Welcome to today’s Midlife Minute.

Today, we’re exploring bloating, constipation, and various other midlife gut woes. 

Stay tuned as I clarify how midlife changes the gut narrative and review the evidence about how to get things moving again.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

• Why your gut motility changes in midlife

• How menopause influences the gut-brain connection

• Why various types of constipation require different interventions

• How changes in your gut bacteria affect the way your gut functions in menopause

• How different types of fiber can either help or worsen constipation symptoms, depending on the type of constipation 

• The main types of constipation, and how they differ 

• How estrogen therapy may influence bowel regularity, and why the route of administration matters

• Lifestyle habits that can stimulate bowel movements

• Why bloating tends to occur in midlife

Connect with Cynthia Thurlow  

• Follow on X, Instagram & LinkedIn

• Check out Cynthia’s website.

• Submit your questions to support@cynthiathurlow.com

• Join other like-minded women in a supportive, nurturing community: The Midlife Pause/Cynthia Thurlow. 

• Cynthia’s Menopause Gut Book is on presale now!

• Cynthia’s Intermittent Fasting Transformation Book

• The Midlife Pause Supplement Line

Links:

1. Menopause Is Associated with an Altered Gut Microbiome and Estrobolome, with Implications for Adverse Cardiometabolic Risk in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos

2. The Intestinal Microbiome and Estrogen Receptor–Positive Female Breast Cancer 

3. Estrogen–gut microbiome axis: Physiological and clinical implications

4. Menopausal shift on women’s health and microbial niches

5. Gut microbiota has the potential to improve health of menopausal women by regulating estrogen

6. Gut-microbiota-targeted diets modulate human immune status

7. Effect of female sex hormone supplementation and withdrawal on gastrointestinal and colonic transit in postmenopausal women

8. Constipation and diarrhea during the menopause transition and early postmenopause: observations from the Seattle Midlife Women’s Health Study

9. Estrogen Rather Than Progesterone Cause Constipation in Both Female and Male Mice

10. Rome IV Criteria

11. Gut-Directed Hypnotherapy for Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis 

Gut-Directed Hypnotherapy for Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PubMed)

12. Randomised clinical trial: the efficacy of gut-directed hypnotherapy is similar to that of the low FODMAP diet for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome

13. Gut-directed hypnosis and hypnotherapy for irritable bowel syndrome: a mini-review

14. Review article: gut-directed hypnotherapy in the management of irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease