Anti-oxidant & Anti-inflammatory Strategies for Endometriosis
Lizzie Alexander
Video
14 min
00:00:01 Hi everyone. So in this lesson, we're going to be going through some extra strategies to help you put it all together, basically, including a few recipes that I love. So here's a recipe that is green. So it's a minty green smoothie. It's got some of these amazing kind of like green vegetables in there. So you can put whatever you want in this one. You can kind of like work with it, work with the principles that you can, if you want some extra energy, and I go with this, So you can put whatever you want in this one. You can kind of like work with it, work with the principles that you can, if you want some extra energy, and I go with this, So if you want some extra energy, then add a quarter of a cup of oats in there. If you don't want any carbon, just miss it out. chia seeds, Brazil nuts, which have that selenium, great antioxidant, great for the thyroid. Now, you could put a super powder in this.
00:00:45 Something like baobab powder is great for vitamin C. I did mention it earlier. You could put any other kind of like superfood powder in there that you kind of want to get in there. Then we've got a mix of veg. So just kind of want just a handful, basically. So just kind of want just a handful, basically. of whatever you've got broccoli florets cucumber courgette a bit of spinach a bit of kale and you don't have to have just one vegetable you can have a little bit of each thing half an apple
00:01:11 if you go for a green apple then it's not too sweet as well so particularly if you're trying not to have too much sugar you could then have something like half a pear or have a kiwi in there and a couple of you know leaves of mint depending on how much mint you want on it and then you can either use filtered water or coconut water for extra rehydration and a squeeze of lime if you either use filtered water or coconut water for extra rehydration and a squeeze of lime if you want to be really green about it you could add a little bit and it's to start with I say a really little bit so like a eighth of a teaspoon of chlorella or spirulina in there and this is going to be a great detoxing support smoothie it's got loads of nutrients in there if you want to add
00:01:50 even more than you could. You could add the juice of celery, which is excellent. That gives it quite a strong taste. And again, I would start out kind of gently and it will ease yourself into that. a strong taste. And again, I would start out kind of gently and it will ease yourself into that. You could also add avocado. That's another one. That makes it really kind of rich and creamy. But this is a recipe. Try it. See what you think. So turmeric latte, using that turmeric, absolutely amazing I wish that turmeric lattes kind of made it into the cafes here in Oman it's not yet you can find turmeric lattes all over the UK for example um in cafes they used to actually be in a couple of cafes in Jordan so I might have to introduce it to my favorite cafe
00:02:29 to actually be in a couple of cafes in Jordan so I might have to introduce it to my favorite cafe and introduce them to it because it's so powerfully anti-inflammatory is a lovely alternative to coffee if you're wanting because there's something about coffee particularly if you like it with milk it's creamy there's something about that creaminess and a turmeric latte gives you that so it's a great way of having a drink and then maybe pushing the coffee out so you can use fresh turmeric or dried again same with fresh ginger or dried and there's different ways of making this if you look on the internet for turmeric latte different people make it in different ways I find if you're making it internet for turmeric latte different people make it in different ways I find if you're making it
00:03:04 with dried you can actually pre-make quite a big batch of the dried ginger dried turmeric and then cinnamon, kind of mix that pre-ready so all you're needing to add then is adding maybe like a teaspoon and a half depending on how strong you want it into some water with some nut butter, whizz it up in the Nutribullet, warm it in a pan and then add a little bit of honey to your taste. You can, one of the things that you do need to add is a little bit of pepper so that that You can, one of the things that you do need to add is a little bit of pepper so that that piperine it helps the absorption of the turmeric. Then we've got a chai wellness shot, this is one that was introduced to me by my endometriosis mentor and it's this kind of like herb herbalist
00:03:47 kind of approach to using herbs to really support your immune system support reducing the inflammation and if you like chai chai tea or you may never have tried it at all try it it's kind of like a and if you like chai chai tea or you may never have tried it at all try it it's kind of like a weak tea but without any of the caffeine in there again you can make a big batch of this try making it just with the ingredients there but then you can make a big batch of it and then you could just warm up a little bit over a couple of days so astralagus root this is something and i will put the links below um is astralagus root is really really good for boosting the immune system it's not necessarily anti-inflammatory but it's very very good for
