How Your Genes Shape Digestion — And Why It Feels Different After 45

If digestion feels different than it used to — foods sitting heavier, more bloating, stronger reactions to stress, or less tolerance for certain fibers — this episode helps explain why.

This episode explores how gut health has always been shaped by your genes, and why those patterns often become more apparent after 45 as hormonal, microbial, and digestive supports shift.

You’ll learn how:

• Gut health is influenced by genetics 
• Hormonal changes affect motility, microbiome balance, and digestive comfort
• The microbiome becomes more sensitive to stress, sleep, and medications after 45
• Key genes like FUT2, BCMO1, and ADRB2 shape food tolerance, gut lining support, and stress-related digestion
• Simple, biology-aligned strategies can support digestion without extremes or restriction

This episode is especially helpful if you’ve noticed bloating, slower digestion, food sensitivities, stress-related gut symptoms, mixed results from probiotics after 45. Or maybe some of these patterns have always been present but feel harder to ignore now.

Visit my website at inspiredlivingforwomen.com to learn more about me and the work I do.

Are you new to genomics?

Click Here to get your free guide, Genetics vs. Genomics: They Aren’t the Same Thing, to understand how genetic data becomes meaningful insight and why interpretation matters more than testing alone after 45.

This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or provide medical advice. The information shared reflects general biological and genetic principles. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional regarding your own health decisions.

Transcript

00:31
 Welcome And Topic Setup

Hi, I'm Lauri. Thanks so much for joining me today. Today we're going to look at gut health and more specifically, how your digestion has always been shaped by your genes. The way you tolerate food, fiber stress, and even supplements has never been random. Your genes have been influencing those responses your entire life. What changes after midlife isn't your genetic blueprint. What changes is the environment those genes are operating in. After 45, hormonal shifts, stress load, and microbiome changes reduce some of the support systems that used to smooth things out, which makes longstanding digestive patterns easier to notice. If you've ever noticed why foods that used to feel fine now digest more slowly, causing bloating pressure or post meal fatigue, or why your digestion feels more sensitive or the same foods affect you differently than the people around you, your genes might help explain why.

01:04
 Genes And Midlife Digestion

Let's look at how digestion shows up in daily life and often in ways that are shaped by your genes. We all have a digestion style, even if you've never thought of it that way. For some it's bloating, for others slower motility, sometimes it's food sensitivities that seem to appear later in life, and sometimes it's realizing certain foods never actually felt good. You were just able to tolerate them better before. These patterns are influenced by hormonal shifts, immune activity, the gut microbiome, and your genetic blueprint. The way your genes shape digestion hasn't changed, but in midlife it often becomes more noticeable as hormonal and digestive supports shift and built-in buffering decreases.

02:35
 Hormones, Microbiome, And Motility Shifts

Estrogen plays a role in gut motility and microbial diversity. As estrogen becomes less consistent, digestion may slow, leading to bloating or gut discomfort. Stomach acid can also gradually decline. That affects protein digestion, B12 absorption, and nutrient availability. And the microbiome becomes more sensitive. Stress, poor sleep, medications, and antibiotics often have a larger impact than they did when you were younger. When you layer genetics on top of these normal changes, longstanding patterns become clearer. Midlife doesn't change your genes. It reveals how digestion works without the extra support it once had.

03:13
 Three Key Genes To Watch

Let's look at three genes that influence digestion throughout your life and tend to have a more direct effect after 45 as digestive support shifts. The FUT II gene influences whether you're a secretor or a non secretor, which affects how your gut interacts with beneficial bacteria. Secretors tend to support a wider range of gut microbes more easily, especially bifidobacteria, because their gut lining provides compounds that help feed those bacteria. Non secretors often have lower bifidobacteria levels, stronger immune signaling in the gut, and distinct microbiome patterns. Earlier in life, hormonal shifts often help smooth out these differences. After midlife, those differences tend to have a greater impact. This doesn't mean one pattern is better than the other, it simply means different guts respond to different fibers, probiotics, and prebiotics. The BCMO1 gene affects how efficiently your body converts beta-carotene from plant foods into vitamin A. If conversion is lower, the gut lining in immune system may need more support from preformed vitamin A sources like eggs or certain types of seafood. This can influence food tolerance, immune balance, and how resilient the gut lining feels day to day. Some women think their digestion is becoming weaker when what's really happening is a mismatch between nutrient sources and biological needs. The ADRB2 gene connects stress chemistry to gut response. Certain variants are associated with stress-related gut sensitivity, IBS-like patterns, and heightened adrenaline response. If stress, rushing, or poor sleep affects your digestion, this gene helps explain that connection. These genes show what your digestion responds to.

04:58
 Everyday Patterns Explained

Here are some everyday patterns many women experience but don't realize how they're genetically influenced. They might say things or think things like beans and lentils bother my stomach, or my gut reacts when I'm stressed. I feel better with warm foods or cooked vegetables. Some probiotics help and others don't. These aren't random reactions, they reflect differences in microbiome composition, gut lining support, stress sensitivity, and immune signaling. When you understand what's driving these responses, it becomes easier to choose foods that actually work for your digestion.

05:38
 Practical Strategies By Genetic Pattern

Supporting your gut doesn't require extremes or restriction. A few foundational strategies can make a big difference. Number one is to support your microbiome based on your FUT2 pattern. Many nonsecretors respond best to bifidobacteria focused probiotics and some prebiotic fibers. Number two, support gut lining and nutrient conversion if BCMO1 influences how you're how you convert beta-carotene. Eggs, certain seafoods, and well-tolerated fats can be more supportive than simply adding more fiber. Balance fiber with comfort. Some women do well with legumes, others feel better with cooked vegetables, soups, or blended fibers. Number three, support the gut stress connection. If ADR B2 sensitivity is part of your pattern, calming your nervous system can be just as meaningful as changing your food. Gut health after 45 is about working with how your body functions.

06:39
 Takeaways And Resources

Your digestion has always followed a pattern shaped by your genes. Midlife doesn't create that pattern, it just makes it more apparent. When you understand how your genes influence digestion, food choices become cleaner, calmer, and far less frustrating. That's going to wrap things up for this episode. If today's episode helps you understand your own experience with digestion, follow the podcast and share it with other women who might benefit from it. If you're new to genomics, you might be interested in the free guide, Genetics versus Genomics. They're not the same thing. You'll find a link to it in the show notes. If you'd like to learn more about me or the work I do, you can visit my website at inspired livingforwomen.com. Thanks again for joining me and have a great day.