Holistic Approaches and Nutritional Insights for Managing Endometriosis

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Can holistic methods redefine your approach to managing endometriosis? Join me, Damaris Murray-Grossman, as I open up about my personal experiences with this condition and share how integrating natural pain management techniques transformed my life. From the power of an anti-inflammatory diet featuring superfoods like salmon, berries, and turmeric, to the stress-busting practices of yoga and mindfulness, I promise you'll walk away with practical insights to enhance your well-being. I'll be discussing the impactful role of supplements such as magnesium and omega-3s, and intriguing herbal remedies like passion flower and ashwagandha, all aimed at reducing inflammation and balancing hormones. Discover how approaches like pelvic floor therapy and acupuncture can be game-changers in alleviating symptoms while minimizing the need for conventional medications.

Nutrition is at the heart of managing endometriosis pain, and I'm highlighting how nutrient-dense foods can be your ally on this journey. By incorporating options like bone broth and glutamine, you can significantly support your overall health and mitigate discomfort. While steering clear of junk food can be tough, prioritizing these beneficial foods, alongside a balanced protein intake, can make a noticeable difference. This conversation marks my first deep dive into the topic, and I encourage you to reach out with questions or for further guidance. Embark with me on a path towards a more balanced and empowered way of living with endometriosis.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hi, how are you?
This is Damaris Murray-Grossman.
I'm an integrated family nursepractitioner and today I'm kind
of talking about endometriosisand another part series that
I've developed and discussedbecause this is near and dear to
my heart, because unfortunatelyI also have endometriosis and
was misdiagnosed for many yearsand it became more in the

(00:24):
forefront as I had a child.
So today it's just about painmanagement and techniques that I
use in a natural approach.
I am not one in general, if youknow me, integrative, so I try
as much as possible to not havefurther pain meds.
So the most that you'll seethat I will take conventional is

(00:45):
NSAIDs, but actually myfavorite um today I will talk
about the list that I would useand in the most um holistic way.
So first off, my favorite is ummagnesium.
So let's talk um lifestyleparts.
So lifestyle one is it is bestto have nutrient dense foods Um,

(01:06):
and I would recommend ananti-inflammatory type diet.
Um, that doesn't mean I wantyou to eliminate things, I just
want you to avoid things thatmay be causing that.
So, nutrient dense to avoid theinflammation, because
endometriosis is an inflammatoryresponse disease and it
actually is an autoimmuneresponse and the body is not

(01:28):
able to kind of clear out someof these lesions and these
things, or they've come upbecause of stress and such.
The recommendation isanti-inflammatory and nutrient
dense foods.
These nutrient dense foods arelike a great salmon dense foods.
These nutrient dense foods arelike a great salmon.

(01:49):
Berries, turmeric, um.
Avoiding processed foods,sugars, food, dairy gluten.
Those are usually recommended.
Now, on top of that is stressmanagement and I talk very
extensively on stress managementIf you've seen my posts and
such is because stressmanagement, um.
Oxidized stress can affect manyparts of the body.
Management oxidized stress canaffect many parts of the body
and in this situation it isendometriosis.

(02:09):
So this inflammation responseis coming out in lesions in the
uterus and different parts ofthe body and incorporated.
I am very much so advocate ofyoga, mindfulness techniques,
guided meditation and to helplearning breathing techniques.
All of these I personally usein, not only for endometriosis

(02:31):
but all other healthcare needsthat I've had, because, let me
tell you, if I did not, I wouldbe on a rollercoaster of
medications that I didn't needand I can control a lot of this
within and when I put into mybody.
So it was food as medicine,stress management and breathing
techniques.

(02:51):
Those just in general havehelped and then exercise as
tolerated.
There's additionallysupplements outside of just food
as medicine that can be used.
I'm a big fan of magnesium.
Magnesium glycinate for theevening or magnesium carbonate

(03:13):
or citrate can be used, but withthat there's one that I use is
MyoCalm that has valerian andpassion flower and they have one
that will also help you forsleep, um, l-tenine L-tenine,
which is a magnesium or greentea, um derivative.
So with that I will alsorecommend curcumin or turmeric

(03:39):
um, or like a golden chai tea,um that will have some turmeric
in that um.
Vitamin D is veryanti-inflammatory, usually about
at least 2000.
I use um for a patient'somega-3.
Now there's different ways toget your omega-3, um.
That will be very helpful forreduction in inflammation.

