This EndoLife

I’ve had a couple of clients work with me recently ahead of their very first surgeries. We’ve been doing a lot of prep to ensure that they heal well, have an easy recovery, and to minimise the chances of recurrence or severe recurrence, as much as we possibly can (though of course, there is no guarantee with endo).

As a result, I wanted to do an episode to help you to prep if you have a surgery coming up. Now, there are quite a few strategies I use with clients for this, and I do have a masterclass on surgery which you can purchase if you’re ready to, but I’ve also linked to any free resources I have in the show notes.

Today however, I wanted to focus on three antioxidants to ensure you’re getting ample amounts of pre and post-surgery.

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Show notes

Antioxidants general

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5625949/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8397081/

Zinc

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10184220/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35226276/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25864256/

https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Zinc-HealthProfessional/

https://academic.oup.com/humrep/article/19/8/1755/2356458?login=true

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6066416/

https://www.theguthealthdoctor.com/eating-purely-plant-based-here-are-the-key-nutrients-to-consider

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5793244/

Vit C

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18505499/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5707683/#:~:text=

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8172324/

https://gp-portal.westhampshireccg.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/CS38589-WHCCG-Wound-Healing-Nutrition-guidance-FINAL.pdf

Vit A

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9096837/

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/foods-high-in-vitamin-a#vegetables

https://gp-portal.westhampshireccg.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/CS38589-WHCCG-Wound-Healing-Nutrition-guidance-FINAL.pdf

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31389093/

Free resources:

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Ways to work with me:

This EndoLife, It Starts with Breakfast digital cookbook

Masterclasses in endo nutrition, surgery prep and recovery and pain relief

Live and Thrive with Endo: The Foundations DIY course

One to one coaching info and application

This episode is sponsored by BeYou Cramp Relief Patches. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk/pages/how-it-works

Produced by Chris Robson

To follow on with our episode on flax seeds and chia seeds for constipation, I wanted to add another one into the mix.

For those of you who haven’t listen to that previous episode, I’ve linked it in the show notes. Additionally, if you’re wondering why constipation is a problem for many in our community, there can be numerous reasons, ranging from adhesions, pelvic floor dysfunction, small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), gut dysbiosis and more. I’ve linked to an episode I did on this topic in the show notes.

But now let’s get to it. Two kiwis a day is an evidenced based tool for constipation!

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Show Notes

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12074185/

https://apjcn.nhri.org.tw/server/APJCN/19/4/451.pdf

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21147704/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9572406/

https://www.monashfodmap.com/blog/two-kiwi-fruit-day-keep-constipation-bay/

https://www.siboinfo.com/diet.html

https://www.theendobellycoach.com/podcast/healing-constipation-with-endometriosis?rq=constipation

https://www.theendobellycoach.com/podcast/flax-chia-constipation?rq=constipation

Free resources:

This podcast! 

Endometriosis Net Column

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Ways to work with me:

This EndoLife, It Starts with Breakfast digital cookbook

Masterclasses in endo nutrition, surgery prep and recovery and pain relief

Live and Thrive with Endo: The Foundations DIY course

One to one coaching info and application

This episode is sponsored by BeYou Cramp Relief Patches. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk/pages/how-it-works

Produced by Chris Robson

Many people with endometriosis, including about 60% of my clients, suffer with constipation.

Is this because of endometriosis directly? Not exactly. There are several reasons someone with endo can have constipation, whilst this episode isn’t about that, here’s a quick low down on some of the key causes: 

Endo – Of course, whilst this isn’t the case for everyone, endo can be located on the bowel, which can cause structural changes to the bowel, making bowel movements harder.

Adhesions – Adhesions from either endo itself or from surgery can attach to the intestines and cause kinks and loops which make it harder for stools to pass through the bowels. P.S. Adhesions from abdominal surgery occur in between 50-100% of patients, and if the abdominal surgery is more significant, the risk is much higher.

