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Health begins with what you eat!
Welcome to my Quick Start to Optimal Endo Fertility book!
I am so excited that you are working to improve your Endometriosis and fertility. I have provided you with some basic but fundamental changes you need to make to ensure your body is as nourished as possible - this is particularly important with Endometriosis - as it is likely you are depleted / over-toxified in some way. If you are in good health, well nourished and have balanced hormones, your brain (via the pituitary gland) will send the necessary signals to your endocrine and reproductive systems that it's safe to have a baby.
When we are in a state of chronic stress, under-nourished and over-toxified, our bodies very cleverly know that it's not a safe environment to create and nurture a baby in, and so our reproductive system turns off or works sub optimally. This clever mechanism has been happening for 1000's of years. When we were cave women and we were in danger, from say a lion; then our adrenals would kick in to cause our hearts to race, release of energy and hormones like adrenaline and cortisol to make us alert, and stop systems not required from working, such as our guts and reproductive systems. After the source of danger had gone, then our bodies would slowly return to normal. In today's age, we are bombarded by one stress after another. Our pace of life is now faster than evolutionary biology can keep up with. This means many of us suffer from chronic stress and even burnout - leaving us wired, sleep deprived, undernourished, with poor gut health and suboptimal fertility (in both women and men). Do you find you have an Endo flare up when you are stressed? Do you think your body is trying to tell you something?
The good news is that you can change the state of your health, so you can improve your chances of pregnancy, whether this be naturally or through IVF. We all know that we have to be healthy during pregnancy, not so many of us realise that creating a baby starts long before conception, so looking after our health at least 3-4 months before conception (as a minimum) is strongly recommended.
This short book provides some 'quick start' recommendations before you embark on a deeper journey to improving your health - both physically and mentally. There are three sections, each with a number of topics. Try implementing at least two things from each topic each week over the next two to three weeks and don't forget to let me know how you get on in the Facebook Group.
Support yourself nutritionally.
Eat regular meals, especially breakfast, which include high quality protein, whole grains and good fats. Supporting your body's natural rhythms by properly timing meals to prevent dramatic dips in blood sugar has lots of benefits: it minimizes cortisol output and frees up your adrenals to perform their secondary functions, and also gives you more sustained energy throughout the day. Properly timed, adequate nutrition will make you much more resilient to your daily stressors and make your body feel satiated and allow your reproductive system to realise it is safe to function.
Key things: good quality proteins and health fats (fat is good for you - it is essential for your hormones and fertility. It is simple sugars that make us fat! I will come back to this fact in more detail during your coaching package).
Gluten-free, non GMO, slow release whole grains e.g. brown / wild rice, buckwheat, quinoa, amaranth Mix of vegetables and fruit in fresh and season, and organic where possible. Mix of protein sources: e.g. pastured, organic animal protein, fish, eggs, nuts and seeds, leafy greens and blue green algae Healthy fats (Omega 3's) - unsaturated & healthy saturated:
Omega 3 essential fatty acids (we cannot produce these ourselves) e.g. fatty fish like salmon and sardines, chia seeds Polyphenols (dark coloured foods). Foods like blueberries, blackberries, black beans, kidney beans, black sesame seeds, sea vegetables. Fibre: vegetables, fruit and beans Drink lots of filtered water and herbal teas.
There are some excellent herbal remedies that can be helpful for hormone imbalances and inflammation. Here are three commonly used herbs and how they can help improve our health.
Dosage: recommended to take first thing in the morning to influence the pituitary gland. Can be taken as a herbal tea or pill. Dosage is dependant on the form take - follow packet instructions.
Dosage: it is recommended that you start slow with Rhodiola - and look for a brand that sources their Rhodiola from Siberia like Gaia Herbs. They should also make sure they are getting Rhodiola rosea that is standardised to contain rosavins and salidrosides. Start with 200mg once a day and then increase to two times a day.
Here is a list of some supplements that I personally found to be great. See if they have an effect on you. These are based on personal experience, my study and also recommendations from Naturopathic doctors I have either worked or studied with.
Try to buy good quality supplements with the least amount of fillers and additives as possible - this is particularly important for fish oils - as these can be poorly made (heat treated) and even contain high levels of mercury. There are many, too many to include here, but some good quality providers include Fushi, Wild Nutrition (UK) - Food Grown, Nutri Advanced, Gaia Herbs, iHerb and Metagenics
Inflammation & Gut Health
Stress Response
Fertility
Self-care is an activity that nurtures and refuels you at a deep level. Each of us has many sides that make a whole: physical body, emotional and mental state, spiritual beliefs, relationship to self and others, and work. In the realm of self-care, the options are limitless. The key is to identify which areas of your life need attention and engage in activities that support you on a regular basis.
With regards to chronic stress, there are a number of practices you can integrate into your life to restore healthy adrenal function - to ensure your reproductive system is operating effectively. I have given a few suggestions below as the perfect place to start.
"Instead of working harder you need to be working smarter" (Nicole Jardim).
