Uterine fibroids are something a lot of women have to deal with at some time in their lives. Some might not even know they have one or more, and some have to think about strategies for treating uterine fibroids. While treatment involves either medication or surgery there are ways women can manage them and even improve their symptoms with lifestyle changes that include managing stress, regular exercise and improving their diet. With a better understanding you can choose to use a natural approach to help you feel better, a medical approach or a combination of the two. Here are a few dos and don’ts when having uterine fibroids that can help you.
Let’s start with the don’ts!
- Avoid eating a diet that has a lot of dairy that is high fat, a lot of red meats and a lot of processed foods. You should also limit or cut out caffeine and alcohol, if that is hard start lowering your amounts gradually. These things have been proven to make fibroids worse.
- You should also avoid eating a lot of sugar as this has been shown to have links to making you more at risk of developing fibroids.
- Stay on the couch and avoid exercise. Women who workout have lower odds of fibroids developing. In a study of women who did 7 hours a week that included things like walks, dancing and jogging, they has the lowest chance.
- Do not smoke as well as being bad for fibroids and your general health it has been linked to making period cramps worse and it lowers the oxygen levels that are getting to that part of the body.
Now with the dos!
- Eat lots of vegetables and fruits and whole foods in your diet. Things like cruciferous vegetables like cabbage and broccoli, and fruits like tomatoes and apples are great and could even lower the risk of a woman getting fibroids. Wholegrains are best and when possible organic.
- Work on managing your stress using techniques like meditation, tai chi, massage or yoga if that helps.
- Before you take supplements talk to your doctor as some can be helpful, like Vitamin D. However something like raspberry leaf tea you might have been recommended to try for PMS pain is not good for fibroids.
- Focus on maintaining a healthy blood pressure as often women with high blood pressure might also develop fibroids. Blood pressure can be controlled with medication if necessary as well as diet and exercise.
- If your fibroids are causing you to have especially painful periods you can try lying down with a pillow under your legs to elevate them, or on your side and lifting your knees to your chest.
Summary
With the above strategies for treating uterine fibroids you can help prevent them, or if you have them better manage the symptoms you have. If you still need help you can also talk to your doctor about medication options and for a small number of women surgery might be a step you decide to take.