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#22 The connection between Endometriosis and the Gut
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The Bean Talk - Episode 22: The connection between Endometriosis and the Gut
This week, Riannon and Jeremy unpack a condition that affects millions of women but is still widely misunderstood - endometriosis. Prompted by a controversial media comment dismissing endo as a “made-up issue,” they dive deep into what endometriosis actually is, why it's so often misdiagnosed, and how it can impact everything from fertility to digestion.
They also explore the powerful connection between the gut and endo, sharing the latest research on intestinal permeability, immune dysfunction, and the microbiome’s role in inflammation. Plus, Riannon breaks down the practical testing options and natural strategies that can help manage endometriosis symptoms, reduce flare-ups, and support overall wellbeing.
From turmeric and vitamin D to gut testing and dietary shifts, this episode is packed with real talk and real solutions. Whether you’ve been diagnosed, suspect you might have endo, or want to better understand someone who does, this one’s for you.
Connect with Riannon and Jeremy on Instagram @mungbean_health or visit mungbeanhealth.com for expert support.
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Transcript
Introduction to The Bean Talk Podcast
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to The Bean Talk with me, Rhiannon, your fertility fairy godmother, joined by my trusted partner in life and in the mission of Mungbean Health, Jeremy. Here at Mungbean Health, we're on a mission to unlock the secrets of fertility and natural wellbeing episode at a time.
00:00:18
Speaker
Hello and welcome back to another episode of The Bean Talk with Rhiannon and Jeremy. Hi guys, welcome back. We are here today back in our little recording studio aka my office aka where everything happens.
00:00:34
Speaker
Anything to do with business ah apart from our warehouse always happens in my office. It's a busy little place and man do I hate it when the kids come in here and make a mess. I'm blaming the mess. They love companies. oh they love it it's of bounds really they're not allowed to I'm like out of my office out of my office but they're always bloody in here making a mess and just I've got some beautiful crystals from a beautiful client of mine actually when we lost Winnie she sent me some so many beautiful crystals and the kids absolutely love them but I like them I don't want them broken or anything they're so special to me so I have them on my desk
00:01:08
Speaker
And they come in and Evie loves them, plays with
Rhiannon's Home and Business Chaos
00:01:11
Speaker
them. She sent me a little angel, which is the cutest little angel ever. And Evie calls it her little Winnie and comes in and they give her a kiss and stuff. It's very cute.
00:01:23
Speaker
slightly frustrating when they come in and touch everything if you have children you will understand if you haven't got children yet and you're planning on it and wanting to and you have them you will totally understand and now it makes so much sense why our parents would get so annoyed when we would just be annoying yeah being kids yeah just being kids and parents are all touched out and everything it makes sense obviously don't recommend the way or advise the way that a lot of parents parent or our parents parented or other parents everyone's got their own little ways yeah ways you have to do what's right for you yeah anyway that was a long-winded
00:02:01
Speaker
I just went on a little rant there.
Warehouse Updates and Sanity Maintenance
00:02:04
Speaker
But we have been having a couple of busy weeks in the warehouse. I guess a big bean and little bean. So big bean would be, i guess we're not having to be as heavily in the warehouse as we needed to before, which is so great because we have so much to do And we've been ticking off some things off our to-do list that's been sitting on there for far too long.
00:02:25
Speaker
So I'd say that's like a joint big bean. yeah Little bean.
00:02:31
Speaker
This week, definitely keeping our, I can't even claim this one, actually. That would be a lie. Just making it through. Oh, yes. I was going to say keeping our warehouse plan alive. I'm amazed to see it's thriving, but it's not really, it's not me.
00:02:47
Speaker
I can't claim that as my own. That would be Amy, keeping our warehouse plan. ah plant yeah the warehouse plant yeah i know it's thriving thanks amy but that is that's honestly a big thing because i don't know plants always are dying maybe it's me i'm the problem but that is a big one what do you say Yeah, that's good. Yeah.
00:03:07
Speaker
No, just making it through the week. Oh, yeah. Just making it through a lot and still with a bit of your sanity is pretty good. It's hard to parent, own a business, and be pulled in a thousand different ways, still try and have a social life.
