Soya - go or no go for Endo? Have already gone gluten, dairy and lactose free.

[Ejl2688]

i've been trying to follow a gluten, dairy, and lactose free diet to see if it will help with reducing my cramps/ pain in my lower back/ womb area. Sometimes it gets so bad i go to the loo like 5/6 times a day, trying to pass some sort of 'stool' but hardly any comes out as i go so frequent (sorry for the details!).

Question is, i've been swapping diary for soya/ soya milk instead, but i read somewhere that soya is a no go for people with endo as it can cause inflammation, and thats where the pain/ cramp comes from? Anyone know if I should/ can have soya milk/ soya? Or if that is whats making my pain worst?

xxx

[Ugne]

Hi Ejl2688,

Great question, personally, i don't use soya milk, as its full of estrogen and most soya is GMO these days. I use almond or hazelnut milk with no additives by Plenish, they don't put anything else but spring water, real nuts milk and a bit of sea salt.

Take care x

Ugne, volunteer moderator.

[Ejl2688 in reply to Ugne]

Thank you! I'll look in to Plenish. I always thought Soya milk was a good alternatively since its not dairy...guess i was wrong!

[Fabbird in reply to Ejl2688]

Hi, my understanding is that soya is good for endo. It’s high in phytoestrogens and for a while this was thought to be a bad thing. However I believe more recent research shows that it’s helpful. Books and articles ten or more years old will say avoid it, but if you look up the more recent stuff it’s a different story.

[luthien]

How long have you changed your diet? It can take up to 6 weeks to start seeing the effects of a change. You may also find that you are sensitive to something you've switched to; but you many not know if you've just changed lots of things. Also switching rapidly can cause the body to become unstable; it isn't sure what it can process for example; it may not be used to less fibre or carbohydrates, so will become more runny, it also needs to get it's energy from somewhere so if cutting out gluten (wheat) add in something else - I add more protein.

Some people have a sensitivity to soya, have you tried coconut / almond / hazelnut / rice / oat milk? I have found that if I use soya milk continuously for a month I get a really upset stomach, kind of like a developed sensitivity, so I have to switch for a few weeks, then it's okay again when I go back to soya.

It has been thought that soya may have precursors to oestrogen so could promote the body to produce more itself, however it isn't scientifically proven. Lots of women with endo do fine on it, some don't, everyone's different.

You could try removing soya altogether for a few weeks then only having it at certain times of the day, keep a diary and seeing if there's a pattern. You'll either see a pattern after a few hours of having it (digestive issue) or may take a few weeks (sensitivity), allergies take minutes to hours.

You may need to see a endo dietician that can look at your diet, balance it out to help your gut. The feeling like going to the loo and nothing coming out is usually from your intestines feeling irritated so they push, But I wouldn't suggest buscopan or anything to stop that in-case it needs to go through the motions as there is something irritating it.

Painkillers, if you take any can have side effects so it may be an idea to look at those too.

Hope you find something that helps you feel better x

[Ejl2688 in reply to luthien]

Thank you for your reply. Thats really helpful, i've been adding alot of protein in my diet too. I've also brought this lactose free cheese, then realised it has dairy in it, (arla Cheese) i had some of it just to try and see if i was ok on it, and so far seem fine as I did not have to go 'loo' after eating it. So maybe im ok with dairy...

This is all so complex, trying to find out what I can eat and can't it, it's driving me crazy. There are alot of foods that i used to eat, but can't really eat them now and its quite depressing

[luthien in reply to Ejl2688]

Lactose free isn't the same as dairy free, I realised the same way you did! Lactose is the type of fat in all milks. I get goats cheese and sheep cheese as they are suitable for lactose intolerance; less of it so easier to digest. You can actually have ghee (alternative to butter in cooking), yoghurt and aged cheeses (ones that say aged not mature that's different) with lactose intolerance as they have different fats.

I found it was dairy milk as it is I really couldn't handle, natural yoghurts are fine, as is hard cheese (parmesan) it seemed to be the way they're processed. So yeah maybe you're okay with dairy in small amounts too.

What foods did you used to eat? you could perhaps add them back in one at a time when you have your dairy / soya stuff figured out. If you add them in keep a diary of when and how much and when symptoms got worse (endo / stomach) then you'll know if you have problems. There's a difference between can't eat or shouldn't eat, if the endo diet says not to eat something and you do but it doesn't cause any symptoms, does it make you feel like you shouldn't be eating it? If you can't because it makes your endo worse then that's understandable.

The diet helps some people, don't focus on it too much; it's all part of the treatment options you choose, it's not compulsory and it may not always work for everyone all of the time, just like any treatment.

It's all about balance.

I manage my endo, changed my diet a little but it's my life, I only live it once! Some of the things not on the endo diet list I still eat and they are fine for me. Yes I have endo, but I don't want it to rule my life; I want to enjoy it too!!