Endometriosis – You Are What You Eat
Endometriosis is a serious condition that affects women. It occurs when tissues similar to the endometrial stroma and glands that line the uterus, show up in other areas of the body, instead of only existing within the uterus.
These rebel tissues are known as endometriosis lesions, and are usually found anywhere within the pelvic region (IE. Fallopian tubs, ovaries, pelvic sidewall, etc.). Due to the prime location of the endometriosis lesions, the most common symptom of this medical condition is pelvic pain.
There is no cure for endometriosis; therefore, women with the condition need to seek effective treatment that will help them control the symptoms that plague them, particularly during their menstruation cycle. While many women seek medical therapy, others find that by simply controlling their diet they are successfully living a symptom free life.
How can a diet improve endometriosis symptoms?
An endometriosis diet works to relieve and/or prevent some of the severe symptoms experienced during menstruation such as:
• Backache
• Fatigue
• Severe cramping
• Menorrhagia (heavy menstrual bleeding)
• Dysmenorrhea (pain or discomfort)
• Dyspareunia (pain in the pelvic or vaginal region during intercourse)
The objective of a controlled diet is to reduce estrogen levels, increase the body’s energy level, relieve painful cramps, normalize hormones and stabilize emotions.
It has become evident that endometriosis is an estrogen-sensitive condition. However, the severe cramping that a woman experiences, is typically a result of prostaglandin synthesis in her body.
Prostaglandins are fatty acids that naturally occur from dietary phospholipids. Prostaglandins can be broken down into three separate groups:
1. Prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) – This form helps to relieve symptoms of endometriosis
2. Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) – This form encourages menorrhagia
3. Prostaglandin F2a (PGF2a) – This form can lead to nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
Essentially, when combined, PGE2 and PGF2a create the severe symptoms women who suffer from endometriosis experience during menstruation. However, the right change in diet can actually block the production of PGE2 and PGF2a and increase the production of PGE1 to help overcome symptoms.
The following is how such a diet can be achieved.
Fatty acids: It is known that fatty acids such as saturated fats, lard, butter and animal and organ meet increase the amount of PGF2a that is produced, while omega-3 fatty acids such as evening primrose oil, flax seeds and oil, pumpkin seeds, sunflower oil and walnut oil increase production of PGE1. Therefore, when a woman decreases the amount of “bad fat” in her diet, she will experience positive results.
Fiber: Aside from decreasing the intake of bad fat, women seeking dietary treatment for their endometriosis should have a diet high in fiber. A high fiber diet (approximately 25 grams per day) can reduce the amount of circulating estrogens. Good sources of fiber are beans, brown rice, fruits and vegetables, oatmeal and whole grains.
Dairy: Just like bad fats can increase symptoms, so can diary products. Unfortunately, dairy is a fantastic source of calcium. Therefore, if a woman chooses to eliminate diary from her diet, she needs to find other calcium sources by either taking supplements or eating foods that contain the mineral such as almonds, dark green veggies (IE. spinach, kale, broccoli, etc.), Figs, sesame seeds, etc.
Other food that should be avoided during menstruation includes caffeine, chocolate, alcohol, fried foods, salt, sugar and refined carbohydrates (IE bread, cake, pastries, pasta, etc.)
Finally, depending on what a woman feels needs to be eliminated from her diet during menstruation, she may need to consider taking supplements in order to maintain a healthy diet. Before taking supplements, women should consult their doctor.
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Lateral Epicondylitis
A common injury of the elbow is lateral epicondylitis or “tennis elbow.” This problem is seen in people who perform repetitive motion activities with overuse of the wrist and elbow. Contributing factors may include increased forces for lifting or grasping or significant increase in repetitions over a short period of time. Some degree of underlying muscle flexibility and strength problems are usually present before onset of this problem.
Lateral epicondylitis is microtrauma and subsequent inflammation to the tendon area of the wrist extensors. It is characterized by a gradual or rapid onset of painful gripping, tenderness over the lateral aspect of the elbow and pain with stretching of the wrist extensors. Testing of the wrist and elbow will reveal pain with resisted wrist extension, pain with passive stretching into a flexed position of the wrist and pain with palpitation of the lateral epicondyle area. Careful examination must be used to rule out other painful conditions that may cause similar symptoms.
