In this brief interview segment, the host asks the expert to identify the earliest gut‑related changes that may signal the onset of perimenopause. The expert introduces the topic of perimenopausal gut changes, prompting viewers to become aware of subtle symptoms that could indicate hormonal shifts and to consider monitoring these signs for early intervention.
what are some of the earliest changes that you see that people should maybe be attuned to?
Yeah, with regard to gut, perimenopause or gut changes.
But what is like, oh, oh, maybe I need to be paying attention to this, maybe this is an issue for me?
Well, I mean, I think when women are in their mid to late 30s, menopause is 1,000 years away. And yet some of the subtle things that start to happen can be as simple as, wait, before your menstrual cycle starts, you don't sleep quite as well. You might feel a little more anxious. You might feel like you have more mood disruptions. You may feel a little more depressed. We use the term anhedonia in clinical medicine to talk about how we have kind of the blahs. I don't really feel like great, but I don't really know specifically why that's happening. And that can start with those subtle shifts in progesterone preceding before we even start talking about estrogen. So really starting there, and it could extend a little bit into, your gut motility might not be the same because progesterone as well as estradiol are potent stimulators of our digestive system. And so I think for a lot of women, it's the understanding these symptoms can start in your mid to late 30s. I think most women, probably it flies underneath the radar for many, many years, but at least knowing and having some degree of validation that that is a normal physiologic change that you may experience, women ask for help a whole lot earlier.
