Ditching wheat

For breakfast, I love a fresh, fluffy biscuit or a nice, crumbly muffin. Give me a cookie with my coffee in the morning or for an afternoon snack with my tea and I'm happy as can be. Few things make me swoon like a perfectly flaky pie crust. And a warm, crusty slice of bread with dinner? Don't even get me started.

And yet, as of Monday morning, I gave up wheat.

Why?

Because there are a slew of foods that can exacerbate endometriosis, and one way to keep symptoms in check is to remove these offending foods from your diet. Guess which one is always at the top of the list? Yep, you guessed it. Wheat.

In fact, a recently released study published by an group of Italian researchers found that painful symptoms of endometriosis may decrease after 12 months of a gluten-free diet. The study followed 207 patients with severe, painful endometriosis-related symptoms who maintained a gluten-free diet for 12 months. At the 12-month follow-up, researchers found that 75 percent of the patients reported a significant decrease in painful symptoms, 25 percent reported no improvement, and no patients reported worsening of pain.

What does wheat have to do with endo? Wheat may contain hormones that have estrogenic effects in the body. Some people think wheat may also stimulate inflammation. Or the culprit may be the gluten, which has become increasingly problematic for people with or without endometriosis.

Some proponents of removing wheat from an endo sufferer's diet say that endometriosis pain subsides in as many as 80 percent of their patients, according to Living Well with Endometriosis. And when wheat is re-introduced? The pain returns.

I've hesitated to remove foods from my diet, mostly because the items on the no-good-for-you endometriosis list pretty much cover all of my favorites: wheat, dairy, coffee, alcohol, sugar, red meat. (In some cases, that list is even longer, but those are probably the most-often cited offenders.)

I actually came close to trying a total elimination diet a few years ago when my endometriosis started flaring up, but soon thereafter I got pregnant and—hooray!—my symptoms went away all through my pregnancy and while I was nursing my son.

Now, though, they're back in full force, and I've decided that just "dealing with" these symptoms is getting old—and isn't good for me.

I'm not, however, in enough pain or struggling enough to want to eliminate all the major endometriosis offenders from my diet all at once. So I'm started with removing number one from the list. Yes, my lifetime love, wheat.

At the same time, I am trying to cut back on the others a bit—reducing the number of cups of coffee I drink, making alcohol and red meat only very occasional treats, opting for more fruits and veggies and fewer sweets. I don't do much dairy as it is, except cheese. I love cheese. Next to wheat, cheese may be my downfall. Er. And butter. I love baking with butter. So perhaps dairy is more of a problem than I thought.

Anyhow.

The thing is, cutting out wheat might not be such a bad move, anyway. A lot more people are discovering they have a sensitivity or allergy to gluten. And wheat products have also been shown to contribute to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, dementia, depression, and more, as this article explains. 

The challenge is, wheat is everywhere! It's in baked goods, of course, but also in pasta, many sauces, breading, soups, ice cream, cereals, beer, you name it. To start out, I don't know how closely I'm going to monitor every label at the store for wheat products. But if it is a primary ingredient in something, I'm avoiding it. Simple as that (I hope).

Fortunately, it's a whole lot easier to eat wheat-free than it was even a few years ago when I first toyed with the notion of ditching wheat. In recent years, demand for gluten-free food products has skyrocketed—and the quality of those products has increased along with their availability. Now you can find gluten-free menus at many restaurants; entire cookbooks and blogs devoted to the topic (here's my favorite); and decent versions of most wheat-filled foods like pasta, crackers, breads, and cookies are now available sans gluten.

I'll keep you updated on my progress—and share some of my favorite wheat-free recipes along the way, too.

Now I'm curious: Have you ditched wheat to help with your endo? Has it made a difference?

What is endometriosis?

Endometriosis is a female health disorder that occurs when the lining of the uterus (called the endometrium) grows outside of the uterus on other organs such as the ovaries, fallopian tubes, outer surfaces of the uterus, and lining of the pelvic cavity.

