Lessons on endometriosis
I have a condition called endometriosis. I've probably had it for about 16 years, but I was formally diagnosed with it in June of 2015 through laparoscopic surgery. I elected to have the surgery because it's the only way to officially diagnose endometriosis and I wanted answers for my chronic pain as well as possible relief through the removal of the lesions. I did get an official diagnosis, but my chronic pain remains. Not much is known about endometriosis. A good video for learning about the realities of this disease are in a documentary called "Endo What?" that I just recently found and watched online. Click here if you'd like to learn more about it. Life as a 29-year-old with chronic pain isn't easy. Basic every day things are difficult for me: sitting, standing, going to work, cleaning my house, making dinner, etc. Not to mention, I can't run or ride a bike and I'm not even sure which exercises help and which make things worse. Anyway, when watching the documentary, someone interviewed cited a study from 1992! (That I hadn't heard about). In this study, Rhesus monkeys were exposed to the most toxic form of dioxin for four years. The researchers concluded that “the incidence of endometriosis was directly correlated with dioxin exposure and the severity of disease was dependent upon the dose
administered." I was surprised at the fact that I had never heard of this! Then I wondered, "What are dioxins and where do they come from?" I found this on the World Health Organization website:
Dioxins are a group of chemically-related compounds that are persistent environmental pollutants (POPs). Dioxins are found throughout the world in the environment and they accumulate in the food chain, mainly in the fatty tissue of animals. More than 90% of human exposure is through food, mainly meat and dairy products, fish and shellfish. Many national authorities have programmes in place to monitor the food supply.
Dioxins are highly toxic and can cause reproductive and developmental problems, damage the immune system, interfere with hormones and also cause cancer.
This information impacted me pretty strongly. I couldn't believe that I hadn't heard about these studies with all of the online research that I've read about endometriosis. Nevertheless, now that I knew this, I couldn't just ignore it. I knew that I had to make some major changes if I had any hopes of healing my body. First of all, I took the plunge and finally enrolled myself in the Young Living Monthly Rewards program. My mom had actually bought me the essential oils membership with a diffuser and starter kit a year ago, but I had only bought a few things (like peppermint and tea tree oil) since then. Knowing that I was committing to a whole life-style change with as few chemicals as possible, I enrolled myself in the program that will at least give me rewards points for purchasing from them every month. It wasn't cheap, but it was necessary. I replaced all of my toiletries and household cleaners with Young Living's chemical-free products.
Next, I had also read that "90% of human [dioxin] exposure is through...mainly meat and dairy products!!!" Now, I had never strongly considered becoming Vegan before...maybe vegetarian since I'm a picky meat eater, anyway. In fact, I was eating a high protein/low carb diet up until then. But, I knew that if I was going to truly commit to reducing my dioxin exposure, I would definitely have to change what I ate. Don't get me wrong...this "life-style change" occurred only a couple weeks ago. And I have had some meat and cheese since then, but I have changed the foods that go on my grocery list (no meat or cheese) as well as the meals that I plan for the week.
So with two weeks into this "life-style" change, you're probably wondering "Is it working?" Honestly, I can't tell that anything is happening. Also, I wouldn't expect to be magically "healed" in two weeks (especially with a lack of true commitment still in the chemicals and diet areas- for example, I still haven't received my chemical-free deodorant and like I admitted, I have had meat and cheese.) On the bright side, a meatless diet gives me more room in the budget to buy all organic foods, with money in the budget to spare! (Which hopefully means I can afford to spend more on chemical-free products.) To me, what I have learned about exposure to dioxins and endometriosis has really just launched my journey to holistic health to try to restore my body to normal functioning. I'm excited to discover more of Young Living's products, including oils and supplements, that may help me in this journey. There are still so many that I haven't even tried!!! I also am excited to find and try new recipes that include more organic vegetables. I hopefully will post some of these recipes as I discover them along the way. If you already eat a vegetarian/vegan diet, I would definitely welcome your favorite recipes in the comments below! Thanks!
Here is a photo of all the products that I bought to replace my chemically-laden products:
If you are interested in purchasing chemical-free products too, Young Living has so many wonderful products to choose from that will be directly mailed to your house each month, if you choose! Click here to view and purchase products and/or enroll!
