Endometriosis - holistic tips on managing endo.
Endometriosis is a condition that affects 10% of women — it’s likely that figure is actually a lot higher since it can take between 5-10 years (yes, YEARS) to be diagnosed — and it is defined as the presence of endometrial tissue, the lining of the womb, growing outside the womb.
When this tissue grows as our womb lining would leading up to menstruation outside the womb, it cannot leave the body with the monthly period and can cause extreme pain and inflammation. Diagnosis via laparoscopy is the gold standard and if endometriosis is found, conventional treatment includes ablation where surgery essentially kills off endometrial lining, hormonal contraception and more extreme surgery such as a hysterectomy or removal of you womb/uterus and removal of your ovaries.
All well and good but if you are trying to get pregnant currently or in the near future — these options won’t be suitable right?!
Not to mention, none of these options stop Endo from coming back…they temporarily put a bandaid solution on top of a complex condition, usually without any thought paid to holistic approaches. That’s where we come in! Practitioners who know nutrition and lifestyle can make a difference to your quality of life with Endo, AND can improve your chances of getting pregnant with Endo!
First things first; Endometriosis is an inflammatory condition and when we have inflammation in the body, we want to reduce inflammation with anti-inflammatory foods like extra virgin olive oil, fatty fish like salmon, sardines and mackerel, avocado, berries and colourful vegetables.
It is also a condition that thrives on excess oestrogen and oestrogen is excreted by the body via the liver and bowels so supporting gut health is SO important here. You can do this by including members of the Brassica family of cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflowers, cabbage) and including the recommended 30g of fibre per day. What fibre does is feed your microbiome, bulk up your stool, and help you regularly go to the toilet and excrete that excess oestrogen that is buzzing around your body.
Since Endo is a hormonal condition, we need to think about balancing hormones — this includes having regular bowel movements like I said above, and also reducing endocrine disruptors in everyday life. Endocrine disruptors are things like BPA in plastics, PFAS found in most non stick fry pans, Phthalates found in most cosmetics — they are in your air freshener, your perfume, your skincare, suncream, plastic container, plastic drink bottle and your shower gel. They are everywhere!! Whilst natural products are becoming more readily available, marketing can be so deceiving and just because something is labelled natural or organic - it doesn’t mean it doesn’t have endocrine disruptors present! Do a little cull of your skincare and makeup to start, I started out using guides like the one from the Environmental Working Group, and researched brands until I found some I loved and trusted like Perfect Potion, Clean Beauty Market and Thankyou. (Not paid at all, just brands I genuinely love and use every day :))
To wrap up, there’s a few things you can do RIGHT NOW to help manage Endometriosis and they are:
Include anti-inflammatory foods such as turmeric, fatty fish, extra virgin olive oil and colourful fruits and vegetables into your diet as much as possible.
Support your gut health by including lots of fibre: whole grains, legumes, fresh fruits and veggies all help your microbiome thrive and help to have regular bowel movements which helps your body remove excess oestrogen that can exacerbate your Endo.
Replace toxic endocrine disruptors on your skincare with natural options, use glass instead of plastic containers and replace air fresheners and perfumes with essential oils instead.
There are a few supplement options for to support you in Endometriosis, what that looks like for you will be different based on your level of endometriosis and your goals for example if you want to get pregnant or not so best to book in for a consult for a personalised recommendation. You can do that here!
Ellie x