8 Diet Tips to Help Fight Endometriosis
In 2019, I was diagnosed with endometriosis and prescribed birth control to help regulate my hormonal fluctuations. Unfortunately, I found that birth control is not for me. I lost all interest in sex and became even more emotionally unstable as a result. And that is when I decided to stop taking birth control and challenge endometriosis on my own.
I’d like to summarize the preventive steps that you should take in the event of an endometriosis diagnosis. For those who don’t know, here’s what you need to know:
Endometriosis is a female disease in which endometrial particles are located outside the uterine cavity… The disease is most often characterized by painful menstruation, long-term pain in the lower abdomen, and pain during sexual activity. In many cases, endometriosis is also the cause of infertility.
The main purpose of endometriosis treatment is to LOWER ESTROGEN, a hormone that is out of balance. Every disease feeds on something, and one of the ways of treatment is just the way of “starving” the disease, i.e. limiting the supply. In the case of endometriosis, diet is crucial.
I would like to summarize the most important information regarding the preventive steps that you should follow in case of a diagnosis of endometriosis.
What to exclude from the diet and what to replace with
Women with endometriosis should avoid
- SUGAR replace with panela (dried cane juice), honey, coconut sugar, molasses, malt, and stevia.
- GLUTEN replace with naturally gluten-free foods such as buckwheat, millet, brown rice, corn, quinoa, amaranth, and oats.
- LACTOSE — instead of cow products including goats, rare sheep products, plant milk such as almonds, coconuts, amaranths, oats, rice, nuts, poppy seed milk, and cheese made from these.
- HYDROGENATED FATS — they clog the microflora in your gut.
Let’s not forget that the intestines are 8 meters long. Their function is severely reduced when they are clogged with an improper combination of foods, particularly sugar, gluten, and lactose, as well as hardened lipids. And from a Taoism perspective, the qi gets so tired along the way through the intestines that it no longer has the power to heal in your womb.
- SOY is not recommended because it contains a lot of estrogen. Replace it with small legumes that don’t bloat (red lentils, black beluga lentils, green lentils, mung beans, etc.).
- CITRUSES are cooling, so use sea buckthorn or rosehips instead.
- RED MEAT raises estrogen levels in the blood, and factory-processed meat is full of hormones.
- ALCOHOL AND COFFEE raise estrogen levels in the body, particularly the levels of proteins that transport estrogen.
You should eat more of:
- Shitake mushrooms and oyster mushrooms for their ability to prevent the growth of unwanted tissue in the body
- Root vegetables that block enzymes — especially celery and parsley.
- All greens promote good metabolism and detoxify your digestive tract.
- Sea fish (fresh!) is rich in Omega 3 fatty acids that prevent inflammation in the body.
- All bitter foods eliminate estrogens, such as dandelion, artichoke, arugula, chicory, kale, or broccoli.
Inspiration from my kitchen
In my kitchen, I eat mainly local and seasonal food, although I don’t give up bananas and avocados from time to time. In the winter, I mostly cook with root vegetables, red lentils, mung beans, buckwheat, brown rice and corn. During the spring and summer months, I’m more on fruits and whatever the garden happens to provide. For breakfast, I usually have a smoothie or oatmeal with fruit, sometimes savory with veggies and goat cheese.
Instead of bread, I make pancakes “chapatis” from a mixture of buckwheat and oat flour. But I often experiment. I bake my vegetables, add buckwheat, rice or potatoes, and various vegetable dips. I like soups and sauces and use coconut or rice cream in them. I often make pancakes with homemade jam without sugar, or just with fruit and grated 80% chocolate. I recommend eating local fish, especially in the winter.
I believe our kitchen is all about flavor, so I have a variety of spices and herb boxes. And if I have any leftover buckwheat and onion side dish from dinner, I make a delicious salad with goat cheese and vegetables the next day.
Eat a lot of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Eat seasonally and locally. Most importantly, eat with intention, calmness, and appetite. Your temple is your body! In the following article, we will look at supplements and herbs.
Photos:
Photo by Anh Nguyen on Unsplash
