(Kind Of) Brief History

In July, 2007 I successfully overcame endometriosis after a 10+ year battle. For the 10+ years (shoot, I just realized it’s actually 18 years) my life pretty much sucked. For those that don’t know, endometriosis is a painful gynecological condition that affects 1 out of every 10 women. It’s also an endocrine and auto-immune disorder causing systemic illness throughout the body. Basically it’s a fucking nightmare.

Nutrition is a key component in managing the disease; however, the gold standard is excision surgery from an endometriosis excision specialist. Unfortunately, there are only a handful of excision specialists in the country that perform this procedure correctly. (More on this in the endo surgery post). Back to nutrition: Nutritionally, there are two food groups that should be cut out immediately and permanently which will result in significant pain relief. Wheat should be eliminated from the diet as 80% of women with endo are allergic to wheat. Bovine dairy and meat products should also be eliminated due to the type 2 prostaglandins that cause inflammation throughout the body and exacerbate the pain of endometriosis. (Complete nutritional protocol post for endo will be coming soon)

But wait! There’s more!

Many women with endometriosis also suffer from Candida complex or candidiasis in which the naturally occurring yeast, Candida albicans, which resides in all humans has proliferated in the intestinal track and offset the balance of natural intestinal flora. Once Candida gets a foothold, it turns from yeast to a fungus to the mold form which sends out rhizomes that infiltrate the body’s organs causing systemic illness. (This just sounds gross.) Symptoms of candidiasis include headaches, myalgia, chronic fatigue; GI disturbances including Leaky Gut Syndrome (sounds even more gross), food allergies, skin disorders, immune disorders, depression and menstrual irregularities. In order to overcome Candida, the organism must be starved by removing its food source: sugar. It also needs to be attacked using anti-fungal therapies. This blog will focus on both modalities.

We’re not done yet!

I’ve also developed full blown Celiac disease in the past year most likely as a direct result of the Candida which causes food allergies and leaky gut syndrome. Celiac disease is an auto-immune disorder in which the body cannot process gluten a protein contained in wheat, rye, barley and sometimes oats. Celiac sufferers often have GI issues and signs of systemic illness if they ingest gluten so this blog will also focus on a gluten free lifestyle (also a necessary component in treating Candida).

So I’m going to cover some fairly common but hidden, and yes, disgusting issues. I work in clinical trials for a living, so my writing tends to be a little….dry. My brother is trying to get me to throw in some more personal items and a little color. He’s fairly annoying, but I’ll try to do that in future posts.