Endo diet

[carlysky]

Are you allowed soya milk?

[Joeytheroo]

Soya messes with your hormones so no it's bad for all women and men (fermented eg miso is ok though). I use unsweetened almond milk instead. Although dairy doesn't seem to affect me much so I keep organic yoghurt with live cultures as I'm ttc and it's meant to be good for that.

Just an FYI on diet - I avoid gluten but find good quality sour dough bread doesn't affect me either so that makes everything easier (lots of research that sour dough doesn't affect gluten sensitive people as the fermenting process de-activates the gluten in some way).

I've just been on holiday and ate sugar for the first time in 9 months (I've been pretty strict although I eat fruit and a very small occasional amount of agave syrup). Anyway, I ate gelato about 8 times on hols (such a treat!) and suffered for it this month - just had my worst, longest lasting pain and lots of large clots period in the 9 months.

I'm convinced the diet makes a massive difference for me and the 8-9cm cyst on my ovary I had drained 9 months ago has come back as I was warned it would but is only 1cm which I'm delighted with (I'm ttc so they only drained it and I've had no hormone treatments). Still hoping to avoid IVF but think I'll need to bite the bullet very soon.

Anyway, sorry, you didn't ask for any of this extra info but I've been meaning to post that I'm convinced sugar makes a massive impact on my pain levels. I also avoid caffeine (except a daily cup of green tea) no red meat (unless grass fed and organic - super pricey!!), alcohol (i slip on this occasionally - 1-2 units a month) no soya, no gluten except sour dough, dairy doesn't seem to affect me severely but I limit it and only organic , organic eggs for me are fine. No processed foods - everything I eat is now cooked from scratch. Lots of pulses, Veg esp leafy greens, fish, brown rice whole grains etc. Pluses are I'm much healthier nowadays and I genuinely don't miss the crap.

Hope the diet helps you too x

[carlysky in reply to Joeytheroo]

Thank you for your reply. that has helped alot. Unfortunately I don't like almond milk it's too nutty, I actually really liked soya. what other ones can I try?

I've been cutting out cakes, red meat, takeaways, and trying to watch what else I eat.

Are you allowed potatoes and brown bread?

Hope you feel better soon.

Thanks, Carly

[Joeytheroo in reply to carlysky]

You could try goats milk or jersey cow milk (the big supermarkets usually stock it) the enzyme in it is different to normal cows milk. Or unsweetened oat milk if you find you can tolerate gluten (it's ok for me in small amounts and apparently wise not to cut it out totally as you'll become increasingly intolerant to it) or I guess rice milk but that'll have lots of sugars in it which are firmly on my "no" list.

Henrietta norton's book is great - she explains it all really well.

As I understand it (I'm no expert at all) the diet helps in 2 ways - to regulate hormones in your body, and avoid irritants on your digestive system. I have endo near my bowel but not on it so can tolerate small amounts of gluten and dairy. It's the hormone regulation that matters most to me and seems to effect pain levels (and growth of endo but I can't see that so have no proof other than the large cyst I had has returned but small). Sugar, caffeine, alcohol, soya, red meat all on avoid strictly list.

Potatoes are fine - unless factory processed. Sweet pots even better. Mash usually has dairy in it, chips and roast pots cooked in oil which isn't great. But I pick my battles. And need to keep sane!

Brown bread - worth deciding how gluten affects you. Small amounts are ok for me but Sour dough works much better for me (expensive tho but cheaper and nicer than gluten free). Lots of plastic wrapped bread has sugar in it so worth checking carefully. Sugar is in everything!

Everything is a bit of a trade off - green tea has caffeine in it but lots of other benefits so I drink a cup daily. Dairy affects lots of people but live organic yoghurt is good for ttc, fruit has sugars but is nice and has so much good stuff for endo I eat lots of it.

Don't get overwhelmed - I nearly gave up early on as it seemed impossible but the version I do now feels do-able for the rest of my life - I really love food and don't miss anything now as my taste buds have changed.

Good luck! X

[TAnd71 in reply to Joeytheroo]

Wow. . . You eat like a Saint . Power to you. . . I've tried many different things. Excessive sugar affects me but occasionally is ok. No sugar didn't help me. We are all different I guess . I don't drink alcohol or drink caffeine . I heard those two are also very bad

[LauraJayne92]

I tend to have Oatly Oat milk - It's delicious in porridge and even though it isn't 'gluten free' (I am on the Gluten Free diet for Endo) it has extremely low levels so in a bowl of porridge every now and again it doesn't harm me. I don't tend to have many other dairy products. I stick to fruit and green teas as well as Honey and Lemon with hot water (Especially when I am on as it may be all in my head but it seems to help my pains!).

I have no idea if that helps at all!

Laura XX

[Mori]

I've read no, as soy has phytoestrogens. May not be a big deal but I figure it can't hurt to be cautious...

[Mori]

I agree with joeytheroo on sugar. I drink unsweetened coconut milk.

[carlysky in reply to Mori]

Do you know what the make is called for the unsweetened coconut milk?

[Mori in reply to carlysky]

I drink the So Delicious brand. But there are others too. I'm in the US so your brands may be different. They usually have unsweetened, sweetened, and vanilla.

[Starry]

There are equal number of studies saying soya is actually positive, so the medical jury is still out, empowher.com/endometriosis/...

This year, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists presented research suggesting that genistein may actually inhibit estrogen's effect on endometrial growth and activation. (Interestingly, they came to the same conclusion about resveratrol, a compound found in red wine.)

There have also been studies on cohorts of Japanese women (thought to consume more soy in their diets naturally) suggesting that the higher the levels of genistein found in urine (in other words, the more soy they consumed), the lower the incidence of advanced endometriosis.