00:03:22
Speaker
I don't even know if you could say we've got a social life, to be honest, at the moment, but that's okay. Yeah. yeah We've seen plenty of people. Yeah, in the street as we're running to the warehouse. No, but, yeah, it's it's busy time in our life. I feel like it is the season, so if you are in the same season as us and you feel like you're just moving ships between partners, we feel for you and we are you.
00:03:45
Speaker
so We're just getting through. yes Or is this the grind? period of just like when you talk to friends or family. It's just, what have you been up to? You like working? Yeah, it's so true. So true. So you're definitely not alone.
Misconceptions about Endometriosis
00:04:00
Speaker
One thing I actually wanted to bring up was, I think a lot of you would have seen online. i don't think I ended up sharing about it, but there was another radio host that was talking about endometriosis and pretty much saying that it's a woman's made up issue. Like we've just made it up.
00:04:15
Speaker
It's ridiculous. And there was a lot of uproar online. Yeah. sure Because what the hell? yeah What the hell? So rude to be talking about women that are suffering, women that are infertile because of endometriosis or issues with adenomyosis. You would think that's BS as well. He's definitely not educated on it.
00:04:36
Speaker
Absolutely. And doesn't want to be. And it's very old school to be that way where it's like women are just silent. It's like it's your own problem. You're not in pain because we can't see it. So they just think that the woman's crazy and...
00:04:48
Speaker
Yeah, I'm not going to mention like the name or anything, but it's brought, I guess, a lot of endo chat up. We see endometriosis cases every single week, like daily in clinic. Obviously, being in the women's health fertility and women's hormone space, it's a huge thing.
00:05:05
Speaker
And there is a very big link between the gut as well, which I wanted to talk a little bit about today. But I guess starting off by talking a little bit more about what is endometriosis.
00:05:16
Speaker
So endometriosis is a condition in which tissue, similar to the lining inside of the uterus, known as the endometrium, grows outside of the uterus. So should be on the inside, not on the outside, but it actually does grow on the outside.
00:05:30
Speaker
This tissue can be found on the ovaries, the fallopian tubes, the outer surface of the uterus and other organs within the pelvis. And it can all get very stuck together in there and cause structural issues, even being down to like bowel.
00:05:49
Speaker
Everything gets like starts growing and sticking together. It's yeah not a fun time when it gets very severe. Endometriosis affects approximately 6% to 10% of reproductive-aged women globally, which I'd say is definitely more than that now. Again, I guess a lot of the time the studies are trying to catch up. And according to a recent study, 196 million women between the ages of twelve to fifty two have endometriosis The prevalence of endometriosis in women of childbearing age
00:06:22
Speaker
is 10% to 15%. For women with abdominal pain and or unexplained infertility, the incidence is as high as 40% to 60%. I feel like they haven't really gotten those numbers maybe as correct yet.
Symptoms and Diagnosis Challenges of Endometriosis
00:06:40
Speaker
I feel like there's a lot more cases are coming forward and people suffering with like silent endometriosis where they're not experiencing the normal symptoms. Yeah. And some of the symptoms that are very common with it is a lot of pain, heavy bleeding, like really heavy period bleeding, flooding,
00:06:58
Speaker
fatigue is a massive one, bowel fluctuation, so changes in bowel habits. Pain can also be really present there. Another one that I do hear from a lot of clients with um excess or severe, should I say, endometriosis is painful sex.
00:07:16
Speaker
That's a big one. Yeah, painful sex for them. Nausea, hormonal acne, and obviously infertility as well. I'm sure, especially as women or when we were girls, everyone knows someone from school that really suffered with periods, like heavy periods and painful periods. I don't know, as a boy. Probably wouldn't say it as well. Yeah, no one talked about it really? really. No, not at high school.
00:07:40
Speaker
Yeah, I guess it's a known thing that periods can be painful. But yeah, I can remember one girl. There's more than one, but one girl specifically in high school and when I was studying, actually, both of them would have to take time off. They'd use over-the-counter medication, the naprogesic, and it was just horrible for them. They'd have to get themselves already every month. I I saw one of them that I went to uni with has had a baby, though, which is beautiful.
