Can my Diet Affect my Endometriosis?

When a woman is diagnosed with endometriosis, she often needs to change her whole lifestyle, including the food that she eats, so she can deal with the symptoms more effectively. Endometriosis is a very painful and uncomfortable disease that affects a woman's reproductive organs and the organs, bones, and joints in the pelvic cavity. Women that have endometriosis have irregular and painful periods and are likely to find difficulty with becoming pregnant.

The most common treatments available for this disease are hormonal birth control pills and surgery to remove the endometrial tissue in the pelvis. If a woman suspects that she may have endometriosis, she must visit her gynecologist and have some tests, so that a final diagnosis can be made. Also, she must stop smoking cigarettes, an unhealthy practice that could worsen her condition. Her doctor may also suggest some lifestyle changes, including an increase in exercise, less alcohol consumption, and of course, a diet full of nutritious foods.

In case of the women experiencing endometriosis, the diet and the pattern of her intake of food will have a great effect on this condition. A patient's condition will be very delicate and it is very important for her to consume all the required nutrients so as to build up a good immune system and prevent the endometriosis from becoming worse.

These are some of the most common changes that doctors recommend for women who have endometriosis:

• Cut down on or stop eating red meat: Eating red meat contributes to large amounts of fats and can also cause problems in the digestion system.
• Lessen consumption of white sugar: Consumption of sugar will increase the risk of accumulation of glucose. This is because the body is not in a fit condition to convert the sugar into energy. This will increase the risk of diabetes and complicate the situation of the patient.
• Eat fewer products made with white flour
• Don’t eat chips and other snacks that are full of grease and artificial ingredients: Fast and junk foods have a large amount of fats and cholesterol and will result in the accumulation of the same.
• Don’t drink industrially-produced juices. Instead, substitute with natural juices: The industrially produced products contain many artificial flavors and preservatives which can decrease the functionality of the immune system of the women.
• Don’t drink carbonated drinks: Carbonated drinks contain too much gas and this gas can prove to irritate a stomach that is already suffering from endometriosis.
• Fill your fridge with vegetables such as tomatoes, spinach, or broccoli: higher intake of leafy and green vegetables can help in giving fibers to the body and also proteins, vitamins and minerals.
• Increase consumption of fruit: Different fruits like oranges, watermelons, apples, limes, melons, cranberry, kiwi etc. can be consumed to increase the C, A and D vitamin in the body. Fruits can play a very important role in strengthening the immune system.
• Eat balanced portions (more vegetables than meat)
• Cook pasta sauces only with vegetables such as zucchini, squash or peppers, combined with low-fat cheese and butter
• Make your own ice cream with blended fruit and yogurt
• Drink raspberry leaf tea
• Take supplements rich in iron, calcium, and magnesium
• Eat a lot of dark green and leafy vegetables
• Use walnut and olive oil when cooking
• Use coconut oil when cooking
• Eat fish (salmon, sardines, trout, etc.) 2-3 times a week
• Eat pumpkin seeds
• Use whole grain flours

You can eat fish, beans, and mushrooms to increase your daily intake of proteins and improve health. If you change your lifestyle, you will have a better chance of alleviating the symptoms of endometriosis. Healthy foods, such as this in the list above, help to reduce pain, cramps, irregular bleeding, and estrogen levels, and to lose weight. You will also have more energy and better immune response with a healthy diet.

Unhealthy foods that aggravate endometriosis can cause chemical reactions that increase the level of estrogen in the body and make the unpleasant symptoms worse. Therefore, if diagnosed with endometriosis, you should:

• Increase intake of anti-inflammatory foods
• Eliminate dairy products from your diet for a month to see if they may be causing you discomfort.
• Eat only organic meat that is not treated with hormones
• Avoid soy and soy milk

Products such as meats are often treated with hormones that may increase the levels of estrogen in your body. Estrogen can also be found in some cosmetics, so you need to read the ingredients of products you use to avoid those that increase estrogen levels.

If you have endometriosis, the products you must avoid are:

• Soy, soy products, and soy proteins
• Caffeine
• Refined sugars
• Honey
• Eggs
• Deep fried food
• Saturated fats
• Canned food
• Alcohol
• Additives and preservatives
• Wheat

All the above mentioned food are very heavy in nature and carry too much of fats. Fatty food can be a problem for the digestion system and hence should be avoided to be consumed.

The women who are suffering from endometriosis should be very particular about their intake. They must not skip any meals and eat healthy foods for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The women going through this condition are advised to visit the dietician and follow what the dietician tells them. These women must also complement the healthy food with light exercises so that the intake of nutrients will act for the necessary strengthening of the body.

Women must take special care in the days of menstruation. In those days even if there is a lost appetite, women must intake healthy foods so as to gain energy. The health of a woman is very delicate in this situation and has to keep a perfect balance of intake of all the nutrients and proper exercises. A person suffering from endometriosis must not strain herself too much.

Hence, it can be concluded that diet plays a very important role in strengthening the body and the immune system. The pre decided diet has to be followed consistently if the patients desires to see a drastic change in her endometriosis condition.

The women suffering from endometriosis should not only change their diet but also emphasize on changing the entire lifestyle.