SIBO – Small intestine bacterial overgrowth, where bacteria overgrow in the small intestine, is a key culprit of constipation, especially in people who have methanogen overgrowth. There are three types of SIBO; hydrogen, methane and hydrogen sulphide. Methane is no longer technically a type of SIBO, it has a new name, methanogen overgrowth, because it occurs not just in the small intestine and in the large too. But the testing and treatment remains the same, so honestly, it’s really just a new name and a new way of thinking of it, but we would still informally call it methane type SIBO. Research indicates that people with endo have a higher prevalence of SIBO.

Gut dysbiosis – gut dysbiosis is where we have an imbalance of gut bugs in our large intestine, and this can lead to IBS-like symptoms such as constipation. Research is showing an increasing link between endometriosis and microbiome changes.

Luteal phase – in the second half of your cycle, after ovulation, known as the luteal phase, our progesterone levels rise (in theory, some people need to boost their progesterone, but that’s a conversation for another time). Progesterone is a muscle relaxant, and as a result, it relaxes the muscles of the intestines and slows down motility. This might mean, for the average person, bowel movements are a bit slower, but that they don’t have full on constipation. However, if you suffer with any of the above, this hormonal change can trigger or worsen constipation.

Read more.

Show Notes

Flax research

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5944250/

https://apjcn.nhri.org.tw/server/APJCN/29/1/61.pdf

https://www.nhstaysidecdn.scot.nhs.uk/NHSTaysideWeb/idcplg?IdcService=GET_SECURE_FILE&dDocName=PROD_338907&Rendition=web&RevisionSelectionMethod=LatestReleased&noSaveAs=1

Chia

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/fsn3.3035

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9739531/#B17-jcm-11-07073

Seed cycling

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/369913915_Advantages_of_seed_cycling_diet_in_menstrual_dysfunctions_A_review_based_explanation

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10261760/

Free resources:

This podcast! 

Endometriosis Net Column

Endometriosis News Column

Newsletter

Instagram

Ways to work with me:

This EndoLife, It Starts with Breakfast digital cookbook

Masterclasses in endo nutrition, surgery prep and recovery and pain relief

Live and Thrive with Endo: The Foundations DIY course

One to one coaching info and application

This episode is sponsored by BeYou Cramp Relief Patches. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk/pages/how-it-works

Produced by Chris Robson

Blood sugar is the measurement of glucose in the blood stream at any one time. Glucose comes from complex carbs, like vegetables, beans and whole grains, and simple carbs, like flour, pasta and honey. Complex carbs break down slower in the gut, resulting in a slow but steady drip of glucose to our blood stream, whereas simple sugars break down very quickly and are also typically very high in carbohydrates and so create what we call a blood sugar spike, which simply means your glucose levels in your blood are too high.

Read more.

Show Notes

Nutrition and blood sugar

https://endometriosis.net/living/how-to-balance-your-blood-sugar-levels-to-reduce-endo-symptoms

https://endometriosis.net/living/diet-sugar

Movement

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3747878/

https://shapeamerica.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/026404102321011715

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23467903/

Sleep

Walker, M. (2017). Why we sleep: Unlocking the power of sleep and dreams. Scribner.

https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/news/shortening-sleep-time-increases-diabetes-risk-women

https://endometriosis.net/living/pain-relief-natural

https://www.theendobellycoach.com/podcast/hpa-axis-dysfunction-healing-tips-endometriosis?rq=sleep

https://www.theendobellycoach.com/podcast/night-waking-endo?rq=sleep

Masterclasses in endo nutrition, surgery prep and recovery and pain relief

https://www.theendobellycoach.com/podcast/supplements-shown-to-target-endometriosis?rq=supplements

https://www.theendobellycoach.com/podcast/supplements-for-period-pain-menstrual-symptoms?rq=supplements

https://endometriosis.net/living/diet-inflammation

Stress

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20660036/

https://www.thetappingsolution.com/science-research/

https://endometriosis.net/living/reduce-pain

https://nurosym.com/pages/clinical-evidence

https://www.theendobellycoach.com/podcast/sensate-vagus-nerve-toning?rq=sensate

https://www.getsensate.com

https://www.jessicamaguire.com

Free resources:

This podcast! 