Dioxins are a group of chemically-related compounds that are persistent environmental pollutants (POPs). Dioxins are found throughout the world in the environment and they accumulate in the food chain, mainly in the fatty tissue of animals. More than 90% of human exposure is through food, mainly meat and dairy products, fish and shellfish. Many national authorities have programmes in place to monitor the food supply.
Dioxins are highly toxic and can cause reproductive and developmental problems, damage the immune system, interfere with hormones and also cause cancer.
This information impacted me pretty strongly. I couldn't believe that I hadn't heard about these studies with all of the online research that I've read about endometriosis. Nevertheless, now that I knew this, I couldn't just ignore it. I knew that I had to make some major changes if I had any hopes of healing my body. First of all, I took the plunge and finally enrolled myself in the Young Living Monthly Rewards program. My mom had actually bought me the essential oils membership with a diffuser and starter kit a year ago, but I had only bought a few things (like peppermint and tea tree oil) since then. Knowing that I was committing to a whole life-style change with as few chemicals as possible, I enrolled myself in the program that will at least give me rewards points for purchasing from them every month. It wasn't cheap, but it was necessary. I replaced all of my toiletries and household cleaners with Young Living's chemical-free products.
Next, I had also read that "90% of human [dioxin] exposure is through...mainly meat and dairy products!!!" Now, I had never strongly considered becoming Vegan before...maybe vegetarian since I'm a picky meat eater, anyway. In fact, I was eating a high protein/low carb diet up until then. But, I knew that if I was going to truly commit to reducing my dioxin exposure, I would definitely have to change what I ate. Don't get me wrong...this "life-style change" occurred only a couple weeks ago. And I have had some meat and cheese since then, but I have changed the foods that go on my grocery list (no meat or cheese) as well as the meals that I plan for the week.
So with two weeks into this "life-style" change, you're probably wondering "Is it working?" Honestly, I can't tell that anything is happening. Also, I wouldn't expect to be magically "healed" in two weeks (especially with a lack of true commitment still in the chemicals and diet areas- for example, I still haven't received my chemical-free deodorant and like I admitted, I have had meat and cheese.) On the bright side, a meatless diet gives me more room in the budget to buy all organic foods, with money in the budget to spare! (Which hopefully means I can afford to spend more on chemical-free products.) To me, what I have learned about exposure to dioxins and endometriosis has really just launched my journey to holistic health to try to restore my body to normal functioning. I'm excited to discover more of Young Living's products, including oils and supplements, that may help me in this journey. There are still so many that I haven't even tried!!! I also am excited to find and try new recipes that include more organic vegetables. I hopefully will post some of these recipes as I discover them along the way. If you already eat a vegetarian/vegan diet, I would definitely welcome your favorite recipes in the comments below! Thanks!
Here is a photo of all the products that I bought to replace my chemically-laden products:
If you are interested in purchasing chemical-free products too, Young Living has so many wonderful products to choose from that will be directly mailed to your house each month, if you choose! Click here to view and purchase products and/or enroll!
Gluten free + vegan/vegetarian is difficult, so I spend a lot of time looking for good meat-free dishes. A lot of these dishes feature beans/lentils since they're good sources of proteins and I'm instantly hungry if I only eat carbs in a meal. Some meals I end up eating pretty often because they're meat-free, easy, and gluten free. So, here's some of my favorite meals/recipes:
ReplyDelete1. Any stir fry with extra firm tofu instead of meat (less firm tofus are mushy and wet, and not so appetizing)
2. Plantains and refried black beans
3. Home-made hummus with carrots and sliced cucumbers
4. black bean avocado enchiladas http://www.budgetbytes.com/2013/04/black-bean-avocado-enchiladas/
5. Lentil soup http://cookieandkate.com/2015/vegan-lentil-soup-recipe/
6. Most curries can be made vegan. Here's one we made a few weeks ago: http://www.emmaslittlekitchen.com/sweetpotatoleekbutterbeancurry/
7. Tuscan white bean soup : http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/01/30-minute-tuscan-white-bean-soup-recipe.html
8. Chili is easily vegan too. Here's one we made recently https://www.washingtonsgreengrocer.com/our-blog/black-bean-acorn-squash-chili
Any time the recipes say to add chicken broth, we always add veggie broth instead