00:04:25 endometriosis women it's kind of like a little tiny root like if you've ever seen dried dandelion endometriosis women it's kind of like a little tiny root like if you've ever seen dried dandelion um and you put it with all the other ingredients black peppercorns quite a few of these you might have in your store cupboard you might not you might not have cardamom pods for example you might might have cloves you might have a cinnamon stick with the dried orange peel if you haven't got that just just use a peeler and just peel the orange um one of the ways i did it was just peel all all all of the pith off an orange and literally you leave the peel out to dry overnight peel all all all of the pith off an orange and literally you leave the peel out to dry overnight
00:05:01 it'll be dried and then you can store it in a ziploc bag or in a jam jar so you could peel a few oranges and then you've got dried orange peel and it's really easy to make and so you put all of the ingredients so the astralis root peppercorns cardamom pods cloves ginger cinnamon sticks and the peel into a pan simmer it really gently for 20 minutes and this is kind of this simmering of ingredients is very common in her in medical herbalism because you're allowing very slowly ingredients is very common in her in medical herbalism because you're allowing very slowly for the ingredients and the goodness to seep into that water and then you're basically going to strain it afterwards you can add a little bit of almond milk if you want to and a little bit of
00:05:42 honey to your taste and if you want to be really luxurious you could add a little dollop of thick coconut cream on top of there but really really delicious so in terms of additional practical strategies I just wanted to kind of bring you in as reminders here of what you can do that are strategies I just wanted to kind of bring you in as reminders here of what you can do that are little steps that will really help make a big difference so that morning wellness shot having that warm lemon with the apple cider vinegar and prebiotic will make a huge difference it will really stimulate your digestive system it helps to have a sort of detoxification start your to your day. It helps boost your metabolism and it's very, very anti-inflammatory. And of course,
00:06:27 the lemon is very alkalizing. Then a small pre-dinner salad is another way that you can the lemon is very alkalizing. Then a small pre-dinner salad is another way that you can kind of get lots of antioxidants in there, but it's very anti-inflammatory. It helps stabilize your blood sugar. So having a bitter pre-salad, it doesn't have to be very big, just a little tiny bowl, a ramekin even, with some bitter leaves and then just dress it with some olive oil or avocado oil and then something more bitter like the apple cider vinegar or the umeboshi vinegar. You could also add here a little sprinkling of seaweed. So in the supermarket section now, You could also add here a little sprinkling of seaweed. So in the supermarket section now,
00:07:01 particularly where the spices are, salts are, you can get salt sprinkle, seaweed sprinkles. They're quite good to mix with your salt cellar or just have them and then you can sprinkle them onto your salad. So making sure that your salad's got some bitter green leaves in there. This is great way you can add some dandelions in there and it really gets you know you could put radish a bit of arugula or um i'm trying to think of the word for arugula uh rocket so yeah arugula is the a bit of arugula or um i'm trying to think of the word for arugula uh rocket so yeah arugula is the american rocket it's the the english and you've got a bitter salad it gets your digestive juices going um and it's really delicious gradually incorporate antioxidant rich foods so don't
00:07:44 think you've got to do this all at once just when you're in the veg shop just look at things and go oh that's a nice color or I haven't tried that I'm going to give that a go and just try maybe a new veg each time you go shopping really just kind of like and then it boosts your confidence on how to to do it and there is the power of the internet if you buy a veg you don't know what it is you to do it and there is the power of the internet if you buy a veg you don't know what it is you don't know what to do with it google it what you know give me some recipes and it will give you some inspiration um we've talked about the different cooking methods so getting those different cooking methods to preserve your antioxidant content of the foods. So the baking
00:08:20 is a really good one, steaming, sautéing, but also stir-frying. I didn't mention there, stir-frying is another really good one because you've got that high heat, you're constantly moving the food around, but you don't really have an oil with it. So you don't necessarily moving the food around, but you don't really have an oil with it. So you don't necessarily need an oil with it. And it's a really quick, easy way of getting loads and loads of veg into you and it often takes only 10 minutes. The key is in the prep, just prep loads of veg, stir fry it for a couple of minutes, add a bit of coconut aminos and some sesame seed oil and you've got a great meal really, really quickly. Planning. So planning is really key here. So
00:08:58 often if we don't plan, we just reach for what's easy. We don't necessarily have a variety of often if we don't plan, we just reach for what's easy. We don't necessarily have a variety of fruit and veg and other things in the cupboards. Whereas if you plan your meals, and it may not be that you do everything you plan. And I think that's really important. I often make a plan and there's got to be some deviation in there because life gets in the way. But it could be you plan four out of seven days and you've kind of just got some stock meals or some freezer meals in backup. Or it could be that you're someone who likes to plan and follow every day to the T. in backup. Or it could be that you're someone who likes to plan and follow every day to the T.
