Reducing your inflammatory load (Part 1)

Reducing your inflammatory load (Part 1)

Increased inflammation in the body can worsen the symptoms of endometriosis, which is already an inflammatory condition. The good news is, there’s a lot you can do to help alleviate this inflammation.

First up, diet.

Eating an anti-inflammatory, nutrient dense diet to reduce your inflammatory load can go a long way to alleviating the symptoms you experience. Unfortunately there is no ‘one size fits all’ diet when it comes to managing your endometriosis symptoms - this, just like your experience of endometriosis, is unique to you.

But there are a few things that are important for pretty much everyone.

Eat colourfully

Eat the rainbow! Sounds like a cliche but it’s good advice. Vegetables and fruits are packed with antioxidants which fight inflammation. Different coloured veggies have different benefits so try to eat a variety of colours each day to get the full range of nutrients needed to support good health.

Eat more than the recommended 5 a day as much as possible and add variety. Try introducing a few new vegetables and fruits into your diet each week. A vegetable box delivery service can really help with this as they tend to include different varieties every week.

Healing culinary herbs and spices

Herbs and spices not only make food taste delicious; they also pack a nutritional punch. Parsley, coriander, oregano, sage, rosemary, thyme and turmeric and just a few known to have healing properties.

Experiment with using fresh and dried versions of these herbs and spices to really get the nutritional benefit.

Things to take off your plate

Eliminating certain foods can reduce inflammation in the body.

The three foods that contribute most to inflammation, and therefore can exacerbate endometriosis symptoms, are:

1. Refined sugar

Refined sugar contains no beneficial nutrients and can contribute to a whole range of health problems, including inflammation in the body. We all know that feeling of a sugar high. Well this is actually stressing the endocrine system which can lead to hormone imbalance, worsening endometriosis symptoms.

2. Industrial plant oils

Industrial plant oils are highly refined vegetable oils such as corn, sunflower, safflower and soybean oils. They contain high amounts of linoleum acid which research suggests is harmful when consumed in excess. They are also easily oxidised when heated during cooking, and this oxidative damage is associated with increased inflammation in the body.

3. Gluten

Studies have linked endometriosis to non-coeliac gluten intolerance. One study found 75% of participants reported a significant reduction in pain symptoms following a gluten- free diet. Gluten intolerance is a complex issue and there is no easy way to test for it. The best way to see if gluten has an impact on your symptoms is to remove it from your diet for at least a month.

If you’re not ready to eliminate these foods from your diet just yet, focus on adding in more colourful fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices to get the benefit of these nutritionally dense, anti-inflammatory foods.

HOW to eat

How you eat matters as much as (or maybe more than!) what you eat. Optimising your digestive function will not only improve any digestive symptoms you experience; it will also ensure your are absorbing the nutrients in your food to give you more energy and support your body to heal.

Most of us eat in a rush - grabbing some food on the way to work, eating lunch at our desks, shoving something down before the next meeting - and we simply don’t chew enough. Remember that your stomach has no teeth. So chewing is the only way to mechanically break down food so that we are able to absorb all of the nutrients in it.

Research suggests it’s ideal to chew every bite 40 times! Notice how much you’re chewing your food and gradually increase the number of chews over time.

Eat mindfully

Food is meant to be pleasurable, right? But if we’re not paying attention to our food, we miss the experience of eating which can leave us still feeling hungry and unsatisfied. There’s also pretty much zero chance we will get in those 40 chews!

Try taking three deep breaths before you start eating to really prepare your body for the food it is about to receive. Notice the colours on the plate and the smell of the food before you dig in. Then pay attention to your chewing! Eating mindfully will help the digestive process and make the eating experience more pleasurable.

This might mean taking a break from your desk at lunchtime or away from the TV in the evening, but your body will thank you for it.

There’s more…

Dietary changes can have a huge impact on the symptoms you experience but there’s so much more beyond the foods you eat that can support your healing.

See Part 2 for more tips on living an anti-inflammatory lifestyle.


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