Worldwide, millions of people who menstruate have endometriosis, a gynecological condition that can cause debilitating symptoms and severely impact a person’s quality of life, mental health, and productivity. Yet treatments for endometriosis remain limited, and many people continue to struggle with symptom management. Could dietary interventions help?
Endometriosis is a gynecological condition in which endometrial-type tissue — similar to the tissue lining the inside of the uterus — grows in other parts of the body.
While endometrial-like tissue
This condition can cause long menstrual periods (longer than 7 days), heavy bleeding, excruciatingly painful cramps that may cause a person to faint, nausea and vomiting, pain during and after sex with vaginal penetration, fatigue, and spotting between periods, among several other symptoms.
For people who receive a diagnosis of endometriosis, there are relatively few treatment and management options, which are not effective for everyone, and which do not guarantee long-term relief even for those for whom they do work.
This has led medical doctors, researchers, and individuals with endometriosis alike to search for additional relief methods, and one of these is centered on nutrition.
In this month’s installment of the In Conversation podcast, we discuss why endometriosis can be so difficult to manage, and some of the ways in which dietary changes may help relieve symptoms such as pain and heavy bleeding. Our guests are Dr. Hana Kahleova and Hannah Alderson.
Dr. Kahleova is director of clinical research at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine — a nonprofit organization headquartered…
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