00:09:32 You've got to do what suits you. And then that way, you're going to end up getting your healthy snacks in, they're going to be rich in antioxidants and they're going to help bring that inflammation down. Experiment with herbs and spices to add flavour and antioxidant benefits to your daily routine. That's going to make a really, really big difference to the flavour. You're going to notice how you can add so much flavour, even just by parsley. I mean, one of my favourites is parsley. how you can add so much flavour, even just by parsley. I mean, one of my favourites is parsley. Parsley is really rich in vitamin C. It's very good for stimulating your digestive juices. and it adds so much flavour. Just adding it to scrambled eggs for example, you've got a little
00:10:12 form of green into a bit of your breakfast without even actually taking very long at all and you can grow your own parsley, it is very easy to grow parsley and then mint is another one that's very easy, it's quite a strong flavour but it's great to add to teas, you can add it to salads so just easy, it's quite a strong flavour but it's great to add to teas, you can add it to salads so just adding again so when I'm making a salad dressing I could I pick whatever you know I used to pick whatever were for my garden marjoram or or parsley a bit of mint stick it into the salad dressing and the Nutribullet whiz it up or just loose tear the leaves and put it on and it's amazing you get a bit of mint flavor here a bit of parsley and it just boosts often what can be a really basic salad
00:10:54 it could be that you've just got a bit of lettuce a bit of cucumber a bit of tomato and a few nuts and a bit of herbs and suddenly you've made actually quite a nice salad out of not very and a bit of herbs and suddenly you've made actually quite a nice salad out of not very many ingredients. So then synergies. So the synergy between antioxidants and anti-inflammatory actions is actually quite remarkable. So antioxidants, they help reduce inflammation by neutralising free radicals and reducing oxidative stress. On the other hand, anti-inflammatory actions can actually lower, anti-inflammatory actions can lower the overall inflammatory burden on the actually lower, anti-inflammatory actions can lower the overall inflammatory burden on the
00:11:30 body. So the two really work hand in hand. So by combining antioxidant rich foods with anti-inflammatory foods and lifestyle practices, you get this synergistic effect and it promotes overall health and well-being. So don't forget those foods, the food, the berries, the leafy greens, the turmeric, the ginger, the superfoods, so many superfoods, the wild foods, the seaweed, but try step by step you've written a few down start getting them in I mean I've still got my but try step by step you've written a few down start getting them in I mean I've still got my notes from when I started this journey over five years ago now and it's still amazing when I go back through and I'm like oh yes I remember starting off with the celery tea and doing this
00:12:11 and some things it's quite good to go back on your notes because I'd forgotten about the celery tea something that kind of gone by the wayside and yet things like the nigella seeds I use dedicatingly all the time. So you will forget things. It's good to go back on your notes. It's good to check, you know, take two things, introduce them, and then go back to your notes, It's good to check, you know, take two things, introduce them, and then go back to your notes, bring another two things into it. And then in summary, it's the benefits of combining antioxidant rich foods with anti-inflammatory foods and practices, regular exercise, good sleep, and stress management and relaxation practices. There are so many of them. It reduces inflammation,
00:12:52 it enhances your antioxidant defense which really helps your egg quality your sperm quality it improves immune function it helps your balance balances your hormones it enhances your energy it improves immune function it helps your balance balances your hormones it enhances your energy levels it improves your mood and your mental well-being and in the long term it then reduces your endometriosis symptoms so your inflammation your pain the whole plethora the brain fog everything that you are feeling on a day-to-day basis and ultimately that then optimizes your fertility so I know that you've got this it's been quite a big lesson you've learned a lot about fertility so I know that you've got this it's been quite a big lesson you've learned a lot about
00:13:30 antioxidants antioxidant foods anti-inflammatory foods many of those things you'd already started and if you think what you were like three months ago and what you are like now what you're doing you should be really proud of yourself if however you're overwhelmed by this information bring your questions to the next coaching call or book a one-to-one call so I encourage you to take what you've learned and start taking more baby steps and carry on this amazing journey you're doing really good really good
