If you are a senior patient with endometriosis,
You may have heard such a point of view:
Patients with endometriosis (including cysts, adenomyosis, etc.) should not eat too much red meat.
But there are also different views:
The doctor didn’t say that, I eat these red meats (beef, pork) normally without feeling abnormal.
And the idea of cutting down on red meat is that—
(1) Eating red meat can induce endometriosis
(2) Red meat is rich in estrogen
(3) Red meat can induce and exacerbate inflammation
so, who is right and who is wrong?
Olive Tree Life Little Olive has checked some information and shares the following views with you:
1. What is red meat?
First look at what is red meat?
Traditionally, the term “red meat” has been used to refer to beef and some types of lamb and pork.
2. Does red meat cause too much estrogen?
First point of view:
Studies have shown that endometriosis is closely related to diet .
Some studies suggest that high amounts of fat in meats like beef and lamb prompt your body to produce chemicals called prostaglandins, which can lead to more estrogen production, and this excess estrogen can lead to excess in utero Membrane tissue growth.
This theory represents that red meat causes excessive estrogenic growth in endometriosis.
Here’s some information I checked that makes some sense:
But this argument is more applicable to animals raised under unhealthy conditions, i.e. grains fed with antibiotics, pesticides, hormones and other chemical additives, and one has to admit that some farms use growth hormone for Animals to make them gain weight faster (with the aim of producing and selling more meat!).
This can increase the amount of extra unhealthy hormones in the body, making endometriosis worse . However, that doesn’t mean that all red meat can’t be eaten.
My little advice – we should eat meat from healthy pasture-raised animals so that our estrogen levels are not raised extra. Look for more organic labels when you buy these meats.
If you’re not sure if the source of red meat is safe, limit to three times a week.
Conclusion: Healthy animals (cows), fed on grass or forage and raised naturally (without the use of drugs or hormones), do not cause problems, while animals raised on factory farms are indeed harmful to our health and are rich in growth hormones, chemicals and antibiotics.
3. Can red meat induce endometriosis?
There’s plenty of solid evidence for this, too: Various studies have shown that endometriosis is strongly associated with a diet rich in red meat and deficient in green vegetables and fresh fruit.
Back in 2004, a study compared 504 healthy women with 504 other women with laparoscopically diagnosed endometriosis.
The results showed that subjects who ate red meat daily had twice the risk of developing endometriosis, while those who regularly ate seven or more servings of fruits and vegetables per week had a higher risk of developing endometriosis. The odds are 40% lower.
This article suggests that a diet rich in red meat is associated with a higher risk of endometriosis.
A more recent study also seems to confirm this:
A study conducted in 2018 was based on data collected in the Nurses’ Health Study II between 1991 and 2013. The subject of the study: A larger survey of major chronic disease risk factors affecting women’s chronic disease.
First, it demonstrated a statistical association between endometriosis risk and red meat consumption, but in this case the comparison was between women who ate more than two servings of red meat per day.
That is to say, if you eat red meat, it is not deadly. You only eat it 2 or 3 times a week, and a few bites each time does not mean that eating red meat will aggravate your endometriosis.
But sisters who eat often still need to reduce the frequency, not to say that they can’t eat at all.
Based on the evidence from various studies, it is still necessary to reduce the frequency.
Opinion: Healthier food and lifestyle choices are more effective than red meat alone. Scientific research shows that smoking, sedentary, processed foods, and drinking sugar-sweetened beverages increase your chances of developing chronic disease, whether you have endometriosis or not.
4. Does red meat increase inflammation?
We talked about a possibility just now that red meat can increase the level of inflammatory prostaglandins.
First let’s look at what is prostaglandin? What does it have to do with inflammation?
Prostaglandins are molecules that come in both anti-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory forms.
Divided into the following three:
PG1: It is (usually) anti-inflammatory and consists of Omega-6 fatty acids;
PG2: it is inflammatory, but consists of saturated fat;
PG3: It is anti-inflammatory and consists of Omega-3 fatty acids.
In our patients with endometriosis, the level of inflammation is usually high . The reason is the pain and inflammation that endometriotic lesions, nodules and cysts bring to us.
Eating too much red meat can exacerbate these inflammations and reduce the omega3 and omega6 imbalance.
Therefore, to sum up the above, sisters with endometriosis still need to limit a little, about 3 times a week.
As usual, prioritize eating more vegetables, cut down on sugar, balance your glycemic index and try to add as many relaxing exercises as possible!