is
very influential in this because some of the gut microbes
produce beta glucuronidase, and some beta glucuronidase is good, we
need that, but a lot of beta glucurani dase will
actually cause us to recirculate some of the estrogens that
(06:31):
our body was done with, and it can lead to
this hormonal imbalance, a relatively higher estrogens than we were
meant to have because it had already gotten through detax.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Right, and estrogen imbalance, as we have talked a lot
about on the show, you know, can really recavoc on
your health. It can lead to estrogen dependent cancers. Can
you talk a little bit about cortisol. You mentioned it briefly,
but we like to talk about cortisol because it's the
stress hormone. So, how does increased inflammation that you're talking
(07:07):
about and gut health, how does it influence cortisol, either
negatively or positively.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
Yeah, So the brain is going to sense inflammation as
stress on the body, and cortisol will be secreted to
help to try to combat that. So like when people
are you know, sometimes in the ICU, they give like
a huge dose of a cortisol or pread in the
zone because the body has been under so much stress,
(07:34):
and they do that to try to, you know, help
people get their energy back up after that. And so
it's a body's natural response to the brain's natural response
to stress, including the stress caused by inflammation, is to
send a signal from the hypothelements to the pituitary down
(07:56):
today adrenals to secrete cortisol.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Yeah, So basically what you're saying is the health of
our gut. If our gut is in good shape, it's
going to positively influence all of these hormones and hormonal
cascades and what the hormones do in the body. But
if our gut health is dysbiotic or problematic and it's
having difficulty, then our hormones are actually going to be
(08:22):
negatively impacted because of our.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
Gut health, right.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Cool, Okay, So what types of hormonal issues are influenced
by our gut in In other words, are there specific
symptoms or conditions that's going to let us know that
something maybe off when it comes to the gut hormone connection.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
Yes, we treat all kinds of hormonal issues at root,
from irregular periods or pcos polycystic ovarian syndrome to perimenopause
in the hormone fluctuations that are happening there and then pause.
And so the gut is important in all of those
(09:05):
phases of hormones and possible imbalances and hormone imbalanced symptoms
can be really vague, so it can be hard to pinpoint,
Hey that I feel like that's a hormonal imbalance. I mean,
some of them are more tele tale, like, especially if
you start missing periods or your periods space out or
become too short. That is often more clearly indicated there's
a hormonal imbalance. But other symptoms like brain fog and fatigue, forgetfulness,
(09:30):
kind of word finding issues, or even like joint pains, anxiety, depression,
all of these kind of symptoms can be associated with
a hormone imbalance.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Interesting because you've just mentioned some pretty diverse group of symptoms,
you know, anything from anxiety to fatigue to joint pain,
so there can be both mental and physical symptoms. Are
there tests that can be done to determine if something
is out of whack with the gut hormone connection.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
Yes, and you can test. The best test for hormones
probably still is serum a serum blood draw for the
major hormones like estrodial progesterone, HLSH, testosterone, dagas. Sorry I
rambled those off quickly. You can get a good blood
level with that if it's possible. We also recommend trying
(10:28):
to do a urine test. For hormones where we can
see how they're being metabolized, and that actually gives a
pretty good clue into that gut connection. So there's some
tests like the Dutch test. We have one on our
root website that's very similar to the Dutch test. It's
the dried urine So you collect samples at four points
of the day and you can see how your hormones
(10:50):
are fluctuating through the day. And the important thing about
the metabolism of hormones is what estrogens can turn into.
There's a couple different pathways that that they can go
down in Some estrogens, but depending on how they're metabolized,
are more toxic than others, you know, leading to certain
cancer risks.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Right, Okay, so let's talk about solutions, starting with our diet.
What can be done when the gut hormone connection is
not functioning optily. So you've done the tests, you've looked
at the symptoms, and now you're you've made the conclusion, Okay,
something's off. Are there things that can be done with
(11:30):
the diet to help correct things? Yes?
Speaker 3 (11:34):
Absolutely, and so the number one thing to do is
balance your blood sugar. Insulin resistance can be a big
driver of hormonal imbalance, and actually it can affect the
gut health and drive some inflammation there too, and vice versus.
Some of the gut bacteria can make you more susceptible
to insulin resistance. So step one in hormone balance is
(11:56):
to balance your blood sugar, and by that I mean
eat your meals balanced in protein, healthy fat, and fiber.
And we have a way of doing this at Root.
