Menopause and Gut Health: What Your Body’s Saying

Your gut isn’t just where food goes — it’s where your body tells the truth.
In this episode of The Menopause Method Podcast with Cam Allen, we dive into the menopause and gut health connection and how digestion mirrors stress, hormones, and emotions.

Listen to hear:

• How estrogen changes your gut bacteria
• Why your gut is your second brain
• The truth behind bloating, reflux, and energy dips
• 6 ways to support digestion naturally in menopause

🎧 Press play above to listen.

💡 Episode Experiment:
At your next meal, take three slow breaths before you eat. Notice how your body feels afterward — calm or tense? That awareness is step one toward healing.

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Chapters:
00:00 Trust Your Gut Instinct
05:37 Menopause and Gut Health Shift
06:47 Mindful Eating for Better Digestion
15:18 Leaky Gut and Digestive Health
17:28 Mindful Eating and Feedback

Transcript

0:01

Ever notice how your gut knows something before your brain does? Maybe it's an uneasy feeling when something's just off before your brain can actually even name it. Your body feels it. I want you to know that's not random. That's your gut trying to get your attention. And for as long as I can remember, I've gotten a stomach ache when life felt emotionally off. This started way back when I was a little girl. But even when I was more conscious and doing all the right things, like eating clean and exercising, taking my supplements, my stomach often told me a different story. It was like my gut knew before I knew something isn't sitting right. Hey there. I'm Cam Allen. Welcome back to the Menopause Method. This is the final episode in the biofeedback series where we're learning to understand what listen to your body actually means. And we're practicing today. I want to expand your definition of gut, health and nutrition and that including your emotions, but also it's also your physical body. It's all of the bodies. Here's another story for you. After my hysterectomy, I had a new kind of knowing. I knew that my body had started craving meat again. I had not eaten meat in, like, 15 years. And it didn't make logical sense, but intuitively I knew after my hysterectomy, my body needed something different once I hit menopause. So I listened. It was a little scary, and I added meat back into my life. I started with filet because the girl loved filet when she was younger. And I started adding bone, broth, and collagen back into my diet. And slowly my digestion began to heal. My energy started to feel better, and I started to feel steadier. And you know what? That steady feeling feels pretty darn good when you're in menopause. It's often wild how our body knows the answers and we're trying to think our way to it. We just have to listen. In fact, if you've been following the Feedback series, you know that each episode builds on the next. We started with awareness learning just to notice what your body's been saying. Then we talk about sleep and how that's your body's nightly reset button. And then last week, we talked about stress, and stress is the second half of your metabolism, and it's often the reason why we have stubborn belly fat in midlife. And we are doing everything, and it won't go away. Let's check the stress button. But today we're going to talk about digestion. Literally, this is where we take the outside world, food, and we put it into our body, inside our body, into our digestion. And I want you to know that digestion isn't just about food. It's actually everything you consume. The news, the people you're with, the thoughts you repeat to yourself. You're always digesting something. And when you get a belly ache, your body's like, I don't really like what's going on. Maybe it's an emotional thing. Maybe it's something you ate. Just be curious about it. So let me explain the science in a real simple turn. Digestion, like physical digestion, starts the moment you think about food. Have you ever thought about something and your mouth began to water? Or maybe you smelled cookies baking and your mouth began to water? That's when digestion starts in your mouth with your saliva. That thought tells your body, hey, let's get ready. It's time to prepare. And your saliva releases enzymes. Then your stomach starts warming up its acid. That's why sitting down and taking a breath and slowing down before you eat is so, so, so powerful. As a former classroom teacher, we had exactly like 9.2 minutes to eat lunch and use the restroom. So I really had to practice this when I left the classroom. At age 40, it's okay to sit down and chew your food and enjoy it. It's actually your body's signal for safety. So now we've chewed our food, our saliva is working. Once your food hits your stomach, the acid starts to break it down, so your small intestine and the gut bacteria can actually turn it into fuel for your body. I like to think of our gut bacteria as the good guys and the bad guys. Eating real colorful, whole foods that are not processed. You're building your army of good guys in there. Now we got bad guys in there, too. That's. You know, sometimes we get sick when we take antibiotics. For example, we're killing the whole army, the good guys and the bad guys. So those bacteria, trillions of them, that live inside of you, are like a little community inside. We got the good ones and we got the bad ones. The goal is to have more good ones than bad ones. They help create your vitamins, they protect your immune system, and they send messages directly to your brain. Brain. Here's the part that most people don't realize. 