Gluten and Endometriosis Is there a link between gluten and endometriosis? Should women avoid gluten to lower their risk of endometriosis or to help to resolve the symptoms of endometriosis? Let’s look at the research… First, it’s important to consider that endometriosis has many characteristics of an autoimmune disease (Eisenberg, et al., 2012). It is clear that endometriosis is an inflammatory disease process. In endometriosis, the presence of endometrial…
When cortisol goes up, melatonin goes down. Cortisol, a key stress buffing hormone, inhibits melatonin. Melatonin is an important hormone both for helping people to fall asleep and stay asleep. And, specifically for endometriosis, melatonin acts as an anti-inflammatory pain reliever at the level of the brain. With increased stress, most of the time, cortisol levels increase generally, throughout the day. But, this is especially problematic when cortisol levels…
Seventy-six percent of women with endometriosis use self-care strategies to manage their pain and other symptoms. (Armour, et al., 2019). In a recent study out of Australia, women with endometriosis related chronic pelvic pain reported that four self-care activities had the most positive effects on their pain: "Cannabis, heat, hemp/CBD oil, and dietary changes were the most highly rated in terms of self-reported effectiveness in pain reduction (with mean…
One of the most frustrating challenges that our clients with endometriosis face is how to relieve the chronic bloating known as “Endo Belly.” Over the years, my practice has seen thousands of women struggling with this, and we have developed an integrative protocol for relieving the bloat for good. What is “Endo Belly”? Before we get into the steps to relieving Endo Belly, let’s talk about what it really…
It was my honor to interview Dr. Allyson Shrikhande, MD, founder of Pelvic Rehabilitation Medicine about the role of rehabilitation medicine in chronic pelvic pain. Rehabilitation medicine includes the tools of pain and nervous system modulation medications, specific injections to improve local pain in the pelvis, including pelvic nerve pain, and management and referrals for integrative healing. At Pelvic Rehabilitation Medicine, the physicians are on the cutting edge of pain…
Histamine is a versatile biologic amine. It is involved in fine-tuning the balance between immunity (the ability to fight infection or clear abnormal cells) and tolerance (the ability of the immune system to tolerate “outsider molecules” like foods, dust, environmental chemicals, etc.) Histamines affect dendritic cells (cells that boost the immune responses by showing antigens on their surfaces to other cells of the immune system), immunoregulatory cells, T-cell polarization (deciding…
People with pelvic pain conditions, including endometriosis, are at an increased risk of some types of cancer. Other common cancer risk factors: Inflammation Having a history of some viral infections, including HPV History of smoking Family history of cancer Chronic stress Drinking alcohol While cancer risk factors are common, let’s focus on the good news. You have the power to create an environment within your body, within your cells, where…
Xenoestrogen Exposure is a Clear Risk Factor for Breast and Other Female Cancers For our clients and patients with exposure to xenoestrogens, the first step is to reduce the exposures, lowering their overall toxic load. Everyone is exposed to some level of xenoestrogens; it’s impossible to completely avoid them. Thus, it’s important to emphasize the benefit of small, consistent reductions of exposure, and not to overwhelm our clients. And, as…
The holiday season is in full swing and we’ve compiled our 2021 gift guide, a collection of our favorite wellness and self-care gifts from brands that we trust and love. We’ve also included a list of books that are all written by either IWHI graduates or faculty that are excellent stocking stuffers. 1. Ohnut Price: $60 (on sale from $65) Painful Sex? Meet Ohnut. Ohnut is a wonderful tool…
For women with endometriosis, interstitial cystitis or painful bladder syndrome, bloating, and other hormone issues, salad can be tricky. On the one hand... "Salad is healthy, right?" On the other hand..."Salad makes me bloated!" is a common refrain in my practice. When do raw vegetables help vs. when do they make things worse? Adding raw vegetables is most helpful when the digestive function is improving and there is less bloating.…
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