This EndoLife

Today is one of my shorter episodes, a bite size episode! Recently I started working with two new clients and they were both really concerned that they were spotting one to two days before their periods. First up, what do I mean by spotting? Spotting is typically spots of blood appearing in your underwear - it’s light and is typically not very consistent. Often it’s dark red or brown, and we’ll ge...

At the end of last year I released a series on dairy and its possible effects on endo pain, endo belly and hormones, as well as its benefits - as I know so many of you are confused about the topic. Today, I want to provide you with a summary of these episodes, so you can get the top lines in one place, and then of course you can deep dive into the individual episodes if you need to. So, a big, BIG...

Today’s episode is continuing with the theme of why some of your conditions may be worse in January, and today, we’re focusing on endometriosis. Before we get into it, this is a short episode where I am giving you an overview of some of the ways these things can affect people with endo, but it’s not an exhaustive list. In fact, each of these topic areas could have their own episode with a deep div...

It’s a New Year and perhaps you’re feeling the pressure to get up and go, but you can’t get yourself out of bed. Maybe you’re in more pain than usual, perhaps you’re more depressed than usual or maybe you’re experiencing extreme fatigue and energy crashes? If this is you, please know you’re not alone. As I return to work, I’ve received many emails from endometriosis clients telling me their sympto...

With a new year beginning, I am resharing a very old meditation episode. This episode is a visualisation meditation to help you envision how you want to feel in 2024. I use this visualisation exercise with every one of my clients, to help them see the big picture they want for their health and then to take that big picture and break it down into small, attainable goals. I also use this meditation...

The Christmas season is typically, a time of excess for those who celebrate – and even for those who don’t, New Year’s is right around the corner. For many people, we increase our intake of sugar, alcohol, processed foods, etc. and that’s okay – this episode isn’t about judgement. I love Christmas, including all the food that comes with it, but for many of us, the result can be more pain and a wor...

So, for those of us who feel social pressure or simply enjoy having a drink with friends or family, I wanted to share some tips that can help lessen the impact of alcohol. Remember, these are just tips and tricks and if you just want to have a drink and not worry about it, you absolutely can – that’s totally your choice! Show Notes https://www.fixyourperiod.com/castor-oil-packs/ Need more help or...

In this penultimate instalment on our dairy series, I’m going to cover the effects of dairy on pain, and what to be aware of when managing endo. And yes - it’s not straight forward! In our first episode on dairy and endo, we discussed A1 casein, but for those who haven’t listened to that episode, let’s cover it again. A1 casein is a type of milk protein which research suggests some people find tri...

Today I want to shine a spotlight on maca, a herb you’ve probably heard lots about in the wellness space, but for those of us with endo, it can be confusing to know if it’s helpful or whether we should avoid it. Because maca can help us handle stress and burnout, I thought this busy time of year is a perfect opportunity to talk about it! Maca is an adaptogen herb, which means it helps our bodies t...

Today is a quick episode but hopefully a helpful one. Today I want to talk about the glycemic index and the glycemic load of foods, and how you can use these tools to help you manage endo. The glycemic index and glycemic load are two tools to help you understand how food can affect your blood sugar levels and how quickly they can do so. Read more. Shownotes Glycemic index and load resources https:...

Okay so today we’re continuing with our series on dairy and endo, and today we’re taking about hormones. And I’m going to warn you up front - the research is mixed, and it really comes down to your personal response to dairy. That being said, non-organic dairy can be treated with extra hormones, which may influence our own, so it goes without saying that organic is preferable when possible. Of cou...

This week we’re taking a pause from the dairy series to give those who don’t want to learn about diary or who feel distressed by the topic for ethical reasons, a bit of a break, as I appreciate it might be a bit much to go back to back with this topic. So today, I want to answer a question that was asked of me on a call the other day. And that’s when you’re starting to manage endo, and you put in...

If you’ve been considering eating for endo, or you have been, you may be thinking about or may have already, cut out dairy. But is it necessary to remove dairy entirely for people with endo? The answer is, it’s complicated and really depends on your body and of course, your personal values, because some people may choose to lower or omit their dairy intake for ethical or environmental reasons. So...

