As promised, I'll be going into more detail about why you need to cut out certain things when on the endometriosis diet. The list is rather extensive and the explanations for some can get rather lengthy so I'll be doing them as a series of posts rather than flooding you all at once.
Today I'll be focusing on wheat and gluten, as cutting out this particular one has had a huge effect on me already and can be of help even to those who don't suffer with endometriosis.
More and more people are waking up to the evils of gluten and wheat, no longer the healthy staple it used to be thanks to years of genetic modification and pesticide use. Gluten is now used in food production as a binding agent, much like eggs are when you're baking a cake. The problem is that it's new genetically modified form doesn't just bind ingredients in the food - it moves through your digestive system like glue and binds whatever it fancies. It has slowly developed from a nutritious ingredient in almost every area of cooking to something you should avoid if you don't want to incur the nasty list of symptoms it can cause.
The most common symptoms can include;
- Gas
- Bloating
- Queasiness
- Abdominal cramping
- IBS
- Irrational mood swings and emotional problems, even depression
- Fatigue
But if you have a gluten intolerance or an allergy called coeliac disease the symptoms can be much worse; neurological disruption, fibromyalgia, migraines and inflammation & pain in your joints.
As you can see, it's nasty stuff even if you're completely healthy. The problem when it comes to endometriosis is that you may have a combination of disorders that are all fed by wheat, compounding the problem. It's not uncommon to also suffer from Candida (a yeast infection in the gut that is fed by sugar), IBS (irritable bowel syndrome, cause currently unknown) or some level of gluten intolerance (anything from a mild irritation up to coeliac disease) - sometimes all three at once.
The only way to get rid of these symptoms, whether you're just looking for a healthier diet in general or you're looking to ease endometriosis, is to eliminate wheat and gluten (also found in barley and rye) from your diet completely. It's not easy, but it's definitely worth it.
In a study of women with endometriosis 80% found their pain was greatly reduced when they cut wheat out of their diet. This jumped to 100% when they also cut out gluten.
Cutting gluten out of your diet is no mean feat, don't get me wrong. I've now taken to reading the ingredients list on absolutely everything I eat (checking for wheat and other ingredients in the naughty list)! But once you experience the rewards for all the hard work you put in you become reluctant to go back to eating gluten products. Some women find their pain is reduced and some find it disappears altogether, it all depends on the cause of your pain. But in either case it's worth giving it a try - what have you got to lose?
To give you an idea of the difference it can make, here's a snippet of my own experience:
"I have suffered bloating to varying degrees throughout 2013, blaming everything I could think of; water retention before a period, weight gain during a period and IBS just to name a few. I'd attempted to go gluten free a few times and it did show some improvements but never enough for me to think it was worth it.
When I got my diagnosis and subsequently had my op I dropped weight dramatically (2lbs from the surgery alone and then another 6lbs in 4 days when I got home) and the reason for my problems became obvious. Every organ in my abdomen was so swollen that once I'd reduced the bloating I was just revealing the extent of the swelling without realising it (a scary thought!).
Pre-diet I had been eating anything I fancied, partly because I was so grateful to have my appetite back and partly because I knew once I started the diet there would be a lot of things I'd miss!
On day 1 of the diet I was going to the shops, which warranted more than the loose fitting pjs I'd been living in! Since I'd lost so much weight I thought I'd try to put on a pair of jeans that hadn't fit me in 2 years, to no avail. My stomach was still too bloated despite the weight loss.
On day 2 I woke up and looked a lot slimmer in the mirror (my enemy and best friend). This time I was going to visit family and figured it was worth another try. To my amazement the jeans fit. Not completely comfortably, but I could do the button up. I wore them out and everyone said how amazing I looked.
By day 4 I could do the jeans up and had wiggle room. To say I was shocked doesn't even come close.
I'm now on day 7 and my stomach is still a little bigger than I'd like, but my internal organs are still going back to their normal size so it's something I can live with. I'm just shocked at how fast everything went back to normal once I started on this diet! It's definitely worth it for me and I find I don't crave my old comfort foods because I know the consequences."
I'm wary that this post is getting a bit long again, so I'll put the alternatives to wheat in another blog post for you. I really hope this has given you an insight into why so many people struggle with wheat and convinced you that it's at least worth giving it a go. Experts recommend 2 weeks gluten free to get it out of your system and see the real effects, so don't get disheartened if you don't see results immediately. :)
Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
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