1
00:00:00,480 --> 00:00:02,840
Speaker 1: Welcome to Healthy Ish listeners. Hope you are having a

2
00:00:02,880 --> 00:00:05,560
Speaker 1: fantastic day. This is, of course, the daily podcast from

3
00:00:05,600 --> 00:00:08,360
Speaker 1: Body and Soul. I am Felicity Harley, host of this

4
00:00:08,560 --> 00:00:11,800
Speaker 1: podcast and joining me via our online studio today is

5
00:00:11,840 --> 00:00:15,320
Speaker 1: doctor Cecilia Kittik. She's a gut health expert and exercise

6
00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:20,200
Speaker 1: physiologist who has published more than eighty research papers exploring

7
00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:23,920
Speaker 1: things like inflammation, nutrition, the endocrine system and of course

8
00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:27,040
Speaker 1: the gut. She knows this stuff. Basically, she joins us

9
00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:30,560
Speaker 1: to discuss how your gut health impacts your period health.

10
00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:33,360
Speaker 1: Have you ever thought about this? Neither did I? And

11
00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:37,200
Speaker 1: of course how to improve the health of your microbiome. Also,

12
00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:41,120
Speaker 1: if you are taking special care of your fertility, make

13
00:00:41,159 --> 00:00:43,640
Speaker 1: sure you're listening to extra Healthy Ish, where she shares

14
00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:46,680
Speaker 1: her advice on how to create a fertile gut. You

15
00:00:46,680 --> 00:01:01,240
Speaker 1: can grab that wherever you get your podcasts. Ce Celia,

16
00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:04,520
Speaker 1: thank you for joining us on Healthy Today. Finally, we've

17
00:01:04,680 --> 00:01:06,440
Speaker 1: been trying to do this interview for a few months.

18
00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:10,440
Speaker 2: Now, let's make it worth it, Felicity, Yes we will.

19
00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:12,440
Speaker 1: Listeners. We are here to give you all the info

20
00:01:12,480 --> 00:01:15,199
Speaker 1: about gut health and how it affects your period health.

21
00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:18,360
Speaker 1: I mean, what does what's the connection between these two

22
00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:20,679
Speaker 1: What does gut health have to do with menstrual cycles?

23
00:01:21,400 --> 00:01:25,200
Speaker 2: So they may seem like they're sitting in quite distinct locations,

24
00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:29,960
Speaker 2: but these two components are very intricately connected. So the

25
00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:35,520
Speaker 2: health of our microbiome does influence us having a healthy,

26
00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:41,160
Speaker 2: reproductive menstrual cycle. Essentially, when we're talking about what a

27
00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:45,640
Speaker 2: healthy cycle is if someone's not on any hormone or contraception,

28
00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:49,200
Speaker 2: it's really looking at the fact that that menstrual cycle

29
00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:52,320
Speaker 2: comes regularly, maybe every twenty six to thirty five days,

30
00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:57,000
Speaker 2: that it's moderate bleeding, so nothing too excessive or heavy flow,

31
00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:01,880
Speaker 2: you're not experiencing any excessive pain or severe mood swings

32
00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:06,160
Speaker 2: or other debilitating symptoms. And importantly, a healthy menstrual cycle

33
00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:09,800
Speaker 2: is one in which you ovulate. Now that may sound

34
00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:12,560
Speaker 2: a bit unusual because while you bleed each month, you

35
00:02:12,639 --> 00:02:16,400
Speaker 2: won't necessarily ovulate, and the research actually supports it in

36
00:02:16,440 --> 00:02:20,560
Speaker 2: about sixteen to thirty seven percent of menstrual cycles. Population

37
00:02:20,919 --> 00:02:24,320
Speaker 2: actually doesn't take place. Yeah, but it makes sense when

38
00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:28,560
Speaker 2: we start to understand mechanistically what's going on and how

39
00:02:28,600 --> 00:02:33,000
Speaker 2: we ovulate, and what supports that process. So importantly part

40
00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:36,160
Speaker 2: of that is the communication that happens between our brain

41
00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:39,160
Speaker 2: and our ovaries and how well they're talking to each other.