00:08:03
Speaker
Actually, i think both of them have had babies now. So that's special because some like when it's that severe, that young, obviously it can definitely interfere. So testing for endometriosis is not as easy as a blood test, although we like to check hormones that way.
00:08:19
Speaker
we want to make sure that we are checking in like a pre-screening, I suppose, with symptoms. So talking to them, going over their case, and then checking out the hormones if there's any in excess. And then a diagnosis this is actually completed through pelvic exams and or imaging tests like ultrasound or MRI can be really hard to see on ultrasound though.
00:08:42
Speaker
And often laproscopies. So most women that have endometriosis would have had laproscopy and that is a surgical procedure. When the doctor goes and has a look inside the pelvis with a camera,
00:08:56
Speaker
and does what they need to do in there. So yeah, a lot of women will see a lot of clients in the fertility space that have maybe just had one, and it's almost like a clean out as they explain it.
00:09:07
Speaker
And then that can get rid of a lot of that endotissue. And then it can be easier to fall pregnant after that. But the problem is, if they don't fall pregnant, the tissue is just going to grow back because we haven't actually gotten to the root cause of why it's happening.
00:09:21
Speaker
So it can be definitely helpful. You also have to be very cautious of the surgeon or the doctor that you're you going through, you'd want it done properly, essentially. You don't want there to be any damage left behind.
Gut Health Connection and Management Strategies
00:09:33
Speaker
Also gut testing. So doing like a proper microbiome map. They're honestly amazing. And they're so eye-opening for people. Testing and looking at bacteria, pathogens, GI functional markers, things like zonulin, which is a leaky gut marker.
00:09:50
Speaker
And there is a huge link in as I mentioned before, between the role of gut health and um endometriosis. So there is a lot of growing evidence that endometriosis patients have higher levels of bacterial colonization in their endometrial tissues and menstrual blood than other women in the general population.
00:10:10
Speaker
Endometriosis is considered to be closely related to immune disorders because its characteristics are similar to those of autoimmune diseases, such as decreased apoptosis, increased cytokine levels, and abnormal cell-mediated pathways.
00:10:30
Speaker
Interactions between the immune system and gut microbiota plays a fundamental role in maintaining immune homeostasis. Studies show diversity of the gut microbiota in patients with endometriosis decreased and the ratio of firmus cutes and bacteroides increased.
00:10:54
Speaker
the ratio of the two. Intestinal permeability allows toxins, bacteria, and other harmful substances to enter the bloodstream, triggering an immune response and consequently leading to a chronic inflammatory state that could contribute to the progression of endometriosis.
00:11:16
Speaker
That is why it's very important to check in in on the zonulin to see that permeability. So to check if there's any of that intestinal leaky gut or permeability. So the quantity of bacteria in the human body was once thought to be 10 times greater than that of human cells.
00:11:35
Speaker
However, a recent study has proposed a revised estimation for the number of human and bacterial cells in the human body, and they've gone off an adult at 70 kilos body weight.
00:11:48
Speaker
And the ratio of bacteria to human cells is now recorded as a one-to-one ratio. This is why it's important to stay up to date with research because a lot of the things that they thought back in the day have changed.
00:12:00
Speaker
And this is why we have team days once a month, generally, to allow our girls to be up to date with new findings, new research. And it's important to stay ahead of the game.
00:12:12
Speaker
Yeah, very interesting. So there's some important ways to support endometriosis and the gut link naturally, obviously, which it's always good to work with your naturopath. Do not self-prescribe, but here are some ways that we would support you.
00:12:27
Speaker
Gut lining healing. So again, back to that permeability. We want to stop that bacteria and those toxins entering the wrong places. Supporting with protein, glutamine, prebiotics like PHGG, collagen.
00:12:40
Speaker
They're all great. We want to eat. Anti-inflammatory, but cut all inflammatory foods like sugar, gluten and dairy. A great diet that we will use with a lot of clients that are really struggling or if they actually have autoimmune conditions would be the AIP diet or the autoimmune protocol diet.