We call it the root plate, where half of the
plate is non starchy veggies, a quarter of the plate
is starch, including some of those starchy veggies, and then
a quarter of the plate is lean protein, and then
(12:17):
one to two tablespoons of healthy fat, those healthy fats
that are important for making hormones and for stabilizing blood sugar.
So I would say that's step one. Step two is
diet diversity. A lot of people eat healthy, but they
eat the same things every day or every week, and
so they're not getting that dietary diversity that's so important
to get those different types of bacteria growing for a
nice robust diversity.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
And they've got microbiome and so yeah, can you talk
a little bit more about that, because honestly, I don't
think we talk enough about diet diversity, because I think
you're right. Even with myself. You know, I get into
you know, I like to eat Mediterranean, but I get
into these habits where I'm eating similar things all the
(12:59):
time time, and I don't have a lot of diet diversity.
So talk to me a little bit about that.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
Yeah, So different phytonutrients are the colors in foods can
actually feed different bacteria. For example, acromancia, which gets a
lot of press, certain foods like pomegranate seeds will make
you more likely to grow more acromancia because acromancia likes
to eat that type of phytonutrient. And we do something
(13:26):
at root where we do a thirty plants a week
challenge with people and it can include nuts and seeds,
any type of plant and vegetables of course, and it's
actually pretty hard to get thirty plants. But there was
a large study done showing that people who eat thirty
different plants a week have a more robust microbiome.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Interesting, give us some examples of some of those plants.
I mean, you mentioned pomegranates, but give us some more
examples of what might be included in those the diverse plants.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
Yeah, so unripe bananas, the more green they are, the
more resistant starch they will have, which the bacteria like
to eat to create their post biotics. It fermented veggies,
so like pickles and sauer kraut with cabbage. Then colored
(14:22):
greens are actually really great and easier to grow. I've
heard from our podcast from at recent interview I did.
But really what you want to do is look is
get the different colors. You could try to get each
different color into your diet every day, and you can
include fruits and that fruits as long as you're eating
the whole fruit with fiber that counts in those fhito
(14:44):
nutrients too.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
Yeah, we talk a lot about adding color and eat
the rainbow and things like that, so that we're very
much tracking with you there. Okay, so let's switch gears
and talk about from a lifestyle perspective. Are there things
we can do from a lifestyle perspective to strength the
the gut hormone connection.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
Yeah, so we talked about how cortisol can play a
role here, and so some type of stress reduction activity daily,
whether that's going outside for a walk, taking screen breaks,
getting up from your computer, doing a meditation or a
worry journal, just something that you do every day for yourself,
(15:23):
and it doesn't have to be long, it can be
ten minutes. We just want to break that cycle. And
as we mentioned in blood sugar balance is also very
important for lifestyle and cortisol because when your blood sugar
is up and down, your cortisol is going to be
spiking in order to try to stabilize your blood sugar.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
What about sleep, I'm upset with sleep and getting a
good night's sleep because we know that you know, lack
of sleep can actually have some pretty negative health effects.
So how does root handle sleep?
Speaker 3 (15:58):
Yes, it is a great point that is very important,
and I'm also obsessed with it. I will not sacrifice sleep.
A consistent bedtime and weak time is really important for
the melatonin cycles, which is also implicated in hormone balance
and estrogen balance. So really starting with if it's too
hard to start with the same exact bedtime, sometimes it's
(16:20):
easier to start with the same exact weak time and
then your body kind of naturally will start to adjust
over time to having those those consistent times. We also
support sleep, especially in perimenopause with progesterone. We also use
magnesium glycinate. It's our favorite type of magnesium at root
(16:40):
because the glycinate part is very calming and it's very
well absorbed, and so we'll do that at bedtime.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
Yes, I definitely do magnesium glaconate. And so I'm glad
that you mentioned dietary supplements because I wanted to see
what is I mean. You're a medical doctor, you're a
function medical expert. Do you have like an overarching philosophy
when it comes to dietary supplements.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
Yes, As functional medicine doctors, we don't necessarily shy away
from supplements like some more conventional doctors do. We like
to use data whenever pass those So, for example, we
will check for nutrient deficiency so that we can give
data driven recommendations, especially things like zinc levels. We check
(17:29):
those on our root cause panel, and we check red
blood cell magnesium. So we'll use the lab testing to
drive those decisions. And we also use supplements when we're
trying to help repair the gut as more of a
reparative solution than some of the conventional symptom control options.
So we'll do things like replace essential digestive enzyme so
(17:52):
to help people absorb those gats. It can help with
bloating and nutrient absorption. And we'll use probiotics of course,
prebiotics depending on the symptoms and the testing that we do.
