I have so many new girls on the blog and on the Facebook Group, that I thought I would create an article to help out the new girls - I know some of these articles are probably really overwhelming!
So, you want to feel better, even though your endo has given you nothing but pain and problems? Well, that sounds all well and good but where do you start... right? Should your main focus be on diet? What about supplements? Which ones? Then you start reading something and it is either totally overwhelming or contradictory! Oh boy! All too hard right?
Not really. The answers you seek are all below:)
They are in the order that you should focus on. Do one per day or focus on one per week but do each one REALLY, really well and you will notice a change.
1. Get a Good Nights Sleep.
I know this is kinda obvious but most of us simply don't do it. We stay up late watching television or worrying about the next day or perhaps we just can't sleep.
I know when my endo was really bad, I struggled to sleep. The pain was unbearable and the only way I knew I would get a good nights sleep was to literally knock myself out with pain-killers or alcohol!
Earthing
One of the reasons we get sent this "pain signal" is because we have heaps of free radicals. Essentially, they tell the body to send guys down to your abdomen as there is a problem! They essentially cause inflammation to be more advanced. What we want to do is increase the anti-oxidants in the body to reduce this effect (this is really the simplified version). To get anti-oxidants we need to eat heaps of fruits that contain them - you know about the blueberries! The other major one is to earth yourself. It is a very simple thing but most of us just don't do it - stick your feet on the ground for at least an hour a day. I know it sounds silly but this technique is scientifically proven to reduce the negative charge and to increase the inflammatory response in our bodies.
2. Drink lots of water
Many diseases and conditions are immediately improved when we drink enough and the right kind of water. Water from the tap or out of plastic bottles is unfortunately not fabulous. The water from the tap has often been recycled, filled with chlorine and plastic bottles are unfortunately simply leaking toxins into the water. See, the plastic is a toxin and is especially bad for us endo girls. It contains Xenoestrogens. These Xenoestrogens mimick our own Oestrogen. This is not a good thing! Oestrogen of any kind will create more growth in the body - that means endo cells growing more! So, we want to avoid anything that contains Xenoestrogenic properties. The best water in my experience is Natural Spring Water. You would be amazed at how easy these are to find. Alternatively, get a filter on your tap and stop your body from doing all the cleansing for you!
Most of us simply don't drink enough water. It is one of the best ways of cleansing out these toxins from the body - through the kidneys and the bladder. Drink heaps of pure water and it will do wonders to how you feel.
3. Change your mindset
Do you wake up each morning with a thought like: "how much pain am I going to be in today?", "nothing works!" "I can't take it anymore!". I know, I did too... don't feel bad. Thing is, this way of thinking doesn't actually help your healing. It makes you feel defeated before you even try anything!
Change your thoughts to:"I am getting better, each day at a time!", "I can heal my body!" "There are so many ways of healing I can use and try!"
I found it really helped me to research stuff. Everyday I spent my time finding solutions, rather than focusing on what I didn't have.
4. Change your diet
This is number 4 for a reason! If you don't feel like you can really do things, then "trying" to diet, is not going to work either. You need to believe in it and make a commitment towards it. The changes recommended in the Endometriosis Diet are not easy but they do work! Many girls can vouch for it's effectiveness.
The foods you want to exclude are Gluten, Sugar, Meat, Refined oils and preservatives and Dairy. This seems like an impossible task at first but take one food group at a time and go slow. Find delicious replacements that are healthy for your body - I love Goji Berries and Smoothies. There are heaps of nourishing foods out there that will make you feel amazing! Find those and incorporate those:)
5. Get the stress out of your life
For some of us, this is a fairly easy thing to achieve and for others of us, this can mean a massive change of life! I know when I first got Endometriosis, I was working in the Advertising Industry and the stress of that was absolutely the worst thing for my endo. I changed careers because of it and it made a huge difference to my pain levels. Stress might be coming from your job, your family and even sometimes friends. Recognise the stresses, write them down and cross them off one at a time as they walk out the door!
Emotional stress is one of the worst things for Endometriosis. You want to eliminate any negativity from your life. I used to have heaps of "friends" that made me feel bad about myself and who I was. I soon learnt that, the negative energy they brought onto my life was not worth their friendship. You are worth more!
6. Incorporate certain Supplements
I am not a fan of recommending any particular supplement to you, as I really don't know you and well, we are all different. However, there are some supplements that I believe provide an all round solutions to our often nutrient poor bodies.
1. Moringa Leaf Powder. You can get these in capsules too. This plant provides amazing healing benefits and contains heaps of the Vitamin B group of vitamins.
2. Serrapeptase. This is an enteric coated enzyme that essentially "eats away" dead cells in the body. I cannot recommend this highly enough for Endometriosis sufferers.
7. Getting things moving
Your digestion should infact be your number 1 focus when it comes to Endometriosis. I know, you are totally focusing on your hormones right now but it is more important to focus on digestion. If toxins and excess hormones can't leave your body, they build up! This is not a good thing for Endometriosis.
To get your digestion working properly, you need fibre and probiotics. You can get fibre through your diet. You can get probiotics online or better yet, create your own probiotics by fermenting your own foods.
I hope this provides you with a starting point. Somewhere to focus on and then you can start to delve into other ideas, supplements, detoxes and ways of healing the body.
It is actually really simple. Feed the body good, nutrient dense foods, relax, enjoy life and exercise:)
My advice is all through my personal experience with Endometriosis. I want to help as many woman as I can who suffer from this debilitating condition. Everything I have learnt and discovered is through personal experience. You can read my full story and more articles on my blog site: http://www.cureendometriosis.com