Over the past two weeks we’ve looked at what the microbiome is, and what it typically looks like in women with Endometriosis.
But why would we be interested in your microbiome? Time to explore how the microbiome affects your endometriosis.
In last week’s video (you can watch it again here) I explained that women with Endometriosis have an altered microbiome. They have more bad bacteria in their gut, vagina and pelvic cavity and less good bacteria.
The bad bacteria produce chemicals, called endotoxins. The endotoxins trigger the immune system. We know that women with Endometriosis have an ‘excitable’ immune system, making it react, and overreact, to harmless triggers.
The immune system is our focus for September, so we’ll delve deeper into it next month. But at this point it is important to realise that one of your immune system’s key response is to create inflammation. And in the case of endotoxins, it’s not a localised, acute inflammation you would get with a small wound on your hand, for example, but a systemic (wide-spread), chronic inflammation, affecting a wide range of organs and tissues.
In your gut, this inflammation creates and worsens a leaky gut, where the gut wall allows undigested food particles to go through and enter the blood stream. Which triggers the immune system, creates more inflammation … you can see the vicious cycle.
When the organs in your pelvic cavity get inflamed as well, they become perfect areas for endometrial tissue to settle and grown.
The lack of good bacteria also contributes by creating an environment where bad bacteria can flourish. Certain good bacteria like those of the lactobacillus family, help to increase the pH in your gut as well as in your endometrial tissue, making it very difficult for the bad bacteria to survive.
So a healthy microbiome affects your endometriosis by keeping the pH high to make it difficult for bad bacteria to thrive, and with less bad bacteria, your immune system will be calmer. A calmer immune system means less inflammation, and that means it’s harder for endometrial tissue to ‘settle’.
Next week I will give tips on how to start changing the balance of the bacteria in your microbiome with food.
And here are links to the previous posts in this month’s theme: