From PMS to PCOS, new research suggests that a solution to countless hormonal issues could lie in the gut microbiome – and how you feed it. WH reports on the promising new science of probiotics
Things we were obsessed with in the 1990s: the Spice Girls, chokers, Impulse body spray and probiotics. While some of our guilty pleasures have aged better than others (we’re looking at you, Friends), the latter still has pride of place in the kitchen cabinets of the nutritionally minded public. In fact, since new research appeared midpandemic linking a healthy gut with less severe cases of Covid, sales of probiotic supplements have surged once again, putting the global market on a trajectory of being valued at £89.51 billion by 2028. But with the latest research lasering in on how the microbiome interacts with hormones – the MVPs when it comes to decoding women’s wellbeing – gut health, and the ability of probiotics to influence it, is set to hit scientific superstar status. But how close are we really to unlocking probiotics’ potential when it comes to our hormones?
Inside job
Recognised as an organ in its own right, the gut is populated by trillions of bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract; bacteria that are crucial to your physiology, says Ghazala Aziz-Scott, who is a specialist in women’s health at The Marion Gluck Clinic. Known as your microbiome, these bacteria influence everything from mood to immunity, sleep to ageing, cancer to allergies. The list is endless – and growing. And with huge influencer status comes huge potential. As Tim Spector, a world-leading expert on the microbiome and co-founder of Covid research app Zoe, puts it, ‘The ability to manipulate the gut microbiome therapeutically is absolutely massive. It should be the centre of medical attention for the next decade.’
The question is, how do we access that potential? Experts agree that eating a wide variety of plant-based foods, alongside a regular smattering of fermented foods and drinks, is key to achieving a wide diversity of species, along with an ideal ratio of good-to-bad microbes. But targeting the treatment is trickier. ‘The first step in microbiology is to identify a bug,’ adds Professor Spector. ‘The second is to assign it some function and work out what it eats and what chemicals it produces; and then to investigate whether it’s commonly found in people who are sick or healthy.’ But when it comes to female health? Things get a bit more complicated.
Under the influence
We suspect you, WH reader, are well versed in the gut-brain axis – the bidirectional communication between centres of the brain and the gut. ‘Neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and dopamine – which affect mood and behaviour – are produced by bacteria in the gut,’ explains Ina Schuppe Koistinen, director of the departmen