In some cases the endometrial tissue implants will also grow on the bowel, rectum, bladder, or even other areas of the body.

This displaced tissue thickens, breaks down, and bleeds with each menstrual cycle. Tissue around the implants can become irritated and eventually may develop into scar tissue or adhesions (which bind organs together). 

The symptoms of endometriosis are many and vary from woman to woman, but may include any combination of the following:

• Painful menstrual cramps
• Chronic pain in the lower back and pelvis
• Pain during or after sex
• Intestinal pain
• Painful bowel movements or urination (particularly during menstrual periods)
• Spotting or bleeding between menstrual periods
• Infertility
• Fatigue
• Diarrhea, constipation, bloating, or nausea (particularly during menstrual periods)

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, recent research has shown a link between health problems in women with endometriosis and their families, which can include:

• Allergies, asthma, and chemical sensitivities
• Autoimmune diseases (such as hypothyroidism, multiple sclerosis, and lupus), in which the body’s system that fights illness attacks itself instead
• Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and fibromyalgia
• An increased likelihood of getting infections and mononucleosis
• Mitral valve prolapse (a condition in which one of the heart's valves does not close as tightly as normal
• Frequent yeast infections
• Certain cancers, such as ovarian, breast, endocrine, kidney, thyroid, brain, and colon cancers, and melanoma and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma 

Estimates on the number of women affected by endometriosis range from 3 percent to 20 percent. 

It's hard to pinpoint a solid number, in part, because many women who have it do not have any pain or symptoms. Even some women who later discover they have many endometrial implants have no idea until they try to become pregnant and have difficulty conceiving. In other women, however, the symptoms can be quite severe—even if they only have a few endometrial implants.

There is no known cause of endometriosis, although there are numerous theories as to why some women suffer from it while others do not. That's something we'll explore later.

In the meantime, just know that if you have endometriosis, you are not alone. And although there is no cure for this disease, there are steps you can take to live a healthy, happy life. By getting informed, you're taking that valuable first step.

Photo: Womenshealth.gov

Endo doesn't have to be a downer

Yes, I said it. Endo doesn’t have to be a downer.

I hope I don’t sound flip when I say that. But then again, maybe I mean to.

I know, it’s a serious chronic illness. It can be a debilitating disease that affects a woman’s ability to live a normal, happy life.

Many endometriosis sufferers can’t work steady jobs or enjoy the daily activities most of us take for granted. Many struggle for years with fertility treatments, desperate to start families. Many endure a parade of surgeries and medical treatments that yield few results. They are poked and prodded by doctors who often have little understanding of the illness they are attempting to treat. Many suffer in silence because they think no one will understand what they are going through (and, sadly, many people don’t understand).

When I say endo doesn’t have to be a downer, I am in no way seeking to make light of the severity of this chronic illness or the effect it has on the women who have it and their lives, relationships, careers, and families.

In fact, I hope to share first-hand accounts of women who struggle with endometriosis on this site, because I firmly believe (and research backs me up) that women who have endometriosis (myself included) find valuable information and support from one another’s stories.

I plan on delving into the research that has been done on endometriosis to date—and discuss what research is missing.

I have no doubt I’ll spend plenty of time talking about symptoms and possible treatments—relying on expert insights and solid medical information, wherever possible.

And I’ll also throw in tidbits here and there about my own experience with endo.

But I want this blog to be more than that. I want it to be upbeat. I want it to be helpful. I want it to be a positive place where women who have endometriosis—or friends and loved ones seeking to know more about it—can come for information along with a dose of inspiration.

I don’t want to get bogged down in thinking about endometriosis as a lifetime sentence for chronic pain. Rather, I want this to be a place where women with endometriosis can come to find helpful information, positive energy, and easy ideas for making their lives healthier and happier every day.

It’s what I’m seeking to do in my own life, and I’m guessing I’m not alone in that pursuit. That’s why I’ve started this blog.