March 13, 2020

Reduce Fatigue, Endometriosis Symptoms and Oestrogen Dominance with A Better Breakfast

38 minutes

This episode is another special one where I share with you guys what’s been going on in my year long Facebook challenge and what we’re working on during Endometriosis Awareness Month.

In March, we’re reducing fatigue, endometriosis symptoms and even oestrogen dominance with one simple step - balancing blood sugar at breakfast.

Why is this important?

So. Many. Reasons. But here's a quick breakdown.

Stable blood sugar levels in turn stabilises energy levels and helps to combat those big swings, especially those slumps where we could just fall asleep at our desks.

Stable blood sugar helps to reduce and regulate inflammation - key for managing endo and chronic inflammation can also cause fatugue and brain fog.

Imbalanced blood sugar creates crazy hormones - low progesterone and high oestrogen levels. Low progesterone causes symptoms like irregular cycles, anxiety, depression, migraines and irritability. High levels of oestrogen or oestrogen dominance can actually progress the growth of endometriosis and cause heavy periods, painful periods and PMS. Basically, nothing we want.

Unstable blood sugar can continue whilst you sleep (especially if you have a sugar or carb heavy meal for dinner/dessert) and actually cause insomnia, which is really not going to help our fatigue. Wake up in the early hours? It's likely to be a blood sugar issue.

Why are we starting with breakfast?

Because if you get on the unstable blood sugar train, it's very hard to get off!

Once you cause high blood sugar by eating too many refined carbs or an imbalanced meal for breakfast, you're going to come back down with a thud in an hour or two - and you'll find yourself tired, cranky and needing a caffeine fix to get you through the morning.

If you skip breakfast altogether, you're going to be playing havoc with your hormones and energy levels as well - again creating a scenario for fatigue, inflammation and hormonal problems. If you find yourself shaky, irritable or feeling low, consider if you've eaten enough and whether it was balanced.

So how do we create a blood sugar balancing breakfast?

Make sure you're getting fibre, complex carbohydrates, protein and healthy fats in your breakfast.

Generally, aim for -

50% veggies/low sugar fruits (always lean towards the veggies!)

25% protein

25% split between good fats and starchy wholefood carbohydrates

I've created a little cheat for you which you can download and keep on your phone, or print off and stick on your fridge, which includes a breakdown of the above and the types of foods you can go for.

In this episode I share recipe ideas for the endometriosis diet and give you examples of what a blood sugar balancing breakfast might look like, so you can create your own ‘endometriosis diet plan’. Remember - everyone is different, so create a plan that works for you!

I hope you love this episode and find it useful! If you’d like to get more support with these changes, you can join my free year long Facebook challenge!

Let's get social! Come say hello on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook or sign up to my newsletter.

Show Notes

To really understand how to balance blood sugar and why it's so important for fatigue and endometriosis, read my chapter "Why Do You Keep Banging On About Blood Sugar?" in my book. If you haven't downloaded it yet, you can get it for free here.

Download the cheat-sheet, and have it near you when you're in the kitchen. Take it shopping!

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By Jessica Duffin

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