endometriosis affects about 10% of women of reproductive age – which is humbling to think about, considering that 1 out of every 10 women you know could be suffering with this painful condition.
It’s also widely misunderstood and misdiagnosed – on average it takes over 9 years for women to get diagnosed correctly.
many of the symptoms of endometriosis look like IBS (inflammatory Bowel syndrome) or Pelvic Inflammatory Disease = and often these conditions can co-exist with endometriosis, so often these are diagnosed first and endometriosis is missed until symptoms get really severe.
What is Endometriosis?
endometriosis is when endometrial tissue grows in locations outside of the uterus – these tissues can appear on the fallopian tubes, bowel, bladder, ovaries, ligaments and other places throughout the abdomen. It’s rare, bu these tissues can also occur in other parts of the body like the respiratory passages.
Endometriosis tissues are benign (meaning they aren’t cancerous), but They are inflammatory. Often forming lesions & scarring that can create mild to outright debilitating pain.
Just like the tissues inside the uterus respond to cyclical hormonal changes and grow and shed, the tissues that grow outside do the same thing= which means bleeding and irritation of surrounding tissues which can then lead to scarring, pain and loss of function in the surrounding areas.
What Causes endometriosis?
Even though the disease has been recognized for more than 100 years, we still don’t really understand what causes this condition.
Multiple genetic factors, toxins & environmental exposures, chronic inflammation, a diet high in unhealthy fats, a history of D&C and early age of first period (manarche) have been associated with its development, but we need more research to really understand how this condition starts.
We do know that women who have Endometriosis have a higher risk of heart disease and Epithelial ovarian cancers, a higher probability of autoimmune disease such as hashimoto’s, chronic fatigue, MS and can have significant fertility problems. There is also 50% increase in the risk of inflammatory bowel disease. Which makes it even more important to find ways to diagnose and treat this disease much earlier.
So what can you do?
Contrary to what you may have heard- there are things you can do to help!
Since Endometriosis is a condition that involves estrogen and inflammation – taking steps to support healthy estrogen levels and reduce inflammation have been shown to be beneficial.
DIET
1- Remove caffeine, alcohol, Gluten & trans fats
2-Eat a diet rich in dietary fiber: This supports gut health and helps maintain healthy estrogen levels
did you know that much of our estrogen is processed in the gut? Making sure you are having a daily bowel movement is crucial to hormone health!
3 -A mediterranean plant rich diet has been shown to reduce inflammation throughout the entire body = this diet is rich in healthy fats like olive oil, nuts and fish. It also includes a large amount of veggies, fruits and whole grains.
4-Improving your detox pathways is also important – check out my posts here and here on foods & herbs that can help.
5-If IBS symptoms are part of the picture for you, getting help to rebalance the microbiome and restore gut health needs to be a big part of your treatment.
Herbs, Nutrients, Minerals & enzymes
600 mg three times a day
Some fantastic studies have shown that regular supplementation of NAC reduces cyst size and pain. In some of the studies, women had major cysts completely disappear after several weeks of regular supplementation and no longer required surgery.
Looking for food sources of NAC? NAC is not actually found in foods – but cysteine is which our body converts into NAC which is a precursor to glutathione. So eating a diet that is rich in the building blocks required to create glutathione is the key: beans, lentils, bananas, chicken, turkey, yogurt, sunflower seeds, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, yogurt, cheese & eggs are all sources of these precursors.
Supplementation is helpful in addition to increase cysteine intake, especially when suffering from a painful condition like endometriosis.
Melatonin – really intriguing studies have shown that 10mg a day (taken before bed) has been shown to significantly decrease pelvic pain and improve sleep quality.
Pro Tip: You may want to start with a lower dose and work your way up as some women experience some grogginess the next morning, especially if you haven’t had good quality sleep for some time – as your sleep bucket fills, this should become less of an issue.
One of the best natural food sources of this hormone may surprise you! Cherries! Since fresh cherries are only in season for a few short months – dried, frozen and tart cherry juice are good options. A handful of these before bedtime can be helpful in promoting sleep, reducing inflammation and muscle soreness too!
herbs that help boost immunity – medicinal mushrooms like reishi & maitake can be really helpful – maitake can also help regulate cycles. Reishi has been shown to help decrease pain when taken on a regular basis.
Turmeric & ginger also help reduce inflammation without the side effects of NSAIDS.
Adaptogens like Eleuthero ginseng, ashwagandha and rhodiola can help regulate your body’s stress response, improve energy and reduce oxidative stress = all which improve inflammation and help decrease symptoms.
Probiotics – to support a healthy microbiome which in turn promote estrogen balance and immunity.
Helping with the pain
Pain is often the most debilitating symptom of this condition – and regularly taking non-steroid anti-inflammatory products can lead to gastritis and other long term side effects.
So what other options are thee?
Devils claw – this is one of my favorite herbs for pain and the help calm the nervous system. Its wonderful for arthritis and back pain as well In a recent study with women with endometriosis symptoms, all the participants found overall improvement of symptoms and quality of life after only 8 weeks of taking Devil’s Claw 400 mg 4 times a day.
Another product I really like for pain is made by Gaia herbs – its called turmeric Pain Supreme – they also have a PM formula that contains herbs that also help with sleep.
If you or someone you love is struggling with this condition there is hope! I’d be honored to be a resource is you’d like to create a personal plan. Schedule a free complimentary meeting here.