Author: Monique Bogni
Toxicity & Endometriosis: Foods That Help You Detox
Why is it important to make changes in my diet if I have endometriosis?
Making changes to your diet can have a big impact on your endometriosis (Endo) symptoms. Abnormal cell growth can develop from exposure to a range of toxins including heavy metals, plastics, phthalates, dioxins, pesticides, fungicides, & herbicides. We get exposed to these harmful hormone disruptors by:
- The foods we eat
- The air we breath
- The water we drink
- What we put on our skin
- And our environment
These toxins can overburden your liver (your major detox organ), causing inflammation and dis-ease in the body. Experimenting with removing some or all of the inflammatory foods & ingredients listed below, while incorporating foods that help you detox, can be extremely helpful in reducing symptoms associated with Endo.
Which foods are high in toxins and cause inflammation?
- Dairy
- Gluten
- Refined Sugars (can sugar, corn syrup, agave)
- Soy
- Corn
- Industrial Food & Oils (canola, safflower, soy)
- Eggs
- Pork & Conventionally Raised Meat
- Farmed Fish & Tuna
- Excessive Sodium & Table Salt
- Artificial Sweeteners, Natural Flavors, Artificial Flavors & Colors
- Processed Foods, “Fast Food” – fried foods & soft drinks, packaged foods
Which foods help to pull toxins out?
Eating organic produce, meat, poultry & wild fish is extremely important when you have Endo or any pelvic inflammatory diagnosis. If you are new to shopping organic, a great place to begin is to utilize the Clean 15 & Dirty dozen list that you can find on the Environmental Working Group’s website. These lists contain the fruits & vegetables with the least to most pesticide residue, making them helpful guides in avoiding toxic exposure. In addition to eating organic, bringing in the following foods daily will help your body detox naturally:
- Green Juice – a simple blend of celery, parsley & apple can be extremely hydrating for the reproductive system – hydration flushes out toxins!
- Bring in sweet potatoes – they specifically target the reproductive area and pull out toxins, especially plastics.
- Snack on apples, dates and celery in between meals -these scrub your gut of what needs to come out.
- Enjoy plenty of fiber-rich winter squash (pumpkin, butternut, spaghetti squash, etc.) with a hydrating salad of spinach, tomatoes, cucumber & avocado.
- Lots of parsley and cilantro in your salads – these pull out heavy metals!
- Bring in other super foods that pull out toxicity – wild blueberries (found in freezer section), spirulina, barley grass juice powder, & seaweed like Atlantic dulse.
- Bring in healthy fats to support the nervous system – enjoy on top of leafy greens with lemon or lime – a tsp of olive oil, some avocado, wild salmon, walnuts, flax, chia,& hemp seeds.
- Lemon Balm Tea– also has the benefit of calming the nervous system
It’s okay to make slow changes to your diet.
Remember, you don’t have to overhaul your diet overnight, and you can make changes at the pace that feels good to you. One small change at a time, along with consistency, can have a big impact when it comes to improving your health.
Learn more about endometriosis and nutrition through our Online Wellness Courses.