00:13:00
Speaker
It can completely cuts out any inflammatory foods and reintroduces it into sections to find out any triggers. It's really good when it's done correctly.
00:13:11
Speaker
It is can be hard to follow though, like with a lot of diets. probiotics are great. We also want to use specific womenly probiotics if we're using it for endometriosis. Specific strains. Turmeric. Oh my gosh. The more information you hear about turmeric is amazing. Pretty much everyone should have it.
00:13:28
Speaker
It's amazing for almost everything. A little bit of an anti-aging food as well, which is pretty fabulous. That's a totally another topic. I'm not even going to get into that. Turmeric has been shown to suppress the proliferation of the endometrial cells by reducing the synthesis of prostaglandin e two as well as address all areas of inflammatory cascade and inhibit the positive feedback loop that occurs in chronic inflammation.
Nutritional Support for Endometriosis
00:13:57
Speaker
Amazing. Another tick for turmeric. PEA can be really good for pain when used correctly. Vitamin a again, just want to be cautious of not self-prescribing, but vitamin A and its metabolites may be an important factor in pathophysiology of endometriosis given its regulatory interactions with other altered factors.
00:14:23
Speaker
Vitamin D, like with any autoimmune, fertility cases, thyroid, all the things, it is super important to have enough. Vitamin D supplementation when needed, so you've got to do testing first, is marked down to reduce pelvic discomfort in women with endometriosis in a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial.
00:14:44
Speaker
So lower levels of vitamin D may be linked to endometriosis and endometrial disease. So that is a fine vitamin D, especially in Australia.
00:14:55
Speaker
Even though we are such a sun-drenched country, so many people are vitamin D deficient. Yeah, not absorbing it properly. It needs to be activated. People's livers aren't doing the right job.
00:15:07
Speaker
There's a lot of factors. Not getting outside enough because everyone is scared of the sun. so many factors. not Yeah, so many factors. So even with the kids, I do like to get them out in the sun, not in the middle of the day, in the earlier or later, like early morning, later afternoon. It's usually later afternoon, like five-ish.
00:15:27
Speaker
Get them outside. no don't put sunscreen on them at that time and spend like at least 10, 15 minutes outside. Obviously, it's different in the middle of the day, making sure that we're using sun protection and hats and all that. But I just like to make sure that they are absorbing some of the vitamin
Pre-Conception Health and Continued Education
00:15:41
Speaker
D. And that's the same as like for us as well.
00:15:43
Speaker
i think it's important and making sure that our kids aren't as vitamin d deficient as what a lot of society is also pregnant moms like these are the things that i guess we're trying to change for future generations but it starts with you so you need to make sure that you have enough vitamin d iron b12 because you're passing that all on to your baby and so many kids are born with low iron because their moms were low in iron And it's not a dig at anyone. It's just the education isn't there.
00:16:14
Speaker
So it's important to have an overhaul. Make sure you get everything in working order before deciding to conceive. And if you have a whoopsie, if that happens, then you just have to jump on that straight away, get your bloods done and make sure you try and get on top of it from there.
00:16:29
Speaker
Yeah, how good. I'm educated down on intrametriosis, which is good. It's good. Got to continue to educate everyone. I think it's an important thing. Oh, absolutely. Yeah. You don't know until you know. Exactly. Yes.
00:16:40
Speaker
And it's funny, even though so many of our clients have it, I guess it's, yeah, we're not, it's not like they're talking to you about it. But yes, we always try and provide a lot of education and information on our Instagram page as well.
00:16:52
Speaker
which is mungbean, M-U-N-G-B-E-A-N underscore health. So if you're not following us already, give us a follow and you can find us on our website. You can book a consultation or ask any questions you need via DM or on our website, which is www.mungbeanhealth.com.
00:17:09
Speaker
We're here if you need us. Yeah, thanks for tuning in again. See you guys. Bye.
00:17:22
Speaker
And that's a wrap on today's dose of wellness. I'm Rhiannon, your fertility fairy godmother. Thank you for joining us. Stay connected with us on Instagram at mungbin underscore health.