Emma, 31, had a couple of digestive issues, mainly bloating (occasionally she said she felt gurgles in her tummy).
But ever since a really severe bout of holiday food poisoning ten years earlier, Emma’s menstrual cycle had caused a lot of problems.
Emma had suffered with mood swings – to the point of feeling very “dark” in her own words – and fatigue, for the two weeks leading up to her period.
She was struggling to look after her little girl during that time and didn’t know what was wrong.
The docs labelled it “PMS”, short for “pre-menstrual syndrome”.
After returning from her holiday, ten years earlier, Emma’s doctor ran a stool test and diagnosed a parasite called Blastocystis hominis (same one I had).
A couple of antibiotic treatments later, Emma’s digestive symptoms had gone except for her periodic bloating and gurgles.
Unfortunately, her menstrual symptoms had only just begun.
It’s actually very common for women to struggle with “hormonal” symptoms because of what’s going on in their digestive system.
I have a mantra, which is “stress beats sex, every time”.
Having bad bugs in your gut is very stressful to your body, so your adrenal glands make more “stress” hormones.
This happens at the expense of the “sex” hormones that regulate a woman’s menstrual cycle.
Emma didn’t believe me when I told her I thought the Blastocystis was probably still in her intestine.
So we ran a stool test.
Sure enough, the Blasto parasite was still happily sitting in Emma’s gut, more than a decade on.
In Emma’s case, I also ran some home-based hormone testing to check her stress hormone and sex hormone balance (I run a lot of these tests with women).
Her hormones were way out of balance.
We could have just attempted to treat Emma’s hormone imbalances, but I knew that wouldn’t work because her digestion was probably causing the hormone problems in the first place.
So I worked with Emma to help change her diet and we ran an herbal parasite cleanse to get rid of the Blasto parasite.
I also recommended a simple herbal protocol to support Emma’s adrenal glands and ovarian hormone levels.
What happened?
It wasn’t an overnight cure. After all, Emma had been struggling for a decade.
But she began to feel good, even during the times of the month when she’d been feeling unwell.
When we retested her digestion, the Blasto had gone.
I continued to support Emma’s hormone system, and encouraged her to remain on her new eating plan.
Over time, Emma’s energy levels and mood began to lift even more, to the point where she felt like a different person.
A woman’s hormone system can easily be sent out of balance by problems in the gut, even if she’s not experiencing major digestive symptoms.
As stress hormones go up, sex hormones go down, and gut problems cause increased stress hormones.
If you’re experiencing hormone symptoms related to your menstrual cycle or menopause, getting your digestive health in order is one of the single most important things you can do.
It all starts with a stool test and food diary analysis.
From there I can help you overcome your hormone symptoms for good.
So if you’ve read so far, may be you have mulled over getting a test. Of course, I’m biased, but if that’s the case, you really should… you have nothing to lose: any tests that come back ‘blank’ get a full refund.
You can get a test here, right now. And don’t forget, it’s all done in the comfort of your own home. You just send off the samples.
Best
Dave
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