(04:00):
You have to be careful whenyou're taking omega-3 because it
is also a blood thinner, so um.
But there's algae likespirulina cholera.
That um will give you omega-3sif you're a vegetarian.
And then there's fish oil, um.
And then there's zinc andpsyllium is also helpful for
oxidative stress.

(04:20):
I mean, my favorite really willalways be magnesium and many
types of magnesium.
Follow one of my other podcastson benefits of magnesium and
the different types.
Now herbal remedies and Chineseremedies, um, or just general
herbs that are recommended.
So I just talked briefly aboutpassion flower, and passion

(04:42):
flower is one of my favorites.
Um, there's another one to helpwith.
So we're talking aboutbalancing right, so balancing
hormones.
You can use an herb calledchest tea.
Um ashwagandha for stressmanagement, inflammatory
response, because then you don'tagain, stress management is
part of that.
Um, evening primrose, passionflower, chamomile, primrose,
passionflower, chamomile thoseare quite helpful with lowering

(05:06):
the stress response.
Relaxation and muscle relaxationTechniques that can be used
that are quite effective.
I spoke briefly about yogameditation.
You can also use techniquesfrom therapists for the pelvic
floor a pelvic floor physicaltherapist and an acupuncturist

(05:27):
Pelvic floor physical therapistsare using to improve the
function down below.
I have used one and acupuncture.
I can definitely tell you theyare helpful significantly.
This will help withinflammation, but also help with
your muscle tone and thingsdown there.
Bladder control, becauseendometriosis can affect many

(05:49):
things.
I have unfortunately, beenprivy to more of it than I would
like to and but I'm lucky tosay that I was able to have one
little precious boy and I'mstill alive from my post
C-section, even though it wasquite scary.
I am due for surgery in Januarybecause this pain is just

(06:12):
unbearable and I don't want thisto, you know, hinder other
people.
I'm managing to the best of myability because I don't want to
be worse and I also understandthat it's like a management.
You know it's a long-term thing, but if I can manage my
inflammation, manage my stress,you know, then get this

(06:34):
procedure, because there mightbe a little bit more in there
than I can handle.
I will do that as needed.
I don't like to take NSAIDs, butNSAIDs are available which are
like ibuprofen.
People do hormone therapy andstronger medication is needed.
I don't really recommend that.
Personally, I think thathormone therapy and NSAIDs if

(06:54):
you really need them, they canbe available and needed for
those that are in severe pain.
That's there.
That's why it's needed.
And then my case I do have toget surgery and most cases to
actually remove endometriosislesions they have to be incised.
That is what has to do Now tohelp manage, like I was saying,

(07:16):
that some of these protocolsthey're help management.
They're not going to cureendometriosis, but it's
management.
Just like I talk about diabetes, I talk about other
inflammatory diseases likeHashimoto's and such.
These are all about managementand they're understanding what's
going on in the body.
Another huge one will be yourgut, your microbiome, your

(07:37):
immune system, because yourimmune system second immune
system is your gut.
So when you understand that andyou can fix some of the
dysbiosis and leaky gut, you canreally manage and do so much
more.
So, yes, so there is thingsthat will help with that and
that is things of working onhealing the gut.
So what you put in, soanti-inflammatory, nutrient

(07:59):
dense foods, the quality, lowerin the inflammatory process and
then healing the gut.
So what you put in, soanti-inflammatory,
nutrient-dense foods, thequality, lowering the
inflammatory process and thenhealing the gut with things to
bring it back.
My favorites are bone broth,glutamine and nutrient-dense
broths and foods to get you tothat optimal self foods to get
you to that optimal self.

(08:19):
Now, you know, avoiding all thejunk.
You know it's hard sometimes,but if you can at least get more
of the nutrient dense in there,you're benefiting as addition
to protein.
I hope this helps a little bit.
This is my first one inreference to pain management for
endometriosis.
If you have any questions, feelfree to reach out.

(08:40):
Talk to you soon.
Make sure you have a mindfulway each and every day.