Heather Bedard, C.H.E.
I don’t know who came up with the name, fibroid, but I think they should be fired. It almost sounds like a little alien and in some ways they kind of are. Fibroids are non-cancerous tumors 99% of the time, and they grow on the uterus, in the muscle of the uterus, or in the uterine cavity. It is very rare to have a cancerous fibroid tumor and most of the time women are unaware that they have fibroids at all. While the majority of women do not have symptoms, there are others who experience symptoms such as heavy bleeding that can lead to anemia, constipation, painful periods, and increased urination.
While if you google fibroids you will find most websites and articles refusing to admit there are any lifestyle factors, there are a few things that we know…and if you know them, you can prevent, or in some cases even eliminate, fibroids.
There are three things that seem to cause fibroids to grow: estrogen, progesterone and IGF-1 (Insulin-like Growth Factor). Many health professionals believe fibroids to be related to hormones due to the fact that many fibroids shrink after menopause due to decreased hormone production.
While estrogen and progesterone are necessary hormones, levels that are too high can wreak havoc on the body’s organs. There are several simple things that you can do to help prevent the growth of fibroids in the first place or encourage them to shrink.
1. Reduce alcohol consumption. Alcohol increases estrogen production as well as IGF-1 levels. Best practice would be to view alcohol as a treat for special occasions and not a daily practice.
2. Eat a low-fat, high-fiber diet. Estrogen is produced in the ovaries and then secreted into the blood stream. It then circulates through the body and affects many organs including the uterus. After this it travels to the liver where it is combined into estrogen complexes and travels to the intestine for elimination. When you eat a high-fat, high-protein diet, it increases the production of enzymes that frees estrogen from the complexes that it was combined with. This allows the estrogen to be absorbed back into the bloodstream increasing blood estrogen levels. Women who consume more dietary fat and lower amounts of fiber have higher estrogen levels.[1] Fiber helps to lower estrogen levels by eliminating estrogen in the feces.
3. Eliminate dairy. Cow’s milk and other animal milks and milk products contain estrogen and estrogen metabolites, and consuming dairy products can increase estrogen levels.[2] Women who eat a vegetarian diet excrete more estrogen and have lower levels of plasma estrogen than women who eat a higher fat diet that includes more animal foods.[3]
While I don’t believe the research supports you having to eat a purely vegetarian diet, I do believe that it supports greatly increasing the consumption of whole foods for the greatest change to the vast majority of health issues. Lowering the consumption of foods that will increase estrogen levels can help you balance your hormones and thus reduce your risk of hormone related challenges such as fibroids.
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[1] Adlercreutz H, Gorbach S, Golden B, et al. “Estrogen Metabolism and Excretion in Oriental and Caucasian Women.”
JNCI J Natl Cancer Inst (1994) 86 (14): 1076-1082.
[2] Sharpe RM, Skakkebaek NE. “Are oestrogens involved in falling sperm counts and disorders of the male reproductive tract?” Lancet 341: 1392-95, 1993
[3] Gorbach S, Goldin B. “Diet and the excretion and enterohepatic cycling of estrogens.” Prev Med 1987 Jul;16(4):525-31