Endometriosis Net Column

Endometriosis News Column

Newsletter

Instagram

Ways to work with me:

This EndoLife, It Starts with Breakfast digital cookbook

Masterclasses in endo nutrition, surgery prep and recovery and pain relief

Live and Thrive with Endo: The Foundations DIY course

One to one coaching info and application

This episode is sponsored by BeYou Cramp Relief Patches. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk/pages/how-it-works

Produced by Chris Robson

Dr. Tara Morrison is Birth Trauma Specialist and Holistic Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist who specialises in whole-person care for pregnancy, postpartum, and beyond. We actually met several years ago when we were both training at the Integrative Women’s Health Institute, so it was a real pleasure to have her on the show!

Tara uses trauma-informed Somatic Pelvic Care to aid not just pain and pelvic floor dysfunction, but nervous system healing through mind-body based physical therapy tools, stress management, somatic emotional release, energy medicine, and mindful living. 

In today’s episode, Tara and I talk about how she uses somatic therapy for chronic pelvic pain.

In this episode we discuss:

Show Notes

Website: www.cortexrehab.com

Instagram: @sarahdueffert

Facebook: @cortexPT

Free resources:

This podcast! 

Endometriosis Net Column

Endometriosis News Column

Newsletter

Instagram

Ways to work with me:

This EndoLife, It Starts with Breakfast digital cookbook

Masterclasses in endo nutrition, surgery prep and recovery and pain relief

Live and Thrive with Endo: The Foundations DIY course

One to one coaching info and application

This episode is sponsored by BeYou Cramp Relief Patches. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk/pages/how-it-works

Produced by Chris Robson

Rachel Dutton a.k.a The Period Whisperer is pretty much one of the most knowledgeable women to grace this podcast. She is not only a women’s health coach, but a yoga teacher, reflexologist, aromatherapist and womb massage therapist to name just a few of her credentials. Rachel specialises in women’s health and fertility - including PCOS.

As a PCOS warrior herself, Rachel knows first hand the struggle to get an accurate diagnosis, life with PCOS symptoms but perhaps most importantly, how to manage and even reverse symptoms.

As this month is PCOS Awareness Month, I am giving you guys a little treat. Last month, Rachel came and delivered a private talk to the members of my Live and Thrive membership, and today, to celebrate PCOS Awareness Month, I’m sharing it with you!

Now, just as a heads up, some of this talk has been cut as I wanted to ensure my member’s privacy, and half the talk was a Q&A session. Additionally, Rachel’s talk was delivered with slides so you may hear her from time to time refer to something on the screen, but all the info you need is provided in this audio.

In this episode, Rachel and I discuss

Here’s what we cover:

Show Notes

Rachel’s website

Rachel’s Instagram

Free resources:

This podcast! 

Endometriosis Net Column

Endometriosis News Column

Newsletter

Instagram

Ways to work with me:

This EndoLife, It Starts with Breakfast digital cookbook

Masterclasses in endo nutrition, surgery prep and recovery and pain relief

Live and Thrive with Endo: The Foundations DIY course

One to one coaching info and application

This episode is sponsored by BeYou Cramp Relief Patches. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk/pages/how-it-works

Produced by Chris Robson

Maybe your periods are better, your chronic pelvis pain is better, things are improving. But after a few months, the endo belly comes back. Or maybe you get it for the first time ever. You’re bloated all the time or maybe you bloat badly after meals, or maybe it gets worse over the day? Perhaps it’s also accompanied by IBS issues like constipation, gas, or loose stools. If any of this sounds familiar, this episode is for you.

Whilst surgery is essential for many people, it doesn’t come without its risks. And I honestly feel like it’s a disservice that these aren’t more talked about. So today, I’m talking about why you may get endo belly for the first time, a return of it or a worsening of it as a result of adhesions, and what you can do to prevent them. 

