I have always had issues with digestion, hormone balance, headaches, excessive fatigue, acne, and anxiety but I never knew what was causing all these problems. I thought I wasn’t getting enough sleep, or I wasn’t drinking enough water, or I wasn’t eating the right food. Although all of this is probably true none of them are the root of the problem. Gut health is so important for your overall health. When I was diagnosed with endometriosis I wanted to get to the root of the problem rather then just covering up my symptoms with birth control and pain killers, I wanted to do things holistically because I have never been a big fan of taking medication when you don’t absolutely need to and I’m also not a big fan of taking medication for the rest of my life. I wanted to solve the problem not cover it up. I began to do lots of research on diet, supplements, and healing naturally, but my research finally brought me across leaky gut and how it is linked to alot diseases. An unhealthy gut will just make your endometriosis symptoms worse and a healthy gut can help improve your endometriosis. I began to cleanse my gut and week by week my symptoms became less and less, I was finally healing.
What is leaky gut?
Leaky gut is where the lining of the small intestine becomes damaged, causing undigested food particles, toxic waste products and bacteria to leak through the intestines and flood the blood stream. Your body is unable to absorb essential nutrients because damaged cells in your intestines don’t produce the enzymes needed for proper digestion.
How does gut health relate to endometriosis?
It has been found that endometriosis has all the same attributes as an autoimmune disease and has been found to occur with other autoimmune conditions. This means that there is a connection between endo and overall inflammation. The root cause of most autoimmune diseases and inflammation is gut health. Healing your gut may help heal your endometriosis, and also make your body overall healthier
How does birth control and pain killers affect the gut and hurt healing?
Birth control and pain killers can have a very negative affect on your gut, this is an important topic to go over because many women with endometriosis are on birth control and/or use pain killers.
Researchers are beginning to find that birth control (particularly the pill) might be having a negative affect on their gut health. Bloating and persistent gas on you period aren’t necessarily symptoms of your period. It could be a sign that the pill is throwing your gut out of whack. Irritable bowel syndrome, gas, bloating, constipation, acne, and eczema can all be signs of microbial imbalances within the digestive tract.
NSAID painkillers increase gut permeability (leaky gut), modify the guy flora, and can even cause more serious problems like gastric ulcers and intestinal bleeding. It is hard not to use painkillers when you are in excruciating pain on your period (trust me I’ve been there) but my goal it to get you to a point where you don’t need to use painkillers, through diet, exercise, and supplements you can be pain free on your period and healing the gut is part of this process.
What are the symptoms of leaky gut?
- Diarrhea, gas or bloating
- Nutritional deficiencies
- Poor immune system (sick often)
- Headaches, brain fog, memory loss
- Excessive fatigue
- Problems with acne, or eczema
- Sugar or carbs cravings
- Joint pain
- Depression, anxiety
How do you heal leaky gut?
The gut gets damaged over time which can eventually lead to leaky gut, and just as it takes time for leaky gut to occur, it also takes time to heal leaky gut. There is no quick fix for leaky gut, but in my program, we go through step to heal the gut. It is important to stop eating foods that damage the lining of your gut to allow for healing. Eat foods that reduce and heal inflammation and restore the healthy gut bacteria; probiotics, anti-inflammatory foods, and healthy fats. Reduce stress and increase sleep. take gut healing supplements; probiotics, fish oils, and L-Glutamine. If you are serious about healing your gut consider working with a health coach to help guide you along the way.
Resources:
https://www.endofound.org/is-there-a-link-between-leaky-gut-and-endo-this-researcher-thinks-so
https://drbrighten.com/causes-endometriosis-5-natural-treatment-strategies/
https://nicolejardim.com/endometriosis/
https://naturalwomanhood.org/is-the-pill-wrecking-your-gut/
https://www.wellandgood.com/good-advice/birth-control-pill-gut-health-connection/
