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alternatives, coeliac, cysts, dairy free, damaged, Diet, Endo, endometriosis, food, fruits, Glutenfree, health, hormones, infertility, journey, ovaries, pain, PCOS, stage4, toxic, wheat free, women
Hello Ladies and welcome to a public holiday here in South Africa! If you are reading this from anywhere else in the world, welcome and thank you for taking the time to check my blog out. It is fairly new but I really wanted a place to share my thoughts and provide some sort of assistance to our lovely ladies out there 🙂
Life is so busy and I truly wish that I could post way more often but like many of you that are working and have family commitments , it really isn’t as easy as sitting down and just typing a post.
In my last post, here, I told you about those toxic food friends that were causing havoc with my digestive system and how I kicked those baddies to the curb. Yeah, ok, so sometimes I still have them but I am very conscious of when and the amount that I add back into my diet.
Gluten has been my biggest issue. It forces me to have a bowel movement, gives me endless cramps and the flatulence ? Ugh – No thank you. There have been numerous testimonials from women with Endo who have said that eliminating gluten from their diet or by reducing their intake dramatically, they have seen a positive change. For those PCOS sufferers who want to lose weight, cutting this out of your diet means that half the battle of weight loss is done.
As I have previously mentioned, I spend too much time (Ask my data provider about this LOL) on sites , reading about diet and endometriosis and its connection. I came across this the Gluten Free Society and this is what they had to say:
Pelvic pain in women accounts for 10-40% of all gynecologic office visits. A new research study found that the gluten free diet led to dramatic pelvic pain reduction in women suffering with endometriosis – begging the question – “Is endometriosis a manifestation of non celiac gluten sensitivity?” Below is an excerpt from the study…
At 12 month follow-up, 156 patients (75%) reported statistically significant change in painful symptoms (P<0.005), 51 patients (25%) reported not improvement of symptoms. No patients reported worsening of pain. A considerable increase of scores for all domains of physical functioning, general health perception, vitality, social functioning, and mental health was observed in all patients (P<0.005).
CONCLUSION: In our experience, painful symptoms of endometriosis decrease after 12 months of gluten free diet.
Source: Minerva Chir. 2012 Dec;67(6):499-504.
I know that many of you are wondering how on earth will you get through 12 whole freaking months of no gluten?!!! If you can, it’s awesome but I know that there are many ladies who are thinking that they might as well not start at all because they will never be able to do it. Please don’t think that way. If you do, you have already lost that argument with yourself.
Try. Just try. You can try it for one day. Then one week. One month. And then keep going. It will soon become a way of life and something that you can’t stop doing even if you wanted to, only because you will enjoy the effects of it. Can you imagine getting through the day with no pain and actually enjoying a night out ?
Don’t get me wrong, I am absolutely not saying that changing your diet is the magical cure, that it will make endo and PCOS disappear , but what do we have to lose? After everything we have been through, I truly believe we deserve to give ourselves the opportunity to say that we have tried it all. At least, that is what I think.
I know that there’s so much of information out there about the links between Gluten and Endometriosis and as much as I want to post it here , I just think that this post would end up being ridiculously long and I don’t think you have the time to read ALL of it (but this site is for YOU so if you would like longer posts with more info, please let me know). So for your benefit and if you are curious or have recently been diagnosed with endo, here are a couple of links to help you get more info about what I am talking about :
It is strange that something we have grown our whole life eating suddenly becomes that which we shouldn’t have at all. At first, I didn’t want to believe it. I mean, if not a single doctor advocated a change in diet to help alleviate my symptoms of Endo , PCOS and linked infertility – then surely there must be no real meat to this theory? But I came to the realisation that even these medical professionals can be wrong at times (I mean they don’t even know what causes Endometriosis nor have they found a cure for it) . Hey , I am not saying you shouldn’t listen to your Dr, ohmygosh – no way am I saying that. There are many women who need surgery or have been diagnosed with cysts that if ruptured could be life threatening etc. , and refusing to take their advice could lead you down a path you shouldn’t be going on. So my advice is to weigh the pros and cons before you make a decision.
My advise is to change the way you think about food. Before you eat – think consciously about what you are putting into your mouth. For the most part – we are scoffing down cakes, muffins, burgers, sandwiches , all without thinking about what we are doing to our bodies.
Gluten Free diets were first associated with Coeliac disease , and while in these severe cases, gluten is seen as a threat to the body, in us Endo sufferers – Gluten free diets can assist in lessening our pain symptoms. While switching to this diet can do more good than anything else, the effect on our pockets , not so much. The truth is that Gluten – Free products are way more expensive. For the most part , you will pay triple what you would have paid for a similar product that does have gluten in it. Of course , it is understandable because the ingredients used as substitutes for gluten are not readily available and are more costly together coupled with the fact that the scale of production is nowhere near your usual supermarket products , and other variables will contribute to these prices.
If you are looking for this diet change just for you , then you might find it slightly easier than those who are looking to purchase for 2 or more people in their household. If budgets don’t allow you to buy these pre-packaged products, you could look at making them yourself or finding fresh alternatives to add to your diet. I am talking about having a fresh salad to accompany your meal instead of a pricey slice of gluten-free bread. Instead of having toast or biscuits for breakfast, opt for a fruit salad or homemade smoothie instead.
I have put an amount in my budget specifically for my stash of GF products because I really and truly need them in my life and I am not ashamed to admit it haha. I don’t buy a whole load just because I still want to have my salads as well as my fruits and veggies, but instead of regular store bought bread and biscuits – I go the GF route.
I hope that this post helped you a little bit. I could be giving your tonnes of information regarding this topic but while that is uber important, I also think that experiences of an actual human being lol, makes a difference.
Your diet has far reaching effects, on your body, your mind and well-being. Don’t underestimate it.
Have a fabulous day warriors 🙂
Until next time.
xx
A
anewchapterdaily.wordpress.com 
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