If you haven’t heard me bang on about these guys before, adhesions are a form of scar tissue. They are web-like structures and bands of collagen that grow in response to injury and trauma, to ‘knit’ back together a wounded area and as part of the healing process from infection and inflammation. Collagen strands bond together to protect the damaged area to allow healing to occur in a safe and isolated environment, and if an infection is present, they protect the rest of the body by preventing the spread. 

Read more.

Free resources:

This podcast! 

Endometriosis Net Column

Endometriosis News Column

Newsletter

Instagram

Ways to work with me:

This EndoLife, It Starts with Breakfast digital cookbook

Masterclasses in endo nutrition, surgery prep and recovery and pain relief

Live and Thrive with Endo: The Foundations DIY course

One to one coaching info and application

This episode is sponsored by BeYou Cramp Relief Patches. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk/pages/how-it-works

Produced by Chris Robson

Today on the show I am talking about one of the possible root causes of your endo belly – coeliac disease. Now, before you turn this podcast off because you think you don’t react to gluten, I am literally begging you to listen. 

I have noticed a trend in my clients to dismiss coeliac disease as a possibility, because they don’t have immediate reactions after gluten. But – here’s the thing, the reactions from gluten are not always obvious and they don’t always happen straight away. So, if you’re bloated all the time, tired all the time, maybe you have diarrhoea regularly or gas, or constipation, or maybe you don’t have any gut symptoms at all – but you have brain fog, fatigue and achy joints, then it may be down to coeliac disease. 

Read more.

Free resources:

This podcast! 

Endometriosis Net Column

Endometriosis News Column

Newsletter

Instagram

Ways to work with me:

This EndoLife, It Starts with Breakfast digital cookbook

Masterclasses in endo nutrition, surgery prep and recovery and pain relief

Live and Thrive with Endo: The Foundations DIY course

One to one coaching info and application

This episode is sponsored by BeYou Cramp Relief Patches. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk/pages/how-it-works

Produced by Chris Robson

This week I want to give you some tools to actually alleviate that bloating, now you know why it’s happening. I’m going to give you two types of tools, one set to deal with in the moment of bloating and another set for which are long-term strategies to help you to address the root cause. 

So, let’s start with the tools you can use in the moment. Many of these tools I’m about to share are based on my training with world leading SIBO doctor, Dr Allison Siebecker. I’m using her doses, which are safe and effective and if you’d like a reference for these doses, they are actually available on her website, under handouts, in a handout called Symptomatic Relief Guide. So these doses are available publicly, you don’t need a prescription for them, but always consult your doctor before starting new supplements. 

Read more.

Free resources:

This podcast! 

Endometriosis Net Column

Endometriosis News Column

Newsletter

Instagram

Ways to work with me:

This EndoLife, It Starts with Breakfast digital cookbook

Masterclasses in endo nutrition, surgery prep and recovery and pain relief

Live and Thrive with Endo: The Foundations DIY course

One to one coaching info and application

This episode is sponsored by BeYou Cramp Relief Patches. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk/pages/how-it-works

Produced by Chris Robson

You may remember back in late August I was promoting an event I was speaking at; the wonderful IC Retreat, a virtual 3 day event hosted by Joana Bartlett - all about empowering IC patients with tools, knowledge and support.

My presentation was a deep dive into the connection between interstitial cystitis, endometriosis and SIBO and how to manage these conditions together. I was so proud of this presentation and felt so passionately that everyone should have this info, that I asked Joana if I could share it all with you… So, here it is!

In this presentation I discuss:

If you’d rather watch the presentation, you can do so here!

More show notes.

Free resources:

This podcast! 

Endometriosis Net Column

Endometriosis News Column

Newsletter

Instagram

Ways to work with me:

This EndoLife, It Starts with Breakfast digital cookbook

Masterclasses in endo nutrition, surgery prep and recovery and pain relief

Live and Thrive with Endo: The Foundations DIY course

One to one coaching info and application

This episode is sponsored by BeYou Cramp Relief Patches. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk/pages/how-it-works

Produced by Chris Robson