Six Foods To Eat Before Your Period To Reduce Pain with Endometriosis - a podcast by Jessica Duffin

from 2020-09-07T18:40:13

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Today I wanted to follow up on last week’s episode Six Tips for Reducing Endometriosis Pain in The Week Before Your Period, with something a little more focused around nutrition. As most of you will know by now, I lean towards making healthy choices to support us with endo all month long, but that doesn’t mean that focusing on foods to add in just before our period can’t be useful. In fact, if you’re struggling with where to get started with endometriosis management, I would start here and with my last episode.

As always, these are just options - you don’t have to do them all nor do you have to do them exactly as suggested, tweak and tailor to your lifestyle and preferences. If you’re triggered by any of this, seek the support of a therapist and dietician/health coach/nutritionist before making further dietary changes.

So, here are any foods to to eat before your period to reduce pain with endometriosis:

Spinach and other leafy greens such as kale, boy chow, lettuce, rocket, chard and other greens. Add these in for anti-inflammatory nutrients, magnesium iron and fibre. Leafy greens can help to reduce period pain, fatigue, PMS symptoms like bloating and can aid reducing any excess oestrogen. You can throw some spinach in your morning smoothie and a big handful or two of lettuce to your lunch.
Olive oil and other Vitamin E containing foods such as almonds, olives, avocados, greens and sunflower seeds. Vitamin E has been shown to reduce inflammation in numerous studies, as well as reduce pain with endometriosis and painful periods. Try drizzling two tablespoons of olive oil or sunflower seed butter over your lunch time salad, and snacking on almonds!
Broccoli and other cruciferous veg like kale, cauliflower, asparagus, broccoli sprouts, sprouts and cabbage. These help to reduce oestrogen dominance by supporting the body to remove old oestrogen that needs clearing out and can cause symptoms like clots periods, heavy periods and period pain. You could try roasting wedges of red cabbage and mixing into a salad, grating red cabbage over a tex-mea meal or adding broccoli sprouts to salads and smoothies.
Salmon and other sources of omega 3 fats such as mackerel, anchovies, sardines, herring, walnuts and chia seeds. Omega 3 fats help to lower inflammation and have been shown to reduce period pain and in studies on rats, reduce the size of endometriosis lesions. Add no more than two portions of fatty fish a week in addition to walnuts and chia seeds, and be cautious of large fatty fish as these can have a higher mercury content. If you don’t eat fish, it’s worth noting that most of us can’t convert plant-based sources of omega. fats into the usable form, so you’ll need to supplement with a vegan DHA and EPA supplement. One way to get in extra fish is to pair it with a Mediterranean salad and whole grains like quinoa for dinner, and try adding in some chia with a chia pot snack mixed with blueberries, walnuts and some almond milk.
Tomatoes and other colourful vegetables such as berries, red cabbage, parsnips, peppers, squashed carrots. Studies have shown that people with endometriosis have higher levels of oxidation (which leads to higher levels of inflammation and therefore pain) and that when participants added in a high anti-oxidant diet in the form of extra fruits and vegetables, their oxidation levels lowered. When it comes to fruit and veggies, the more colour, the more anti-oxidants - so eat the rainbow! Try snacking on red and yellow peppers and cucumber dipped in hummus, and make a dinner that has a delicious roasted veg salad with it such as roasted carrots, beetroot and fennel - delicious with some puy lentils, fresh herbs and rocket!
Turmeric and other herbs and spices like cinnamon and ginger. Many herbs and spices are anti-inflammatory, yet turmeric, ginger and cinnamon are particular stand-out stars, with curcumin (the active compound in turmeric) showing promise with endometriosis lesion suppression and ruction in mice, and ginger being an effective pain reliever in people with primary dysmenorrhea. How about making up a daily turmeric latte and a carrot and ginger soup to enjoy for the week?
Bonus food! Raw cacao and sugar free dark chocolate. Rich in magnesium, iron and anti-oxidants, raw cacao can help lower inflammation and support energy production, whilst helping us with those sugar cravings! Just be mindful of how much you have as cacao does have a little caffeine. My superfood hot chocolate recipe is a lovely way to get this delicious food into your diet before your period.

So which one are you going to start with? Dm me over on Instagram and let me know which food you try this cycle!

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If you feel like you need more support with managing endometriosis, you can join Your EndoLife Coaching Programme. A 1-to-1 three month health and life coaching programme to help you thrive with endometriosis. To find out more about the programme and to discuss whether it could be right for you, email me at hello@thisendolife.com or visit my website.

I am now offering one-off two hour sessions for those of you who aren’t quite ready for a 12 week coaching programme. This intensive deep dive session will kick start your journey to living and thriving with endometriosis and give you a plan that you can take forward and work on alone. Click here to find out more about the programme.

My cookbook This EndoLife, It Starts with Breakfast is out now! Get 28 anti-inflammatory, hormone friendly recipes for living and thriving with endometriosis. Order your copy here.

This episode is sponsored by my free “Endometriosis Symptom Tracker”. If you feel like you’re just in pain or tired all the time, and you can’t tell what’s making your endo better or worse, this tracker could help you begin to understand the subtle patterns in your endometriosis symptoms. As always, this guide doesn’t replace your medical treatment and is not intended to treat or cure endometriosis, but provides you with options that helped me to live well with endometriosis. Download here.

This episode is sponsored by The Pod Farm. Learn all about how to start your own podcast with the complete course from The Pod Farm. Aimed at beginners, this course takes a simple and straightforward approach to planning, equipment buying, setting up, recording, editing and hosting your own podcast. With hours of audio and video materials, and downloadable guides and useful links, this multimedia approach aims to have something for every kind of learner. From now until April 15, newsletter subscribers get 20% off the course price. Visit www.thepodfarm.com to enroll or find out more

This episode is sponsored by BeYou. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches and CBD range. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk

Show Notes

My FLO

How to track your period

Magnesium

Study

Magnesium baths for pain article

Magnesium--a new therapeutic alternative in primary dysmenorrhea

Vitamin E

Vitamin E, oxidative stress, and inflammation

Antioxidant supplementation reduces endometriosis-related pelvic pain in humans

Evaluation of the effect of vitamin E on pelvic pain reduction in women suffering from primary dysmenorrhea

Omega 3 Fatty Acids