42
00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:42,799
Speaker 2: Looking at the hormone levels that we've got circulating around,

43
00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:47,639
Speaker 2: nutritional adequacy, how we're feeding our body and providing nutrients,

44
00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:50,800
Speaker 2: and our immune system as well. Now all of these

45
00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:55,120
Speaker 2: things are influenced by our resident microbiome, so that is

46
00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:58,520
Speaker 2: the populations that we have living in our gart They're

47
00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:04,120
Speaker 2: responsible for regulating sex hormones, how well we extract and

48
00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:09,079
Speaker 2: absorb nutrients from food, our higher brain centers, our immune system,

49
00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:13,800
Speaker 2: and these are all connected. So when there is a

50
00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:16,880
Speaker 2: bit of disruption in that gut microbiome, it can be

51
00:03:16,919 --> 00:03:21,760
Speaker 2: associated with missing or irregular menstrual periods, experiencing greater pre

52
00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:25,640
Speaker 2: menstrual symptoms, the presence of fibroids and polyps, which can

53
00:03:25,720 --> 00:03:29,240
Speaker 2: be contributed to really heavy bleeding during a cycle. And

54
00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:32,560
Speaker 2: we know those disruptions are seen in conditions such as

55
00:03:32,680 --> 00:03:36,280
Speaker 2: polycystic ovary syndrome and endometriosis.

56
00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:39,680
Speaker 1: It's amazing, you know. I obviously listen to a lot

57
00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:41,880
Speaker 1: of other podcasts and just hearing you speak, there's so

58
00:03:42,080 --> 00:03:44,120
Speaker 1: much we're learning about the gut and how it's just

59
00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:46,680
Speaker 1: so central to everything. I mean, I listened to something

60
00:03:46,880 --> 00:03:48,960
Speaker 1: the other day about it being central to heart health

61
00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:51,880
Speaker 1: and now menstrual cycles, the link between the two, it's

62
00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:55,880
Speaker 1: just it just blows my mind absolutely.

63
00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:58,520
Speaker 2: And a lot of this comes down to looking at

64
00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:03,600
Speaker 2: the processes of inflammation and oxidative stress. Essentially, these are

65
00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:06,760
Speaker 2: processes that we need in our body and they're really important.

66
00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:10,720
Speaker 2: But if they are left unchecked, you know, or they

67
00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:12,520
Speaker 2: get a bit out of control, they can cause a

68
00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:14,760
Speaker 2: bit of damage to our tissues. And so when we're

69
00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:18,680
Speaker 2: looking at a lot of those disease processes diabetes, cuttingo

70
00:04:18,760 --> 00:04:23,799
Speaker 2: vascular disease, autoimmune conditions, there's always an element there where

71
00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:27,320
Speaker 2: inflammation is a bit disrupted. So it's the same when

72
00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:30,799
Speaker 2: we're talking about our gut health and our menstrual cycle.

73
00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:35,520
Speaker 2: We actually need really tightly regulated inflammation as we're growing

74
00:04:35,520 --> 00:04:39,320
Speaker 2: a follicle in our ovary, and in that follicle is

75
00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:41,960
Speaker 2: where we're going to find our egg. Now for that

76
00:04:42,080 --> 00:04:46,120
Speaker 2: egg to be released again, we need really great communication

77
00:04:46,279 --> 00:04:50,440
Speaker 2: coming from our higher brain centers to our ovaries, and

78
00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:56,040
Speaker 2: when there's disruption in that communication, that pathway alone between

79
00:04:56,080 --> 00:05:01,279
Speaker 2: our brain and our ovary. About eighty five of failures

80
00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:04,880
Speaker 2: in when we don't ovulate are contributed to those pathways.

81
00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:07,960
Speaker 2: And those pathways and what's going on in our brain

82
00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:11,960
Speaker 2: is influenced by what's going on in our gut. So,

83
00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:16,920
Speaker 2: particularly when we're thinking about our immune system and the

84
00:05:16,960 --> 00:05:21,480
Speaker 2: process of inflammation, what happens is when there's a few

85
00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:23,880
Speaker 2: when there are a few more populations living in the

86
00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:29,040
Speaker 2: gut that tend to promote disruption or inflammation, that can

87
00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:33,719
Speaker 2: lead to changing the structural integrity of our intestinal wall,

88
00:05:33,960 --> 00:05:37,479
Speaker 2: so that leads to an increase in permeability, and we

89
00:05:37,560 --> 00:05:39,760
Speaker 2: might actually have things coming from our gut into our

90
00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:46,040
Speaker 2: bloodstream that can be really immune stimulating, things like endotoxin

91
00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:51,359
Speaker 2: or these little components of bacterial cell walls that really

92
00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:55,240
Speaker 2: trigger and activate our immune system to cause a lot

93
00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:59,880
Speaker 2: of inflammation. So just even the presence of that bacterial

94
00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:04,279
Speaker 2: components in our blood stream that is associated with reduced

95
00:06:04,279 --> 00:06:10,120
Speaker 2: ovulation and impacting then even levels of pain that we

96
00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:14,600
Speaker 2: might experience in our menstrual cycle. So when you look

