Endo Battery

QC: What Role Does The Gut Microbiome and Probiotics Play in Endometriosis?

• Alanna • Episode 123

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Gut Health & Endometriosis: What You Need to Know with Sarah Rae, RDN

Registered dietitian Sarah Rae breaks down the powerful link between gut health and endometriosis, explaining how inflammation, the brain-gut connection, and diet impact symptoms. Learn evidence-based strategies to support your microbiome—without relying on expensive supplements.

🔹 How endo-related inflammation disrupts gut balance
 🔹 Why gut health affects pain, mood, and digestion
 🔹 The truth about probiotics & specialized testing
 🔹 Best foods to nourish beneficial gut bacteria

Got questions? Send them via the link in the description, email contact@endobattery.com, or visit EndoBattery.com!

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Speaker 1:

Life moves fast and so should the answers to your biggest questions. Welcome to EndoBattery's Quick Connect, your direct line to expert insights Short, powerful and right to the point. You send in the questions, I bring in the experts and in just five minutes you get the knowledge you need. No long episodes, no extra time needed, and just remember expert opinions shared here are for general information and not for personalized medical advice. Always consult your provider for your case-specific guidance. Got a question? Send it in and let's quickly get you the answers. I'm your host, alana, and it's time to connect. Today we're joined by Sarah Ray from Pacific Northwest Endometriosis Nutrition. She's a registered dietitian specializing in endometriosis and fertility nutrition. She's here to cut through the noise and share real, evidence-based strategies to help you fuel your body without the confusion. Let's dive in. What role does the gut microbiome and probiotics play in managing endometriosis and its symptoms?

Speaker 2:

Yeah. So gut health is something that I focus on a lot with endometriosis care, because when we're living in a chronically inflamed state, or maybe we've been treated for a lot of UTIs when we haven't been diagnosed with endometriosis yet, or we're getting constant infections from weak immune system, that can really throw off our gut balance. So we have this direct connection between our brain and our gut and we know that when our gut microbiome is off, we can have more anxiety, we can have more stress, we can have more depression and we might just feel more pain. So maybe somebody who eats an apple with endometriosis may experience severe, painful bloating and their partner may have the same thing and they might have the same amount of gas, but they don't feel that pain in the same way because their gut is not so inflamed like we have with an endometriosis.

Speaker 2:

Patient Probiotics are the evidence is still really mixed for them. Patient Probiotics are the evidence is still really mixed for them and we're going to get the most benefit from a probiotic if we do something like GI mapping, where they actually take a stool sample and they look at what is out of balance and then we add that probiotic in. As with a lot of things. It's something that's not generally covered by interns or not accessible for a lot of people. So there are certain strains of probiotics that are helpful for constipation, specifically if that's what you're struggling with, or helpful for if you're having diarrhea, and so working with a professional who understands probiotics is going to have the most benefit if you want to take it as a supplement, because if it's not that strain of bacteria that you need, it's really not going to do anything or change your symptoms, right? There's also the issue of you know, are we actually getting the probiotics? So are they living through our stomach acid and things like that?

Speaker 2:

So the most benefit we're going to get from probiotics and everybody can do is eat probiotic rich foods. So that is things that are fermented, like tempeh, if you're eating soy. Miso is another one. We can have things like kombucha yogurts. Cottage cheese has a little bit of probiotics in it. Apple cider vinegar has live cultures. So there's a lot of different things that we can eat and include in our diet on a regular basis.

Speaker 2:

Kefir that is going to help keep those good bacteria populated, and you don't have to pay a lot for a supplement, right? The other thing is the good guys, the good gut bacteria love to feed on fruits and vegetables and lean proteins of those healthy foods and those bad bacteria that can kind of overtake. So, especially if we see things like small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, sibo they will feed off of anything. So they're the people that will come to the party and eat pizza and soda and they don't care, they're just going to stay. And if they eat vegetables they don't care. But the good bacteria, if they're not getting fed, they are going to leave, so they'll leave in your stool. So if you are having probiotics or you're working on probiotic rich foods, it's also really important that you're getting that variety of fiber the prebiotic fiber is what we call it to help keep the good guys there and keep that balance in check.

Speaker 1:

That's a wrap for this Quick Connect. I hope today's insights helped you move forward with more clarity and confidence. Do you have more questions? Keep them coming, send them in and I'll bring you the expert answers. You can send them in by using the link in the top of the description of this podcast episode or by emailing contact at endobatterycom or visiting the endobatterycom contact page. Until next time, keep feeling empowered through knowledge.