Endometriosis 101

Yes! Nutrition management may help to slow the progression and growth of endometriosis. This isn’t a cure, unfortunately, but it is a very useful pain management strategy! 

Anti-inflammatory eating patterns can help lower inflammation and oestrogen levels! This is where a Mediterranean diet can be handy! 

Here’s what to include:

• Vegetables (get LOTS of different colours in!!) 
• Fruit
• Legumes and beans 
• Nuts and seeds 
• Extra virgin olive oil as your main fat 
• Fish
• Small amounts of meat (add some vegetarian meals into your week if you can) 
• Small amounts of dairy
• Limit saturated fats (ie. in processed meats, baked goods and take away meals) 

A high fibre diet helps with the process of oestrogen excretion in the body, which can then help manage symptoms. 

• Brassica and cruciferous vegetables are great sources of fibre (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collard greens, kale, turnips, bok choy + more!)
• Wholegrains are also key - make sure you’re choosing low GI options! 

As you increase your fibre intake, you should also be increasing your water intake. This helps to prevent any unwanted bowel side effects…

Antioxidants can help to reduce pain and inflammatory markers! You don’t need to take a supplement here, you can get plenty of antioxidants from food alone. 

• Dark coloured fruits and vegetables contain a lot of antioxidants! Think dark berries, beetroot, pumpkin, tomatoes and dark leafy greens.
• Dark chocolate and wine are also good sources of antioxidants, so you can have these in moderation too!
• Always use extra virgin olive oil when cooking.

Boost the omega 3 content of your diet. This can assist with inflammation and can promote egg health! If you have endometriosis, you might need more omega 3’s than the average person to see an effect. So, salmon a few times a week + a few chia seeds at breakfast might not do the trick! You may have to be a little bit more deliberate with your omega 3’s. 

• Cook with extra virgin olive oil for the antioxidants and high polyphenol content in addition to the healthy fats! 
• Try to get some omega 3’s at each meal - nuts and seeds (especially walnuts), eggs, chia seeds, flaxseeds, hemp seeds, salmon, tuna, mackerel + a wide variety of fortified foods! You have plenty of options here. 
• Reduce the saturated fat content of your diet to get the most from the good unsaturated fats you’re adding. Think butter, cakes, pastries, processed meats, fatty pieces of red meat/poultry, and take away/fast food. These might have to be reduced to help lower inflammation!

The low FODMAP diet (commonly used with IBS) can help reduce the load of fermentable carbohydrates in the diet and determine which specific FODMAPs exacerbate symptoms, especially bloating and bowel habit changes. The low FODMAP diet can help reduce general abdominal pain as both IBS and endometriosis have a visceral sensitivity component. (This means that gas and bloating hurt more with endometriosis and IBS sufferers!)

• This should always be done under the guidance of a dietitian as the low FODMAP diet can be quite restrictive. This is a therapeutic diet - it isn’t a long term solution!! You don’t want to be strictly low FODMAP forever. You want to find the foods that cause pain and bloating, then eliminate those and only those! 
• You must first rule out all other gastrointestinal conditions (ie. Coeliac disease) 

Don’t go gluten, dairy or soy free in an effort to manage symptoms. 

Cutting out entire food groups can be risky and can lead to nutrient deficiencies if done incorrectly. It also won’t help you get to the bottom of what is causing your bloating and pain, if it is indeed a food intolerance.

Tips:

• Fructans (a FODMAP) can cause more issues than gluten with endometriosis.
• Many dairy products should still be consumed to ensure calcium needs are being met. A nutritionally adequate diet is key!
• Soy may drive up oestrogen levels, however, you would need to consume A LOT of soy products to actually interfere with your hormones!!
• Fun fact: there is no relationship between eating soy foods and developing endometriosis