97
00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:17,560
Speaker 2: at the gut of women that do experience pre menstrual

98
00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:22,839
Speaker 2: symptoms or having irregular cycles, there seems to be often

99
00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:27,720
Speaker 2: an enrichment of populations like Prevtella that drive a bit

100
00:06:27,760 --> 00:06:30,800
Speaker 2: of inflammation, and we also might have less of the

101
00:06:30,839 --> 00:06:33,640
Speaker 2: good guys in there, so less of the bacteria that

102
00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:37,840
Speaker 2: produce things like butyrate, and butrate is a short chain

103
00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:41,440
Speaker 2: fatty acid, which is really beneficial for our health. And

104
00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:45,960
Speaker 2: when we start to appreciate that's getting produced in our gut,

105
00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:49,120
Speaker 2: you know, in the large intestine, but that is absorbed

106
00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:55,600
Speaker 2: systemically and influencing our cardiovascular health, our brain health, the

107
00:06:55,600 --> 00:06:58,960
Speaker 2: health of our muscles, and how strong we are, how

108
00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:03,320
Speaker 2: well our pancreas is working. All of these are impacted

109
00:07:03,520 --> 00:07:06,680
Speaker 2: by those metabolites that are getting produced within our gut.

110
00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:11,320
Speaker 1: Now talk to us about birth control. Can this impact

111
00:07:11,440 --> 00:07:13,720
Speaker 1: gut health? I mean, what role does this play? And

112
00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:15,920
Speaker 1: also things like medication, I mean, and how does this

113
00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:16,680
Speaker 1: affect our gut?

114
00:07:17,560 --> 00:07:21,120
Speaker 2: So this is definitely an emerging space when we're looking

115
00:07:21,200 --> 00:07:26,040
Speaker 2: at oral contraceptive pills. So our microbiome can influence our

116
00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:30,480
Speaker 2: sex hormones, particularly things like estrogen, but our hormones can

117
00:07:30,520 --> 00:07:33,880
Speaker 2: also influence our microbiomes. So there's definitely this by direction

118
00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:37,960
Speaker 2: and communication that happens. Yes, and so when you're looking

119
00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:42,000
Speaker 2: at putting in exogenous hormones, like with the oral contraceptive pill.

120
00:07:42,920 --> 00:07:46,360
Speaker 2: What the research shows it's quite limited at this space

121
00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:49,640
Speaker 2: in looking at the gut microbiome in particular, But what

122
00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:54,600
Speaker 2: the research shows is that gut community might be pretty stable,

123
00:07:54,840 --> 00:07:58,480
Speaker 2: but their function might change. And a lot of this

124
00:07:59,080 --> 00:08:03,480
Speaker 2: is in very specific populations, like, for example, women that

125
00:08:03,560 --> 00:08:07,480
Speaker 2: have polcistic ovary syndrome, so they might have some changes

126
00:08:07,520 --> 00:08:12,160
Speaker 2: in amino acid metabolism and other functions. But ultimately, when

127
00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:16,760
Speaker 2: we're thinking about what can really disrupt the microbiome, there

128
00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:21,160
Speaker 2: are absolutely other medications that will tend to be more disruptive,

129
00:08:21,200 --> 00:08:24,000
Speaker 2: and one of those is very commonly prescribed, and these

130
00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:29,560
Speaker 2: are proton pump inhibitors. So typically they might be prescribed

131
00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:33,240
Speaker 2: to treat gastrosophagy or reflex disease, or you know, getting

132
00:08:33,280 --> 00:08:35,800
Speaker 2: your doctor you say I've got heartburn and they're like, oh, here,

133
00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:40,920
Speaker 2: take a PPI. Very disruptive because it's changing levels of

134
00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:45,439
Speaker 2: stomach acid and that's potentially enabling the growth of opportunistic

135
00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:49,280
Speaker 2: pathogens or the transit of more pathogens getting from our

136
00:08:49,360 --> 00:08:52,800
Speaker 2: upper gastrointestin trapped and making the way to where they

137
00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:58,880
Speaker 2: probably shouldn't So antibiotics are another component that are often

138
00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:04,160
Speaker 2: essential and life saving, but there is absolutely research showing

139
00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:07,440
Speaker 2: that that can disrupt the gut community, and some work

140
00:09:07,559 --> 00:09:10,280
Speaker 2: even shows it might take six to twelve months to

141
00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:11,480
Speaker 2: restore the gut community.

142
00:09:11,520 --> 00:09:15,480
Speaker 1: Goodness, I've just come off following antibiotics, okay, But on

143
00:09:15,600 --> 00:09:16,840
Speaker 1: the flip side.

