I've played around with my diet the past years after I realised that having a sugar addiction was a real thing and I was severely suffering from it to that point that I wasn't even properly tasting foods anymore. If it didn't have sugar, that's the only thing that my taste puds would notice and I wouldn't eat it.
In the book, Alternatives for Women with Endometriosis, they highlight on many of the inflammatory foods for those that suffer with the disease. Avoiding foods like refined sugars, salt, alcohol, caffeine, meat and processed foods. I have even come across avoiding dairy and eggs in recent research because of the exposure to chemicals and elevated levels in oestrogen that they have.
I personally have found a lot of healing in these methods! It's also important not to forget, that women that suffer with endometriosis usually have a weak immune system which means a lot of the stuff we are exposing ourselves to is causing our body to go into havoc. So addressing diet changes, intolerances, sensitives, and allergies is a pretty important part in bringing the inflammation down.
Sugar was my number one that I had to cut out, obviously I still have it occasionally but instead I use maple syrup or brown rice syrup instead of raw sugars or honey. But I also found that cutting out all red and processed meat was helpful and limiting my white meat intake. I usually will have meat once a week and it will be organic free range chicken. If I don't have meat at all I will have a small fish however, eating fish now a days is questionable because of the amount of microplastics and additional chemicals such as mercury that are severely contaminating the water. I have also met other women that have cut out meat because it is so inflammatory and it helped the endometriosis and/or PCOS tremendously!
For me, I have been lactose intolerant since I was about 6 or 7 and didn't stop eating dairy until about 6 months ago. I'm 23 ya'll, that's many years eating something my body hates! It has helped a lot and there are so many great dairy free alternatives, doctors have even said switching to goat or sheep based cheeses, yogurts and milks is okay. I personally hate the taste of both so I prefer to go with the plant based of each. Such as coconut yogurt, nut based cheese and milks. I've also decided to cut back on gluten as many women with endometriosis have noticed that gluten and even wheat causes them to have issues.
Stopping caffeinated coffee consumption and switching to only decaf organic coffee when I do have one. I've also upped my intake of fruits and vegetables, majority of meals are vegetarian based so this is huge for me. For example, breakfast in the summer is usually a large smoothie filled with parsley, kale, strawberries, bananas, cucumber, orange and almond milk. In the winter I've transitioned to gluten free buckwheat (By Bob's Red Mill) with almond milk, strawberries, almond butter and hemp seeds. For lunch I usually do a massive salad with lentils and a mixture of vegetables and fruit into them. At dinner, I may do a gluten free vegan pizza, bruschetta, gluten free vegan pasta, etc. I personally enjoy trying to make gluten free vegan dishes as I used to eat pretty poorly growing up, it is my chance to finally work with vegetables and see how can I alter them to make them taste like a product I am used to having come from an animal.
I would say number one, definitely get your allergies tested, I didn't get mine tested until 3 months ago and turns out I'm allergic to all of these nuts I have never even thought twice about. I'm also currently doing the low-fodmap diet which has helped me decide which foods my body has been having issues breaking down. Such as apples and pears, which is incredibly sad but my body hates them and pretty much any other fructose or fructan based food. I have an issues with black beans (ugh my black bean burger days) but not lentils. I have also found a problem with wine and beer but I am okay with spirits like rum or whiskey. It's interesting what the body decides it's going to break down and not but in the end your body truly knows what it needs and wants but we have to be willing to put in the effort to work for our body, not against it.
Let me know if you've tried any changes to your diet and if it's helped or not! Cutting out dairy, or eating more red meat for the iron, or gluten free doesn't make a difference?
Xoxo,
Moonli
(1994) Alternatives for Women With Endometriosis. USA: Chicago. Third Side Press.
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