95% of your serotonin, that feel good, happy hormone, is made in your gut. No wonder when I eat crappy food, I feel like crap. I wonder if there's a connection when your Gut is off. Guess what? So is your mood, your focus and your motivation. All of it takes a hit. Your gut isn't just static. It changes all throughout your life. In fact, if you've ever had, like any kind of gut test done, the environment in your gut can change in as little as a week. That's fascinating to me. During menopause, when estrogen drops, it actually changes the type of bacteria that lives in your gut. And maybe that's why you've noticed that your digestion has changed. And when you're in menopause, that shift can affect everything. It can affect bloating, weight changes and how well you actually absorb the nutrients. Like the purpose of eating food is to rebuild our body and give ourselves energy and nutrients to live a vibrant, healthy life. So if you've noticed your digestion is feeling different on this side of midlife, it is not your imagination. It is your internal ecosystem. That beautiful rainforest, if you will, is literally reorganizing itself. But here's the good news. Your gut is adaptable and it can change fast. Like I mentioned before, just with a few simple shifts, we can rebalance it and feel good again. So let's pull it through the four bodies. Because I believe spiritual, emotional, mental creates the physical body. We can't separate these things. So let's see how digestion connects with your whole self. We will start with the physical body. Digestion starts before your first bite. When you sit and breathe and chew slowly, you are signaling your nervous system that it is safe to shift into rest and digest. If you eat in a rush, which I did for years, or in front of screens and you don't even know what you're eating or how much you're eating, your body's going to stay in that fight flight and digestion shuts down. In fact, we talked about this in the sleep episode. If you're eating dinner too late, your body is always going to choose digestion over rest. Rest and restore. If you are eating in a really stressful state, you may notice more bloating and gas when you eat. Literally, your body's going to prioritize the emergency first and the rest digest second. Believe it or not, simple things like tongue scraping, oil pulling, non fluoride toothpaste and mouthwash can actually keep your mouth bacteria healthy. You know, when you use that really strong mouthwash, I won't say the name, and it burns everything like heck, you're killing the good guys and the bad guys when you're doing that. Now I use that kind of mouthwash When I'm fighting a cold or something's building, I can feel it in my throat. Not on an every normal day to day basis. I want the good guys to win. And your mouth is loaded with good guys. This is where your digestion begins in your mouth. So if you're in midlife, you may notice that you need digestive enzymes or bitters that can actually support your stomach acid and make a huge difference when eating food. Believe it or not, those are really simple supplements and if you need any help, reach out. I'd be happy to help you with that. Okay, emotional body and gut health. Where you know what's going on here. Well, your gut feels your emotions. This is like the story at the beginning. As a little girl, I always knew when something was off emotionally, I had a gut feeling. Feeling literally. Have you ever eaten like after an argument and you felt bloated or crampy? That's your body, literally. It can't digest the chaos that just happened in your life. So if your environment is tense, even the healthiest meal, the most colorful plate, will feel heavy. Your body will digest it differently. That's why creating calm at the table matters more than really what's on the plate. Sitting down, being grateful, enjoying the people and the conversation at your table, that all matters. When it comes to digestion, your gut and your brain are in constant conversation through the gut brain axis. Did you know that they talk to each other? In fact, your gut is called your second brain. When your mind is racing and you are stressed to the max, your body is going to pull energy away from digestion and handle the emergency air quotes. Whatever the emergency is, it's like trying to eat while running from a tiger. But you know what? You're not running from a tiger. That's not really happening. So before meals, here's something really simple to do. Take three slow breaths, pull those shoulders away from your ears and remind yourself, I'm okay. I'm going to sit down and nourish myself. I'm going to eat this food and it's going to help rebuild my body right in the spiritual realm. Digestion is how you receive life. Every bite is an invitation of what kind of energy am I allowing inside of me. The conversations, the media, the music, all of that shapes your inner landscape and food. It just kind of connects heaven to earth. Honestly, eating less processed food has helped my health so much in my 50s. It's one of the most tangible ways your body receives care from something bigger, from natural, whole food made by the earth. I Want you to think of your gut like a garden. The good bacteria are your flowers. They're beautiful and they're diverse. And the bad bacteria are kind of like the weeds in the garden that you want to pull when you're stressed out and you're eating in chaos and you've not been sleeping well. You're basically dumping Roundup, which is very toxic, onto your garden, killing the good guys. But when you rest and when you breathe and you nourish yourself holistically, you're feeding the flowers, you're feeding the good guys. Now, listen, you don't have to do everything perfectly. I mean, I had onion rings yesterday, and I enjoyed every single bite. You just got to tend to the garden daily. So here's what I wish most women knew. If your digestion feels harder now in midlife, it's not because your body's broken. It's because she's changing. And like the gigs up, when we lose our estrogen to menopause, we can't act like jerks to ourselves anymore because your hormones shift, which changes your gut bacteria, they reorganize themselves. Your stomach acid actually lowers in midlife, which is why I would suggest bitters or digestive enzymes. Been very helpful for many women that I work with. So I believe that menopause is an upgrade versus a downgrade. It's not your body betraying you. She's actually adapting. And say, hello, I need your attention. It is your job, in my opinion, to evolve with her. Here's where