Exercise, Gut Health, & Menopause: Here’s a Boost!

Should you be sporting for your gut in menopause?

You know, the gut microbiome is super important, especially during menopause. We’re talking hot flashes, mood swings, those annoying symptoms.

Well, it turns out, our gut flora, or gut microbiome, can play a big role in managing them.

And exercise can really help you with that.

Exercise? Why is exercise helpful for women’s gut health and hormone balance in menopause?

It’s a total game changer for gut health.

It’s not just about staying fit. It’s about making our gut bacteria happy and more diverse.

And diversity of our gut microbiome is good for us.

However, stress on the other hand, especially in menopause, can be a real gut health killer and hormone balance wrecker.

And your gut health is already more vulnerable during menopause. Exercise is a fantastic stress buster and can help your gut health indirectly by easing the stress effects on your gastrointestinal system.

So when we move, we’re not just burning calories, we’re also creating a healthier environment in our gut.

Watch my video and read my post about how gut health, stress, and menopause are related.

You can find it also on youtube in my gut health and menopause playlist.

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Which sport is best to improve gut health in menopause?

While there are studies on the impact of exercise on the gut microbiome, specific research focusing on particular sports and their benefits for the gut health of women, especially menopausal women, is not as extensively covered.

The available research generally emphasizes the overall benefits of physical activity on gut health, such as the promotion of bacterial diversity, strengthening of the gut barrier and reduction in inflammation.

These benefits are not limited to any single sport, but are linked to regular, moderate intensity, physical activities in general.

For more detailed insights into the relationship between exercise and gut microbiome health, check out the comprehensive review on frontiers in science.

Exercise for your gut health. What’s important? You know, exercise really does wonders for our gut microbiota. It’s, it’s kind of amazing. But you’ve got to be regular.

When we keep up with regular physical activity, we’re actually helping the good gut bacteria grow. These little guys are super important for digestion, our immune system, and believe it or not, even our mental health.

Fix your gut health with exercise?

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Exercise benefits our gut health in several ways, and can really help improve or even fix it.

It creates diversity, strengthens the gut barrier, reduces inflammation, and increases the motility. Fancy word for, it makes the stuff move faster through and out of your body, which is good.

First, let’s look at diversity in studies.

So, here’s the cool part. Regular exercise means more variety in our gut bacteria. And why does that matter?

Well, a diverse gut microbiome is linked to better health and a lower chance of getting chronic diseases.

Okay, so in one study, women did exercises as recommended by the World Health Organization. That’s like 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity, or 75 minutes of something more intense each week. The neat thing they found?

Exercise changed the makeup of their gut bacteria. And in a separate six week study where they just focused on endurance exercises without changing diets, they noticed some shifts in beneficial gut bacteria.

The cool part? These changes didn’t depend on age, weight, fat percentage, or even how much energy and fiber the women were getting in their diets.

Then there was this study and it found that athletes have a more varied gut microbiota than non athletes. They’ve got more of the good bacteria that boost health. But hey, you don’t have to be an athlete. Just mixing in some cardio and strength training can help the rest of us get that diverse and strong gut microbiome.

Bloated or gut issues? Uh, ladies, exercise may help you. Exercise does another great thing. It strengthens our gut barrier. This is like our body’s defense system. A strong gut barrier keeps the bad stuff out of our bloodstream, cutting down on inflammation and lowering the risk of all sorts of diseases.

So there was this study with mice, right? The ones that got a run on a wheel had better guts than the mice that didn’t move much.

This kind of tells us that if we keep active, like with running or brisk walking, we might keep our gut barriers healthy. It’s like putting up a good fence to keep out leaky gut syndrome.

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Exercise can help with Inflammation

Here’s another thing. Staying active can really tone down inflammation in our bodies, including our guts. And you know chronic inflammation is a big deal, especially with gut issues like Inflammatory Bowel Disease, IBD.

For us ladies in menopause, dealing with bloating or weird bowel habits, exercises like swimming or cycling could be a real game changer.

These activities can help reduce inflammation in the gut and ease those symptoms. And get this, exercise helps move food through our digestive system. This means less constipation and more regular bathroom visits. Even a 30 minute walk or jog each day can make digestion smoother and keep things moving.

To really get the gut benefits from exercise, we should aim for regular moderate stuff, like walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, or even yoga and Pilates. The trick is to find something fun, so we’ll stick with it.

Which sports could you do that would be beneficial in menopause?

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Here are 10 great different ways to exercise that help you with your gut health in menopause.

These activities not only support gut health, but also cater to the overall well being of menopausal women by reducing stress, maintaining a healthy weight, and improving body strength and flexibility.

Number one, yoga. My favorite, as I have been a yoga teacher for decades, it’s a stress buster and helps with flexibility and balance.

Super important as we get older. Check out my YouTube videos on yoga, breathing, and meditation.

Number two, walking. Easy on the joints and boosts heart health. Plus, it’s good for keeping our digestive system moving, if you can do it in nature even better.

Number three, swimming. Full body exercise, gentle on the joints, helps keep weight in check and reduces inflammation.

Number four, cycling. Another joint friendly option that’s great for the heart. It also helps keep our gut bacteria happy.

Number five, Pilates. All about core strength, which can improve digestion, and it also helps with stress.

Number six, strength training. Keeps our muscles strong, which is key during menopause, and supports a healthy metabolism for gut health.

Number seven, dance fitness. Think Zumba or ballroom dancing. Fun and great for the heart and gut movement, plus a stress reliever.

Number eight, trampolining. Trampolining can be particularly beneficial for menopausal women due to several reasons. It’s easy on the joints and it stimulates the lymphatic system, which helps in detoxification and boosting immune function. This is particularly beneficial as the body undergoes hormonal changes.

Number nine, rowing or kayaking.

These are great for upper body strength and cardiovascular health. Plus being out on the water can be super relaxing, which is always good for stress.

Number 10, gardening. Yes, you heard me right. Gardening. Believe it or not, gardening is a fantastic way to get some exercise. It involves bending, lifting, and stretching, which is great for overall fitness.

And being in nature can be so calming for the mind.

So, in a nutshell, regular exercise is super important for our gut health. It boosts good bacteria, strengthens our gut barrier, cuts down on inflammation, and keeps our digestion on track. By weaving some physical activity into our daily routine, we’re not just helping our gut, but our overall health,

Check out my videos on these topics. There is a playlist about hormones, gut health, and menopause in my channel.