What foods should I eat to relieve endometriosis?

As you may have read in several of our articles,endometriosis is a gynecological disease characterized by an inflammatory condition caused by endometrial-like tissue migrating out of the uterus. The disease can take several forms: cystic endometriosis, infiltrated endometriosis or adenomyosis. Endometriosis causes pain that is difficult to reduce, affecting one in ten women of childbearing age.  

As endometriosis is an inflammatory disease, some of the foods we eat can be problematic, aggravating inflammation and increasing pain. 

The anti-inflammatory diet is of particular interest to women whose endometriosis has affected the rectum. 

The most important thing is to eat a well-balanced, anti-inflammatory diet. But which foods should you choose? How do you write your shopping list? "What am I going to make for dinner tonight?" We know this can be a real headache... 

Foods to avoid 

• Dairy products

• Sweets

• Red meat and charcuterie, especially if you eat large quantities. We call these pro-inflammatory foods. 

• Gluten should also be avoided. 

What you should adopt 

• Vegetables and fruit

• Chia seeds

• Wholegrain cereals and pulses

• Oily fish to fill up on omega-3s. 

• Vegetable oils (especially for cooking)

• Vegetable proteins: soy, tofu, tempeh, vegetable minced meat. Vegetable proteins help reduce oxidative stress, and the fiber they contain helps balance the intestinal microbiota.

If you want to change your eating habits and switch to an anti-inflammatory diet, we recommend you talk to a specialist. He or she will be able to advise you on your specific endometriosis, because every woman's endometriosis is different. What works for lone woman may not work for another.

The anti-inflammatory diet can also be highly effective for other conditions such as: osteoarthritis, arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, intestinal inflammation, sciatica, tendonitis and acne.

Anti-inflammatory foods also have an influence on reducing the chronic inflammation responsible for many pathologies such as type 2 diabetes, obesity or overweight, but they also help to reduce oxidative stress, restore or maintain an acid-base balance and improve the intestinal microbiota.  

Enjoy your meal!

Floriane Gissat

The fight against endometriosis is part of Elia's DNA. That's why we created our range of menstrual briefs: to offer all women suffering from endometriosis a healthy, comfortable alternative.

On the same subject: What to eat when you have endometriosis?