Sometimes sometimes we can help people based on their symptoms
with that too.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Yeah, I'm a big fan of probiotics, and I would
say that looking at the scientific literature, I think we're
finding that prebiotics are just as important and maybe even
a little bit more important.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
Yes, I would agree with that, Yeah for sure.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Okay, what else do you recommend when it comes to
enhancing the gut hormone connection?
Speaker 3 (18:35):
I think, you know, I think we didn't touch on
exercise yet, but that's important, and especially strength training. So
we know that strength training can help with insulin resistance,
which can be a huge driver for hormone imbalance. So
the more muscle that you have, the more spot you
have to tell your sugar where to go for insulin
(18:59):
to drive that sugar into the muscles to be used
for energy, and so it helps with metabolism. So strength
training at least twice a week is very important, especially
for women to prevent osteoporosis. The other thing strength training does, interestingly,
is that helps women make testosterum, which can also be
one of those hormones and perimenopause that can be deficient.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
Yeah, I'm glad that you brought up exercise. We're big
into exercise around here. I noticed that you talk about
female health. Does Root address the guys? I mean when
it comes to testosterone and other hormonal issues that men
may face, or do pretty much focus on female health? Yes,
(19:44):
great point. I was talking a lot about.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
Women in this episode, but we definitely have male members
and we work with companies to that, you know, manufacturing
companies that predominantly male, and a lot of those lifestyle
changes that I just mentioned do apply to your male
audience as well.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Yeah, exactly. So tell us a little bit more about
Root Functional Medicine. What is it and why did you
want to create Root Functional Medicine.
Speaker 3 (20:10):
Yeah. So Roots started as a functional medicine practice and
it has grown to an online telehealth functional medicine practice
in forty eight states where you can work with a
Root doctor and a dietitian. You can either start with
lab testing or you can add individual visits with one
or both of us.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
Cool, So where can people find out more about you
and your work?
Speaker 3 (20:39):
Root Functional Medicine dot com is our website. The lab
test that I was talking about can actually be found
on the website. And then I am probably most active
on LinkedIn.
Speaker 2 (20:49):
Okay, cool, and they would just look for doctor Erica
Armstrong or would they look for Root Functional Medicine. Both
of those would work. Okay, cool, Okay. Before I let
you go, I want to talk a little bit about
your book, The PCOS Thyroid Connection. Tell us a little
bit about that book and what people would discover if
they pick up a copy.
Speaker 3 (21:10):
Yeah, I didn't know I was going to be writing
this book, But what happened was we kept finding this
connection in practice. And what was happening when we were
testing in our blood panel for hormone and balances and
for just regular screening, we were finding a lot of
pc us and thyroid occurring together. And then as we
dug deeper, we found that a lot of them had
(21:31):
the same root cause or root causes, and one of
the big ones was Scott Health and we put together
some very natural ways of addressing both pcus and thyroid
that were really getting great results. When started having regular
periods again, you know that wouldn't have happened and the
conventional treatment was often, you know, just to give a
(21:52):
pill for that, which kind of overrides the system. But
we were doing it a much better way to affect
overall health and inflam levels and quality of life, and
that was sustainable, and I just felt that it needed
to be shared so that we could impact more lives.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
Yeah, I would agree. I did an entire show about
the gut thyroid access and it was fascinating and it
was one of those ones that I didn't expect that
there would be such an interplay between the gut and
thyroid function. So it's not surprising to me. I was
(22:30):
a little surprised that PCOS has such a strong thyroid connection.
Speaker 3 (22:36):
Yeah, and again it's that inflammation. Sometimes it's inflammation that's
driving insulin resistance, which seventy percent of women with PCUS
have insulin resistance on top of it, but at its core,
they're both inflammatory conditions.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
Yeah, I know that's the key. Well, I want to
have our listeners go to your website root functionalmedicine dot com.
It's a wealth of information, it's a great program, and
obviously functional medicine is very effective. And I want to
thank you again doctor Armstrong for joining me today. Well,
(23:11):
thank you so much for having me well great. Well,
that wraps up this episode of five to Thrive Live
once again. I'd like to thank our sponsors pro Thrivers
Wellness Sleep formula, Cetria Glutathione, the superior glutathione to support
liver and immune health, Cognizance Citacoline and pro Thriver's Brain
formula to help enhance memory, focus and attention, and Doctor
(23:35):
o'hira's Award Women Shelf Stable probiotic. This has been a
great show. May you experience joy, laughter and love. It's
time to thrive everyone, have a great night. Sh
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