Recently I shared an episode on pycnogenol and the research behind its use for chronic UTIs and interstitial cystitis - and the evidence is pretty impressive. I mentioned in the show that pycnogenol is one of my favourite supplements for us endo peeps, and I thought I should elaborate on some of the key benefits, for those of you who are curious. Read more. I am now taking applications for my fina...

Now of course, this is a huge topic and there are so many different probiotics out there, which can often just get confusing and overwhelming, so with this podcast my intention is for it to be succinct and easy to digest, with a smaller array of probiotics to start exploring on your initial steps to gut healing.  Read more. Show Notes SIBO The SIBO, Endometriosis and Interstitial Cystitis Connecti...

Recently I’ve talked a lot about the gut microbiome and endo, but today, I want to do a very short episode on the bladder microbiome, but specifically, a supplement or plant extract that could help us. For those of you who deal with bladder pain or recurrent UTIs, I’m hoping this episode is helpful. Interstitial cystitis has been dubbed as the ‘evil twin’ of endometriosis by researchers, and is ch...

Sourdough bread has been popular in the mainstream for a good number of years now, but I feel like there’s a big focus on it and its benefits in the wellness industry at present. And I think for people with endo, when new health trends come round, it can be confusing, because foods we thought might bother us with endo, are being promoted to the masses as good for our health, so the question is - w...

If you want to learn more about SCFAs, I’ve linked to some episodes in the show notes. But now let’s look at probiotic foods and how they can raise SCFA. Probiotic foods are cultured and fermented foods which have live beneficial bacteria in them. When we eat these foods, we ingest this bacteria, which then become part of our gut microbiome and improve our levels of beneficial bacteria. Many of th...

Today I want to talk about another short chain fatty acid booster, which also supports long term gut healing and symptom relief, and that’s partially hydrolysed guar gum. PHGG is a soluble fibre derived from the guar bean plant, it is not exactly the same as the food ingredient guar gum. PHGG is broken down by enzymes from guar gum, and dissolves in water. In contrast, guar gum is a thickening age...

Last week we talked about certain fruits, vegetables, beans and lentils that can boost the short chain fatty acids called propionate and acetate. Alongside butyrate, which you can increase with resistant starch rich foods such as cold oats, green bananas and cooked and cooled potatoes and rice, these guys help to lower inflammation, heal gut issues and may even protect against endo progression. To...

Last week we talked about the most beneficial short chain fatty acid for endo - butyrate. Short chain fatty acids are types of healthy fats that are produced by good gut bacteria when we eat fibre. They eat the fibre, and the process of this, known as fermentation, produces short chain fatty acids. To get the low down on endo and short chain fatty acids overall, head to episode ep.310 and to learn...

Last week I talked about short chain fatty acids and their benefits for endo, and why people with endo need to focus on these to help manage the disease. Today, I want to talk about how to boost one of these types of short chain fatty acids, called butyrate. Read more. Show notes SCFAs/Butyrate https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389 https://www.nc...

Short chain fatty acids are types of gut friendly fats that are produced when good bacteria in our large intestine eats fibre. So, when healthy bacteria eat let’s say, beans, it will ferment our food, and create gas. Along with that gas, it creates short chain fatty acids. Short chain fatty acids are one of the key reasons gut health is so important to our overall wellbeing. Number one is that the...

Chronic fatigue is one of the biggest complaints of clients and students when they come to see me. But endo isn’t solely responsible for fatigue, there are usually a number of culprits, that can be associated with endo or are worsened by endo. If you’d like to learn more about the causes of fatigue in the endo community, I’ve linked to a podcast episode on this subject, but today, I want to talk a...

Today I want to continue on with the theme of foods for surgery recovery. And today, we’re talking about protein. In my training on endometriosis surgery recovery, the importance of protein intake, and good quality protein intake, was really emphasised - and with good reason. Protein is essential for tissue repair, and whilst we need lots of nutrients to recovery after surgery, protein is the key...