Conservative treatment is usually preferred for this problem. Symptom control may be attained through NSAID’s and physical agents such as ice, iontoresis, or phonophoresis. Bracing the wrist may be used in some cases to limit the stresses contributing to onset. Activity modification must also be incorporated to avoid inflammation-increasing activities. In chronic conditions, cross-friction massage may be used at the lateral epicondyle to break up scar tissue and prevent calcification of the tendon.
Once symptoms have been controlled, a regime of exercises may be incorporated into the rehabilitation process including strengthening exercises of the wrist and finger extensors as well as grasping. These strengthening exercises should include eccentric and concentric muscle contractions. In the beginning, repetitions should be high and resistance low. Postural reeducation and instruction in proper lifting technique should also be a part of the plan of care. Ultimately, there may need to be some modification in the activities that contributed to the onset of symptoms. This can be accomplished through ergonomic evaluation or appropriate instruction in different techniques to perform the activity.
Early detection, thorough examination, careful control of the inflammatory phase, and long-term strengthening and activity modification are essential in the care of lateral epicondylitis. If all of these steps are followed, lateral epicondylitis is a manageable and treatable problem. Contact Excel Physical Therapy for more information. www.ExcelPT.com
Keith Weinhold is a Physical Therapist a Excel Physical Therapy of Nebraska. To register for a FREE newsletter, visit excelpt.com excelpt.com
Your Options When Faced with a Hysterectomy
Lately health insurance agencies are cracking down on hysterectomy claims. This is because they believe that patients should try other forms of treatment before they opt for the hysterectomy procedure. There are not many alternatives to this procedure in existence. If you were to decide on a procedure other than a hysterectomy, chances are you would still need to have one performed in the future.
It is weird how many insurance companies consider a hysterectomy and elective surgery. If this procedure were elective, then why do so many women have a hysterectomy? Also, why would a woman electively choose to put her body under the knife unless it was truly needed? Maybe because of women in the past who would have hysterectomies performed as a precaution? Today women do not have the time unless the surgery was truly needed.
If you are told that you have to have a hysterectomy, you might want to consider your options. There are some alternatives like non-surgical procedures to support the pelvic organs. Endometrial ablation is being used now with great success. Like a hysterectomy, you may never bleed again. There are other procedures such as:
Hysteroscopy
Laparoscopy
Uterine fibroid embolization
There are also some non-surgical things a woman could to do lessen their chances of needing a hysterectomy. Some things like women should cut down on aspirin, if they take it for pain relief, or find another pain medication all together. Bleeding can be heavier for those who take aspirin because it is a blood thinner. People should also try simple dieting and exercising.
Hysterectomies are a medical procedure that could be the only option in some cases. In other cases there are alternatives. These alternatives should be discussed with your doctor, or researched on your own to find out what is the best option for your condition.
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How To Lose Weight
So you have decided the time has come for you to tackle your weight problem. You have had enough of being over-weight, it is affecting your self-esteem and is getting you down. You are however unsure as to the best way to tackle it, there are so many different forms of weight loss program and diet and you are a bit confused as to which route to take. I have had a constant battle to control my own weight over the last ten years and now believe that there are three possible options. In this article I will be writing about these options, I hope they are as beneficial to you as they have been to me.
I have now managed to sort out my own weight issues and am finally at a weight that I am happy and comfortable with. It was certainly not easy to attain, however hard work has paid off for me. Life has never been so good and my confidence has never been higher.
I had had enough of the types of diet that proved virtually impossible to stick to, I was fed up with the crash dieting which would always lead to my weight going up and down like a yo yo.
These are what I believe are the three weight loss options for people like myself:
1. Eating less food with no extra exercise
I was never a major one for exercise. The mere thought of exercising would make me sweat. I made up many an excuse, I did not go jogging as I believed it was bad for my knees!
I therefore decided that the only way that I could lose weight was by cutting down on my food intake.
2. A lot more exercise whilst eating the same amount of food
The problem with option number one is the fact that I love my food. To cut down on what I eat would make life hardly worth living. For me to lose weight, I would therefore have to start an exercise program, such as using a rowing machine or an exercise bike.
3. A lot more exercise and a lot less food
I tried option one and option two and was lets say rather unsuccessful. Others may have the discipline to make these options work, I did not.
At the end of the day it boils down to how much I wanted to lose the weight. I wanted to lose weight in a big way and the only way I would succeed was to sacrifice a number of food items and to exercise.
After doing this for about five months, the results were superb, I was finally at my target weight, boy was I proud of myself and went and ate a chocolate eclair to celebrate.
Stephen Hill runs The How To Stop Stammering Centre, he has a number of websites including:
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