Diet and Endometriosis Pain Management

Do you have persistent pelvic pain from endometriosis? While endo impacts ten percent of women of reproductive age worldwide, the scale of the pain, and potential impact for sufferers is not widely understood. For some unlucky sufferers, endometriosis can interrupt normal life, leading to depression, anxiety and fatigue. The good news is, there is a link between a high quality diet and endometriosis pain reduction and for some women, it can be life-changing. As complex case women’s health dietitians, this is an area that is near and dear to us. We are excited to share with you some of the ways diet may be helpful for reducing inflammation and managing the chronic pain associated with endometriosis.

What is endometriosis?

Endometriosis is a chronic condition where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus (endometrium) grows outside it. These growths (lesions) may be found on the ovaries, fallopian tubes, pelvic lining, bowel, bladder, and in rare cases, beyond the pelvic region.

Unlike the normal endometrial lining, this tissue has no way to exit the body during menstruation, leading to inflammation, scarring, and adhesions. This can lead to pelvic pain from mild to severe during menstruation, ovulation and during intercourse.

Brisbane Gynaecologist Dr Peta Wright describes endometriosis as a “hormone-dependant chronic inflammatory disease.” Which means that the inflammation is driven by changes in hormones, particularly oestrogen. She says diet can potentially play a role in the presentation of symptoms, according to research, as well as have a hand in treatment for endometriosis sufferers.

“What’s important to acknowledge about endometriosis, is that every woman’s body is different. What is true for one woman may be vastly different for another. It depends on her symptoms, choices, and history (or herstory, as it would have). Anecdotally, I have found that diet and nutritional support can be a valuable tool in the toolbox for managing endometriosis symptoms. Alongside lifestyle, natural therapies, surgery, and hormonal therapy,” she said.

“In practice at Vera Women’s Wellness, we believe that food is medicine and can play a key role in chronic disease management. Some patients find that nutrition can make a difference to symptoms of endometriosis. Particularly in relation to reducing the burden of inflammation in the body.”

What exactly is inflammation?

We hear a lot about inflammation in relation to endometriosis, but what exactly does it mean in this case? Endometriosis inflammation refers to a type of low-level chronic inflammation. This is not only associated with pelvic pain, but bloating and fatigue in endometriosis sufferers.

Endometriosis can often get worse over time, because the inflammation causes uterine-like tissue to grow in immune response., which then stimulates further inflammation.

When it comes to diet and endometriosis, what helps?

While there is no cure for endometriosis, diet and nutrition therapy can help to manage pain, increase overall nutrition and gut health and reduce inflammation. We have seen time and again the power of food to reduce inflammation and help with pelvic pain management in not only endometriosis but adenomyosis and PolyCystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) too. Diet and endometriosis pain management focuses on an anti-inflammatory diet rich in key foods while also eliminating those that may be initiating an inflammatory response in the body.

Gut health a key area in endometriosis dietary protocol

Science is also starting to show a stronger link between the health of the microbiome and endometriosis. That is, gut issues may have a stronger link to inflammatory responses like endometriosis than first realised.
Emerging research shows the prevalence of pathogens typically found in the bowel such as E-coli, Streptococcus, Proteobacteria and Enterobacteriaceae in the vaginal microbiome of endometriosis sufferers, coupled with lower numbers of beneficial bacteria.

In practice, we definitely find imbalance (dysbiosis) of both the gut and vaginal microbiome to be an avenue worth addressing when it comes to pelvic pain management for endometriosis.

Anti-inflammatory dietary protocol

A study of the dietary patterns of over 80,000 premenopausal women found those following a high quality anti-inflammatory diet had much lower incidence of endometriosis diagnosis than those following a typical Western diet.

If you have endometriosis, you’ll no doubt have been down your own rabbit hole (or two!) looking for answers, and not all of it has probably been helpful. If you want a natural and evidence-based way to explore pain management, we highly recommend dietary protocol.

For those wanting a simplified and sensible approach, The Mediterranean diet is a well known, evidence-based and very easy to follow anti-inflammatory diet, and has much lower risk signals for endometriosis. A Mediterranean-style diet is rich in vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, olive oil, and omega-3-rich fish. These foods and more are linked with reduced inflammation and may help support overall wellbeing for those living with endometriosis.

Want to know more?

If you would like to expand upon diet and endometriosis, understanding the science in more depth and the dietary protocols that could help you with pain management, you’ll love my Masterclass on the Anti-Inflammatory Mediterranean Diet for Pelvic Pain. In the class, you’ll learn all about the science (the why!) and also learn practical dietary strategy for incorporating the anti-inflammatory diet into real life (the how!).

If you don’t know my background, I’m a women’s health dietitian with a special focus on gut health, the anti-inflammatory Mediterranean diet and their link to improving women’s health issues. When I’m not at Tree of Life Nutrition, you may find me at Vera Women’s Wellness as the resident dietitian, and I’m also preferred consultant at Eve Health. I’m also FODMAP accredited and trained through Monash University, and certified with Microba and Co-Biome. I’m dedicated to finding the pieces of the puzzle that fit in your situation so that hopefully you may enjoy a better quality of life.

DISCLAIMER:
The content in this article is not intended as medical advice. It is also of a general nature and is not tailored to your individual circumstances. A 1:1 consultation is always the best approach. Please contact our clinic to discuss your unique situation and our tailored and individualised dietary protocol for women’s health and pelvic pain management.

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