144
00:09:16,679 --> 00:09:20,000
Speaker 2: There are definitely supportive mechanisms in place that can help

145
00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:22,480
Speaker 2: you as you're restoring your community. And one of those

146
00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:28,240
Speaker 2: looking at the incorporation of particular probiotics into your diet

147
00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:33,280
Speaker 2: that has been shown to reduce antibiotic associated dysbiosis or

148
00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:37,000
Speaker 2: that disruption and the gut microbiome, and the same with

149
00:09:37,080 --> 00:09:40,680
Speaker 2: proton pump inhibitors. We know that dietary and lifestyle changes

150
00:09:40,920 --> 00:09:43,920
Speaker 2: can be effective in managing reflux disease.

151
00:09:44,640 --> 00:09:46,319
Speaker 1: Now, just quickly before we go, you have to give

152
00:09:46,320 --> 00:09:48,080
Speaker 1: me this answer in a couple of sentences. But if

153
00:09:48,120 --> 00:09:51,880
Speaker 1: we are trying to you know, get pregnant, that's your expertise.

154
00:09:52,600 --> 00:09:56,480
Speaker 1: Or just improve our reproductive health our you know, help

155
00:09:56,480 --> 00:09:59,600
Speaker 1: our cycles become healthier or healthy is so to speak.

156
00:09:59,679 --> 00:10:02,520
Speaker 1: How can can we improve the health of our microbiome today.

157
00:10:03,160 --> 00:10:07,240
Speaker 2: Have a consistent supply of probiotic fiber in your diet.

158
00:10:07,480 --> 00:10:10,120
Speaker 2: And if you want to make that really easy and

159
00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:12,920
Speaker 2: accessible to you, there are ways you can do it

160
00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:15,880
Speaker 2: despite even having a coco late for example, at the

161
00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:20,520
Speaker 2: end of your day. So even in healthy individuals, selected

162
00:10:20,559 --> 00:10:24,200
Speaker 2: probiotics are going to really further enhance your gut community

163
00:10:24,320 --> 00:10:28,120
Speaker 2: and promote the growth of those beneficial species. And if

164
00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:33,160
Speaker 2: that is the foundation for our brain health, metabolism, immune function,

165
00:10:33,600 --> 00:10:38,200
Speaker 2: endocrine function, reproductive health, we want for all the benefits. Yeah,

166
00:10:38,280 --> 00:10:40,439
Speaker 2: we want all the benefits that come to us.

167
00:10:40,480 --> 00:10:43,680
Speaker 1: A few more foods that have these probotics in it.

168
00:10:44,040 --> 00:10:47,280
Speaker 2: Yeah. Probartics are found in things like lots of different

169
00:10:47,280 --> 00:10:53,600
Speaker 2: fruits and vegetables, things like onion, chickpeas, b troot, whole week.

170
00:10:53,960 --> 00:10:58,360
Speaker 2: You know, our grains are really important as well, bali rye.

171
00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:03,800
Speaker 2: So again looking at a really great plant based focused

172
00:11:04,800 --> 00:11:07,640
Speaker 2: you know, lots of diversity in what you're reading, and

173
00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:12,240
Speaker 2: abundance in those whole foods and plant based foods will

174
00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:15,040
Speaker 2: be nurturing your microbiome.

175
00:11:14,640 --> 00:11:17,280
Speaker 1: Fora Celia, thank you for joining us on healthy Ish.

176
00:11:17,320 --> 00:11:18,960
Speaker 2: Thank you Felicity.

177
00:11:23,120 --> 00:11:26,400
Speaker 1: Well, time and time again, we are reminded that good

178
00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:29,520
Speaker 1: health starts in the gut. Hey, Cecilia does have a

179
00:11:29,520 --> 00:11:31,400
Speaker 1: book out. She has an online course as well. Her

180
00:11:31,400 --> 00:11:33,720
Speaker 1: book is called Create a Fertile Gut. I will leave

181
00:11:33,720 --> 00:11:36,360
Speaker 1: a link to both of them in the show notes.

182
00:11:36,840 --> 00:11:38,560
Speaker 1: If you did enjoy this chat, if you've got something

183
00:11:38,559 --> 00:11:40,960
Speaker 1: out of it, tell us rate and review this episode,

184
00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:43,440
Speaker 1: or of course, you can subscribe to this podcast. Anything else,

185
00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:45,520
Speaker 1: head to body insoul dot com dot you followus on socials,

186
00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:47,200
Speaker 1: Grab our print edition which is out in your local

187
00:11:47,240 --> 00:11:49,559
Speaker 1: Sunday paper, and until tomorrow, stay healthy ish