So far we’ve looked at all the no-no’s when it comes to your diet. The foods that I’ve suggested you remove are all pro-inflammatory and are contributing to your Endometriosis symptoms. But are there foods that will make you feel better? Foods that you should eat more of?
Yes, there are!
Antioxidant rich foods that make you feel better
Let me start by explaining what antioxidants do. It’s a term you hear a lot of, but not many people know what they are or do.
Certain foods, stress and less than optimum health are all factors that create free radicals. Free radicals are like a gang of aggressive hooligans, running around your body, damaging cells and tissues, and causing inflammation in their wake. Hmm, inflammation, again!
Antioxidants are like police officers, very good at catching those hooligans, slapping the handcuffs on and escorting them off the premises – i.e. your body.
If you eat a diet high in antioxidants, your body is able to remove the free radicals very effectively, reducing the unnecessary inflammation.
Foods that are high in antioxidants are:
- Red/orange vegetables: Carrots, sweet potato, red capsicum
- Green vegetables: broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, Spinach
- Fresh fruit, especially high in vitamin C: kiwi, citrus, guava
- Seeds and nuts
Omega-3 fatty acids containing foods that make you feel better
In a study of more than 70,000 nurses in the US showed that it the amount of fat you eat doesn’t impact your risk of endometriosis, but the type of fat does.
Omega-3 fatty acids are known to help reduce inflammation. Foods to include in your diet are:
- Fatty fish, like salmon, tuna, mackerel, herring, sea mullet, redfish, flounder, trevally, tailor, Sydney rock oyster, blue mussel, rainbow trout, and whiting.
- Oils: flaxseed, hempseed, canola
- Nuts: especially walnuts.
Fibre containing foods that make you feel better
Fibre plays an important role in removing excess oestrogen from your body. It can attach itself to oestrogen, and then help remove it from the bowel.
Foods high in fibre are:
- Apples
- Oats (but check they are truly gluten-free)
- Fruit such as berries, pears (skin on), melon and oranges.
- Vegetables such as broccoli, carrots and sweetcorn.
- Peas, beans and pulses.
- Nuts and seeds.
- Potatoes with skin on.
Did you know that you can get a free diet review, where I provide you with some observations and recommendations for making changes to you diet to start reducing the severity of your symptoms?