Now, you may be thinking “I don’t think I have any food intolerances”. That’s exactly why you need to consider them! Let me explain 🙂
If you’ve read a few of my posts or listen to my podcast ‘The Endometriosis Nutritionist Podcast’, you’ll know that I look at Endometriosis as an inflammatory disease. The chronic, systemic inflammation is the ‘engine’ behind the growth and spread of your Endometriosis and the severity of your symptoms.
Inflammation is a key mechanism your immune system uses to fight potentially dangerous pathogens when it is triggered. And one of those triggers are your food intolerances.
Here are 5 little known reasons to consider food intolerances when you have Endometriosis.
1 - You will have food intolerances!
Yep, it is very likely you have food intolerances. I’ve yet to come across a client who didn’t have any. The most common ones are intolerances to gluten (the protein in wheat) and diary (not the lactose but the dairy protein).
2 - They will be to foods that are considered healthy.
This is the frustrating part. You may think you’re eating a healthy diet, with lots of fruit and vegetables, perhaps so good quality meat in small amounts, nuts and seeds. Any of these healthy foods could be something you are intolerant to.
I’ll give you some examples. I am intolerant to apples. So the saying "An apple a day keeps the doctor away” apply to me! An apple a day for me means diarrhoea and intestinal cramps. I’m also intolerant to chickpeas and sesame seeds, which rules out one of may favourite snacks: vegetables with houmous (I even used to make my own…). I have clients who are intolerant to oranges (but no other citrus fruits), tomatoes, beef (yes, beef!), specific nuts like hazelnuts but not any other nut, and the list goes on.
3 - Food intolerances are not allergies, meaning they don’t give you rashes, itchiness, sneezing etc.
Intolerance reactions sit in your gut and the most common symptoms are bloating, constipation and/or diarrhoea, intestinal cramps, flatulence, fatigue and headaches/migraines.
4 - Eating a food you’re intolerant to triggers your immune system
This increases inflammation and that worsens all your Endometriosis symptoms and stimulates the growth and spread of endometrial tissue.
5 - Eating a food you’re intolerant to irritate and damages your gut wall
They worsen your leaky gut which then also increases inflammation.
Common food intolerances for women with Endometriosis are gluten and diary intolerance and removing these from your diet is usually a great place to start. It can be tricky though: what can you eat instead? To help you to remove gluten and dairy successfully from your diet, but still mostly eat your normal foods, I’ve created a self-paced course: ‘Remove Gluten and Dairy from your Diet’. You can check it out here: https://theendometriosisnutritionist.online/course/remove-gluten-and-dairy-from-your-diet/