Make space for a positive mindset. By allowing yourself the time and space to practice self-care without negative emotions weighing you down, you and those around you will reap the benefits. Take time to reflect and meditate on your desires. Practice saying "probably not or no". Women are programmed to overcommit, overprovide and people please, often at the expense of our own health and our stress response and adrenal function. This week when someone asks you to do something that you know will stress you and your adrenals, practice saying "Probably not... (pause), but let me think about it." No guilt allowed! You can take it further by creating a "yes and no list". What are your absolute yes's and no's for this week? Laptop curfew. Reduce your light at night. Too much light at night actually stimulates your adrenals to produce more cortisol to keep you awake and energized. This prevents you from being able to wind down properly and actually get proper sleep. This in turn affects your sex hormones. After 9pm turn off as many lights in your house as possible. Do light candles. Give yourself a laptop curfew, this means no laptops past 9pm or in bed. That bright screen is keeping you up at night.lf you cannot avoid it - use a night filter or night filter glasses to remove blue light. Do this for your phone also! Walk barefoot on the earth - or 'Grounding'. There is actually scientific evidence that walking barefoot on the earth, grass or beach can help reset your adrenal function, improve chronic fatigue and boost your immune system. This is because the earth has a negative electrical potential and when we're in contact with it, The earth's electrons balance our bodies' electrons. Most of the time we're all frazzled out by the harmful electromagnetic fields emitted by manmade products - computers, phones, hair dryers, home appliances etc. and we wear rubber soled shoes which prevents this contact with the earth.
There are some key foods that you should avoid to reduce inflammation (big issue with Endometriosis), reduce chances of insulin resistance and most importantly disruption to our hormones particularly sex hormones.
80 / 20 RULE: Use the '80/20 Rule' - if you can try to implement these rules 80% of time this will have a significant positive effect - with the exception of smoking, which should be 100%.
There are environmental toxins all around us, though we are unaware of many of them in our day to day life. If our toxic exposure becomes elevated, our detoxification system can easily become overwhelmed and dysfunctional, which can lead to serious health consequences.
I have identified some of the key culprits so you can take steps to limit your exposure to these harmful chemicals. The key thing is to stop using hormone / endocrine disruptors such as xenoestrogens, which are more reactive than estrogens and cause imbalances in the body, growths and thicker poor quality womb lining.
I have given you a small list so as not to overwhelm you. I want you to start thinking about the changes that you can make if you want to decrease the toxic burden on your body.
I personally found this area one of the biggest changes mentally but if you do a little and often you will soon find it relatively easy. In addition, one thing that occurred to me since having had my blessed little boy, is that we are given a long list of what not to feed or expose our babies to during pregnancy and after birth, from lotions and paint to mattresses, but in reality this should apply to all of us!
We will dive into this topic and our bodies natural detoxification system in much more detail as part of your coaching package.
Ingredients:
Drink this first thing in the morning upon waking up. Stir the ingredients together and drink quickly or slowly!
This kick starts your digestive system - so your stomach acid is ready and waiting food!
Serves 2
Ingredients:
Instructions
Adaptations / tips: add roasted squash and or grilled chicken with herbs, other green veg like spinach, pak choy. If you make double the recipe you can either keep the extra and it is delicious with rice or eaten with roasted veg or with carrot sticks. You can even freeze this - do note the colour changes because of the avocado but it still tastes the same. You can also freeze basil leaves - great for always having in the house!
Nutritional benefits: Brazil nuts are full of selenium - which stimulates the production of Hydrochloric acid (HCI) in the stomach, which is needed to break down our food - if we dont break our food down we do not absorb nutrients effectively.
Ingredients:
Put all the ingredients in a blender and whizz up and then gently heat. You can make a double batch and store in the fridge. Add honey and milk as desired.
Benefits: turmeric is known for its anti-inflammatory properties - great for Endometriosis, as it also reduces cyst build up and prevents clotting. It also relieves IBS and loose stools. You need pepper with turmeric to assist our bodies in the effective uptake of the active ingredient curcumin in the turmeric. Cinnamon is great for blood sugar stability aand clear thinking.
Serves 2-3
Ingredients:
Instructions
Adaptations / tips: you can swap out the oats for overnight soaked buckwheat groats - either fully or half and half with the oats. You can also freeze the pancakes when made. Can add in blueberries when cooking
Nutritional benefits: Hemp is a great source of plant protein as it contains a complete protein (i.e. all essential amino acids). You can also use it to add to smoothies alongside nut butter to provide extra energy.
It would be an honour and a privilege to work with you, in helping you to learn how to listen to your body and end those days of worry and pain caused by your Endometriosis, and optimise your fertility so you can go on and hopefully conceive the happy and healthy baby you dream of.
I want to be able to share what l have learnt on my own journey and what I have since learnt through various studying and qualifications, as I understand your pain and fears. If you want to BELIEVE you can CONCEIVE, then I can help you ACHIEVE.
[1] Cook with these oils, and also coconut or MCT oil - they are stable at high heats. Do not cook with olive flaxseeds and nut oils. [2] A 2016 study found that hydrogenated trans fats increased the risk of infertility, by as much as 100%
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