science meets real life. What can you do to help improve your gut health? I want you to start in your mouth. Tongue scraping is amazing. I have a metal one from Amazon. And you just start at the back of your tongue and pull to the front. Get all the yuckies out of your mouth. Second, I love oil pulling. Literally. I just use a jar of coconut oil from Trader Joe's. I put a spoonful in my mouth, and I chew on it until it becomes liquid. And it's actually part of my shower routine, so I'm swishing it around while I'm in the shower. Now, word of warning. Please spit the oil into your trash can or your toilet. We do not want to stop up your drains. That would not be good. So tongue scraping and oil pulling are a great way to clear the bad bacteria out of your mouth, which is where your digestion starts. Next, try natural toothpaste. I've experimented with all kinds of brands. I have several of them linked in my Amazon store. And also mouthwash. Whatever you choose Experiment, whatever you choose, we want to support the microbiome that lives in your mouth, the bacteria that lives there. So start there. Next, when you're eating, sit down and breathe before your meals. No one wants to eat rushed anymore. I hated those days in the classroom when you were in the teacher's lounge and there was gossip, which is not good to be around, and you had like three minutes to eat and pee and then pick up your class. That was not an ideal place to eat or digest food. So try this. Take some deep belly breaths before you take your first bite. Make sure that shoulder is away from your ear. Sit that single thing. This turns on your digestion. Next. This is so hard. Chew thoroughly. People used to make fun of me how fast I would eat. Believe it or not, the more you chew, God gave you teeth, the less your stomach has to work. Your stomach has to do so. Eat in a calm, connected space. Put your phone down. No news, no multitasking, no scrolling. Maybe you can eat with music or beautiful conversation. That actually makes you feel safe with people that you love. Because joy is more than exercise and nutrition. It also includes the people in your life. Try adding some gut healing foods to your life. Collagen and bone broth were the first two foods I added. Well, and fillet added to my digestion. After being a vegetarian for years, and quite honestly, I didn't know how my belly was going to digest the fillet. I would literally eat only a few bites and I kind of worked my way up. See, the thing is, when you stop eating meat, your body makes less stomach acid, okay? And also you're in menopause, so your body makes less stomach acid. So I was not sure what was going to happen. But collagen, bone broth, fermented foods, beautiful, colorful foods from the earth actually support your gut lining. And that was my whole intention to make sure I didn't have leaky gut. Have you ever heard that leaky gut is not a medical term but what it is? The cells in your digestive wall are only one cell thick. So eating the standard American diet, full of seed oils and all kinds of crazy stuff, makes those gaps between your cell walls. Gap? That's what, that's what happens. Leaky gut. And that means food in your belly gets into your body before it's ready, and it causes all kinds of stuff, inflammation, all kinds of crazy things. We want your digestion to digest the food readily and then send it to your body, not let it leak out. So collagen and bone broth are helpful for that. So how do you support your digestion in midlife? If you experience reflux or bloating, try those digestive enzymes or even apple cider vinegar before meals. One tablespoon, like 15 minutes before meals is going to support your digestion. And bonus, it's going to help have a lower blood sugar response. Did you know your gut has over 100 million neurons, more than your spinal cord? It's literally your second brain. And that's why when we say things like gut instincts, it's not just your intuition. It is actually your biology. You can eat perfectly and still feel awful. If you're living in chaos, because I believe your gut reflects your life. If you're tense and distracted or emotionally knotted up, your digestion struggles. Maybe it comes in the form of constipation. When you're relaxed, however, and full of gratitude and connected, your body receives that nourishment differently. So instead of chasing that perfect diet, ask yourself, how am I being while I eat? Because that's real nutrition. That's real holistic nutrition. So I have an experiment for you this week, and I want you to try it for yourself. At your next meal, I want you to sit down, take a slow inhale and an exhale. Make sure that shoulder is not hiked up to your ear. Pull it down and place your hand on your belly and your heart and say, I'm ready to receive. Come at your next meal with that energy, and then chew it slowly, taste it, like, really savor every bite, and notice afterwards, ask yourself, do I feel awesome or do I feel awful? If you feel awful, that is not a failure. That's just the feedback. Be curious. What was awful about it? Was it the food on your plate? Was it the people at your table? Was it the thoughts in your brain? Just ask yourself and your unconscious mind will tell you. And if you feel awesome, that's your body saying, thank you. Either way, your gut is telling you the truth. And that wraps up the biofeedback series. We've explored so many things. Awareness. Just like, what is your body saying? And then we talked about sleep and stress and energy, and now it's all about digestion. Literally, the place where your body and the outside world meet inside in your gut. Your body is the barometer of truth. And believe me, she's not working against you. She's actually working with you. She's trying to get your attention. And when you learn how to listen and you stop fighting the symptoms and start believing and building trust in yourself because your gut doesn't lie, she's just been whispering all along, waiting for you to hear her. Thanks for being here, and be sure to come back next week for the Menopause Method podcast.