The Endometriosis and Gut Connection
Endometriosis is often described as a reproductive condition, but if you’ve lived with it, you know it affects so much more than your period. Many people experience ongoing digestive symptoms such as bloating, food sensitivities, nausea, constipation, or alternating bowel habits. These symptoms are common, but they’re not “just IBS.”
Emerging research continues to show that the gut plays a powerful role in the development, inflammation, and pain associated with endometriosis. Understanding this connection can open up new ways to manage symptoms and support your body naturally.
The Inflammation Link
Endometriosis is an inflammatory condition, and the gut is one of the body’s main regulators of inflammation. When the gut lining becomes compromised or the microbiome (the diverse community of bacteria living in your digestive tract) is out of balance, it can trigger immune responses that increase inflammation throughout the body, including in the pelvic area.
A balanced gut microbiome helps regulate immune function, metabolise hormones, and produce short-chain fatty acids that naturally reduce inflammation. But when this balance is disrupted, inflammatory signals can worsen pain, swelling, and fatigue associated with endometriosis. Supporting gut health can therefore be a meaningful way to calm the body’s inflammatory response and ease symptoms over time.
The Oestrogen Connection
The gut also plays a major role in how your body processes and clears oestrogen. Within the gut lives a specific group of bacteria that help metabolise oestrogen so it can be excreted efficiently.
When the microbiome isn’t functioning well, excess oestrogen can recirculate through the body. This contributes to symptoms such as heavy bleeding, mood fluctuations, breast tenderness, and the worsening of endometriosis lesions. By supporting healthy gut function, oestrogen metabolism becomes more balanced, which may help reduce the severity of symptoms and support hormonal equilibrium in the long term.
Digestive Symptoms and Endometriosis
It’s very common for people with endometriosis to experience digestive issues even without a separate gut diagnosis. Inflammation or adhesions can affect nearby bowel tissue, making digestion uncomfortable or unpredictable. Many people notice bloating, particularly mid-cycle or around menstruation, as well as constipation, diarrhoea, nausea, or discomfort during bowel movements. Some also feel full quickly after eating.
These symptoms often improve when both gut and hormonal health are supported together. This is because the gut and reproductive systems share communication pathways that influence inflammation, hormone metabolism, and pain perception.
Supporting Your Gut Naturally
Simple, consistent changes can make a meaningful difference in restoring gut balance and reducing inflammation. Eating a diet rich in fibre from vegetables, legumes, nuts, and seeds helps nourish healthy gut bacteria. Including anti-inflammatory foods such as oily fish, turmeric, ginger, olive oil, and leafy greens can further calm inflammation and support tissue healing.
It’s also helpful to reduce highly processed foods, alcohol, and refined sugars, which tend to worsen inflammation and disrupt the microbiome. Supporting digestion through mindful eating, gentle movement, and staying well hydrated all play a role, too. Addressing constipation early is particularly important, as healthy elimination supports hormone clearance and reduces discomfort.
For some people, further support may be beneficial. This might include targeted probiotics, digestive herbs, or comprehensive stool testing to better understand your individual microbiome and identify specific areas of imbalance.
Where to Begin
If you’re living with endometriosis and ongoing gut symptoms, know that it’s not all in your head. The gut and reproductive systems are deeply interconnected, and supporting gut health can be one of the most effective ways to reduce inflammation, ease pain, and support fertility naturally.
Together, we can explore your diet, microbiome health, and hormonal patterns to create a plan that works with your body, not against it.
If you’d like to explore how gut healing can support your endometriosis and overall wellbeing, you can book a consultation here.
In good health,
Lee x