Adenomyosis is a condition suffered by many women that is caused by the same type of tissue that normally builds up, lines the uterus, and is shed during a monthly menstrual period. The problem with this tissue is that it has gone rogue and is growing within the muscular walls of the uterus instead of on the inside surface of the uterus as a lining.
The displaced tissue can cause heavy bleeding, painful periods, pain during sex, a heavy feeling in the uterus, pelvic pain, bloating, fertility issues, and more. It is often tricky to diagnose because it shares many symptoms with many other women’s reproductive issues, like uterine fibroids and endometriosis, to name a few.
Similar to fibroids, adenomyosis is sensitive to excess estrogen, and so one of the best ways to combat the painful symptoms of adenomyosis is to limit your exposure to estrogen. In today’s world, every home is filled with products and foods that expose our bodies to excess estrogen that can disrupt our natural hormone balance. Today, we are going to talk about foods you can eat if you have adenomyosis and foods to avoid to keep your estrogen exposure to a minimum.
Anti-Inflammatory Diet For Adenomyosis
Many women who have adenomyosis desire natural treatments and do not wish to undergo a hysterectomy or endometrial ablation. These commonly suggested treatments both result in the removal or destruction of the uterus and remove all possibility of becoming pregnant in the future.
One of the natural remedies for adenomyosis symptoms is to carefully consider the foods you are eating and the products you are using. When you are trying to find relief from painful symptoms, you should try to follow the best diet for adenomyosis, which will avoid estrogen and foods that promote inflammation.
Best Diet For Adenomyosis
Eating the right foods can reduce inflammation and help balance your hormones, which can reduce the symptoms of adenomyosis. Foods you should include in your diet are:
Fruits and Vegetables
Leafy greens and veggies like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kale, bok choy, spinach, and bell peppers have anti-inflammatory properties and can help balance estrogen levels. Fruits like cherries, apples, pomegranates, pineapple, and avocados can help reduce inflammation, and berries like blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries are packed with antioxidants.
Whole Grains
Whole grains like oats, barley, brown rice, and quinoa are high in fiber and can help balance estrogen levels because the fiber binds to estrogen and reduces the amount that is absorbed.
Lean Proteins
Lean protein helps build and maintain your immune system, which helps regulate inflammation. It also provides important amino acids that help regulate peptide hormones. In addition, protein helps keep you feeling satisfied, so you will be less likely to crave unhealthy foods. Good sources of lean protein include sea fish, organic chicken, and legumes.
Healthy Fats
Foods like salmon, tuna, chia seeds, flaxseeds, avocados, and walnuts all contain anti-inflammatory properties and help keep your hormones in balance by lowering the cortisol levels (the stress hormone) in your body.
Herbs And Spices
Spices like turmeric, ginger, and cinnamon possess anti-inflammatory properties, and garlic and green tea also help with inflammation but also contain phytoestrogens, which help to balance estrogen levels.
Adenomyosis Foods To Avoid
Today, many of the foods at the grocery store, as well as takeout foods, are highly processed and contain many unnatural ingredients that no one can pronounce or even understand what they are. The rate of cancer in the U.S. has increased by over 36% between the years 2000 and 2021, with younger adults and women being the most affected. During the same time frame, the number of ingredients in most products on the shelves has more than doubled.
Many of these ingredients are endocrine disruptors, meaning they interfere with your natural hormone balance. You are exposed to these hormone-disrupting chemicals in a lot of ways in your everyday life, like through the food you eat, the water you drink, the air you breathe, the products you use, and even through beauty products and makeup you use. Even very small changes in your hormone levels can interfere with how well your body functions, which can manifest in serious health concerns. While you cannot totally avoid these chemicals, you can read labels and avoid as much exposure as possible.
Processed Meats
Foods like sausages and hot dogs are highly processed and contain chemicals like phthalates, bisphenol A, and nitrosamines, which interfere with your body’s natural hormone system.
Red Meat
Red meat naturally contains estrogen, and depending on where the cattle are raised and processed, it can be treated with steroids. Eating an excess of red meat can disrupt your hormonal balance and cause an excess of estrogen in your body.
Refined Sugars and Carbohydrates
White bread, sugary snacks, cakes, cookies, sodas, beverages full of sugar, etc., all contribute to the creation of fat cells, which can each produce a significant amount of estrogen. Also, consuming too much sugar can cause insulin resistance and affect the balance of your estrogen levels.
Dairy Products
When it comes to cow’s milk, it’s important to consider organic or hormone-free options.
Alcohol and Caffeine
Drinking alcoholic beverages has been shown in some studies to increase estrogen levels in women as well as lead to inflammation. Consuming excessive amounts of caffeine can affect women differently depending on their age, ethnicity, and genetics.
Natural Remedies and Supplements
In addition to what you eat or avoid in your diet, some other natural remedies and supplements that may help include:
- Curcumin;
- Vitamin D;
- Omega-3 Supplements;
- Magnesium.
It is recommended that you talk with your doctor about the supplements you would like to try to ensure they will not make your condition worse or interfere with other medications you are taking.
Other Natural Remedies for Adenomyosis Symptoms
- Stay well hydrated;
- Get regular exercise;
- Get enough sleep;
- Manage your stress level;
- Apply a heating pad to ease discomfort.
What Options Do I Have For Adenomyosis Treatment?
Most Doctors Only Offer Invasive Surgery
Unfortunately, experts do not know exactly what causes adenomyosis to occur, so it is hard to prevent. OB/GYNs normally prescribe oral contraceptives and lifestyle changes as a first-line treatment or recommend a hysterectomy or ablation procedure if the condition is advanced. The problem with both of these surgical procedures is that they both can have long-term side effects.
Research has shown that a woman’s uterus is linked to many vital functions in the body and is not only used to grow a baby. The risk of coronary disease, stroke, and dementia significantly increases in women who undergo hysterectomies at an early age.
Ablation procedures effectively burn off the entire lining of the uterus, rendering the woman sterile, and often will not even reach the adenomyosis tissue that typically grows within the uterine walls, so it does not even treat the majority of the symptoms.
Best Non-Surgical Treatment for Adenomyosis
UAE, or uterine artery embolization, can often treat and eliminate the symptoms of adenomyosis without surgery or removing or damaging the uterus. This procedure is performed by an interventional radiologist as an outpatient procedure and safely and effectively blocks the blood supply to the adenomyosis tissue. Without this vital blood supply, the tissue cannot continue to grow or thrive, and eventually it shrinks down and dies, which eliminates the symptoms.
Many women never learn about this option for treatment because their OB/GYN is not specially trained to do it, and so they do not offer it.
The Atlanta Fibroid Center Offers the Best Option for Adenomyosis Treatment
Before undergoing an invasive surgery that can alter your future choices in life, contact the Atlanta Fibroid Center and let them help determine if you are a good candidate for uterine artery embolization. This minimally invasive procedure has an 85% success rate, and Dr. John Lipman has helped thousands of women regain their quality of life without sacrificing their uterus.
Set up a consultation today with the Atlanta Fibroid Center to learn more about UAE and get help with natural remedies for adenomyosis.
