Let’s talk Fibroids

Let’s talk Fibroids

So, are you between the age of 40-50? The chances that 20-80% of us poor sods have fibroids!!

Its not normal and that’s reason enough to delve and understand what’s happening. I am no doctor or nurse, so my explanations will be simple and in layman language. Let’s get cracking.

What are fibroids? Fibroids are tumors and occur in the uterus. It could be on the inside walls, the outside walls or the in between spaces of the two walls of the uterus. Depending on which of these three locations they decide to flourish, they get three different names. The actual names don’t matter, so we won’t get into that.

Most fibroids are benign and are not cancerous.

Some can be as small as a tiny pea and some as large as a grapefruit inside you. Its not unusual to have one or many fibroids at the same time.

Why does it matter?  Let’s look at immediate existential issues with fibroids first.

The growths could be sitting inside you, showing you no symptom at all. On the other hand, they could be responsible for super painful menstrual cycles and heavy bleeding. I have known people who have had to change pads every hour- the bleeding can get that heavy. Unable to go out because you are so fearful of having stained clothes- that’s just social issues. Physically, you could end up anemic and perpetually tired.

If the fibroids get big, they exert pressure on the bladder and the frequent bathroom trips become usual practice. You could have increased lower back pain, pain during sexual intercourse, risks during pregnancy and a greater chance of caesarean births.

Am I likely to get fibroids? If you are 40+ in age, have belly pudginess and have high estrogen levels, you are prime targets for the fibroids to take up home inside you. Of course, you need a uterus for all this to happen.

Note the four key things- female, age 40+, tummy fat and lots of female hormone in your body.

Ok, I am in the high-risk age group, now what do I do? Here is the interesting thing. To reduce fibroids that are growing inside requires you to reduce fat in your body especially belly fat. The actions we will end up taking to get rid of excess fat kickstarts the process of fibroid reduction.

1. Brilliant advice no 1. - Exercise. Try and build up to doing high intensity exercises, strength training and anti-gravity exercises. Walking is good for building relationships, its better than no exercise but its not sufficient to burn serious fat deposits and to attack those fibroids.
2. Brilliant advice no. 2- Adopt sensible foods that are low glycemic index and insulin regulating.
3. Brilliant advice no. 3- Reduce intake of estrogen heavy foods like dairy and soy.

As a result of these key steps, you now start you body on the path of throwing out excess estrogen that’s built up in your body.

With your permission, I am going to try and explain a very tricky concept now that many lay people have no clue about.

As your body gets ready to discard excess estrogen, you need to make sure the body’s detoxifying mechanisms are working. The body attaches a molecule called glucuronide to the estrogen to make it impossible for the body to reabsorb it into the body. It dumps this estrogen-glucuronide combination into the gut for discarding.

However, if your gut microbe is out of balance or you have constipation, your gut produces too much of this enzyme - beta glucuronidase. This enzyme now goes and breaks up the bond of estrogen-glucuronide. And guess what- the estrogen is reabsorbed into the body. And it goes back to supporting the fibroid!

It is one of the key reasons that is responsible for many of us struggling with weight loss despite doing all the right things. We do everything right and then at the last step, we render all our efforts as useless because we can’t exit the excess estrogen out of our body. Balanced gut microbiome is KEY to getting rid of fibroids.

So please do note your gut microbes pay a vital role in helping you get rid of fibroids, excess weight and all kinds of illnesses associated with imbalanced estrogen in the body.

How do you do this?

Balance your gut microbiome. Keep constipation at bay. And your efforts to get rid of fibroids and your body fat will move in the right direction.

Super brilliant advice no. 1- Have fresh fermented foods that provide you with diverse gut bacteria. Super brilliant advice no. 2- Have fibre rich foods that feed the good microbes.

At Nature Nudge Wellness, we make fresh fermented probiotic foods and drinks right here in the little red dot. We try to simply explain health concepts, so jointly, we can work towards better health on our own. We did our job by educating and by making the right products for you. You take the next step if you wish.

Look for us at www.naturenudge.com or you can reach us at +65-82003689.

Signing off for today

Bhavani Suryavanshee- Director, Nature Nudge Wellness

References

1. Sohn GS, Cho S, Kim YM, Cho CH, Kim MR, Lee SR. Current medical treatment of uterine fibroids. Obstet Gynecol Sci. 2018;61(2):192-201. doi:5468/ogs.2018.61.2.192
2. Sun K, Xie Y, Zhao N, Li Z. A case-control study of the relationship between visceral fat and the development of uterine fibroids. Exp Ther Med. 2019;18(1):404-410. doi:3892/etm.2019.7575
3. He Y, Zeng Q, Dong S, Qin L, Li G, Wang P. Associations between uterine fibroids and lifestyles including diet, physical activity and stress: a case-control study in China. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2013;22(1):109-117. doi:6133/apjcn.2013.22.1.07
4. https://www.ifm.org/news-insights/video-approach-fibroids/