easing the pain of endometriosis.(Brief Article)

Once a medical rarity, endometriosis has become fairly common, but its still poorly understood. Up to 25 percent of American women in their 30s and 40s have this disease, which is characterized by severe menstrual cramps, pain during intercourse, chronic pelvic and low back pain and heavy menstrual bleeding. Some women even experience nausea, vomiting, painful bowel movements and constipation. Researchers believe that several decades of environmental exposure to toxins (including the dioxin found in tampons) and the malabsorption of nutrients (from long-term use of antibiotics and steroids) has caused a prevelance of endometriosis. In extreme situations, misplaced endometrial tissue forms cysts, or lesions, in the ovaries, bladder or vagina (and in rare cases, the lungs or other tissue), resulting in agonizing pain during periods and intercourse. And a full one-third of women with endometriosis have difficulty conceiving.

In endometriosis, the mucous membrane cells that make up the inner lining of the uterus (known as the endometrium) also grow within the pelvic cavity. One theory holds that endometrial cells are being unnaturally shed into the fallopian tubes--a kind of reverse menstruation. In some women, the immune system overreacts to these abnormally located endometrial cells, "attacking" them by increasing the local inflammation, resulting in endometriosis.

Why these cells grow outside the uterus is unclear. The prevailing beliefs, however, point to a combination of inherited genetic inclination, lowered immune function and the effects of excess estrogen from overproduction by the ovaries, liver malfunction or exposure to environmental toxins.

Tori Hudson, N.D., medical director of A Woman's Time, an integrative medical clinic for women in Portland, Ore., offers encouragement to women with endometriosis. She stresses that diet and exercise can improve immunity, reduce inflammation and balance estrogen levels. One place to start is with a vegetarian diet that's low in fat and high in fiber.

Good ways to include fiber in your diet are eating plenty of fruits, vegetables and whole grains and adding ground flaxseed or flaxseed oil to salads and cereals. Flaxseeds contain anti-inflammatory essential fatty acids and are high in lignans, a type of fiber found to help estrogen-related conditions. Cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, ...