Episode Details

Welcome to the latest Midlife Minute.

I’ve been getting many questions about viruses, bacterial vaginosis, and recurrent infections. So, today, I’m stepping a little outside our usual topics to explore how changes in the gut microbiome can directly influence the vaginal microbiome.

Join me as I clarify what actually happens in the body during perimenopause and menopause, and explain why those shifts matter more than most women realize.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

• Three changes that occur simultaneously during perimenopause and menopause, and how those changes increase our susceptibility to viruses like herpes.

• Why declining estrogen weakens the vaginal microbiome

• How gut microbiome changes in midlife affect the ability to recycle estrogen via the estrobolome

• Why the gut barrier becomes less stable and more permeable during perimenopause and menopause, and how that can trigger immune responses and low-grade inflammation

• How hormonal fluctuations can trigger viral outbreaks and increase the likelihood of shingles

• What research shows about hormone replacement therapy and lower rates and recurrence of severe herpes simplex infections

• Why bacterial vaginosis is becoming more common in midlife

• How to balance and support the gut and vaginal microbiome in midlife

Connect with Cynthia Thurlow  

• Follow on X, Instagram & LinkedIn

• Check out Cynthia’s website.

• Submit your questions to support@cynthiathurlow.com

• Join other like-minded women in a supportive, nurturing community: The Midlife Pause/Cynthia Thurlow. 

• Cynthia’s Menopause Gut Book is on presale now!

• Cynthia’s Intermittent Fasting Transformation Book

• The Midlife Pause Supplement Line

Links:

1. Menopausal shift on women’s health and microbial niches

2. The Effect of Menopause on the Innate Anti-Viral Activity of Cervicovaginal Lavage

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4519412/ 

3. Spotlight on the Gut Microbiome in Menopause: Current Insights

4. Shingles and Menopause: Is There a Connection?

5. The Impact of Hormonal Replacement Therapy on Herpes Simplex Infection and Gingival Health in Post-Menopausal Women 

6. The Menopause Tra