When I was going through my struggle with adenomyosis, I could not get any relief from any medication that the doctors had given me. Believe me, I was put on a bunch of them. At the time, I had been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (which was incorrect as I found out many years later). I finally got to the point of looking into holistic treatments since these medicines weren’t helping me.
About 8 years into my ordeal with adenomyosis, I came across an article about the health benefits of flaxseed, an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids. I was so impressed that I immediately ordered some and added it to all kinds of foods, from spaghetti to yogurt. To my shock and amazement, my symptoms began to improve!
This led to my thesis work for my Master’s degree in Holistic Nutrition. I ended up publishing my thesis titled “The Health Benefits of Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Inflammatory Bowel Disease”. Remember, at the time I thought I was suffering from irritable bowel syndrome.
Although my symptoms had improved, they hadn’t gone away completely. Seventeen years into my struggle, I had a hysterectomy. The pathology report showed that I had deep, diffuse adenomyosis with possible fibroids. My symptoms stopped completely after this surgery. I was shocked to find out that I had actually had adenomyosis and NOT irritable bowel syndrome!
Recent research is now showing that there is a link between endometriosis symptoms and low intake of omega-3 fatty acids. Although as of yet I have not found studies on adenomyosis and diet, endometriosis is a similar disorder, and in fact the two disorders are often times seen together.
In 2010, an article was published by Stacey Missmer from Harvard University entitled “A prospective study of dietary fat consumption and endometriosis risk”. They analyzed 12 years of data from the Nurses’ Health Study II. They found that increased intake of omega-3 fats were associated with an decreased occurrence of endometriosis. In addition, those who had the highest intake of trans-fats were 48% more likely to be diagnosed with endometriosis. Their conclusion states that this “provides another disease association that supports efforts to remove trans fat from hydrogenated oils from the food supply.”¹
There are many other studies that have been done recently that have come up with similar conclusions. Therefore, if you have either of these disorders, it might behoove you to remove trans fats completely from your diet and increase your consumption of omega-3 fatty acids.
¹Source: Pub Med: Missmer, Stacey A. et al. “A prospective study of dietary fat consumption and endometriosis risk.” Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, published in Human Reproduction (Impact Factor):4.67), 03/2010; 25(6):1528-35.
Adenomyosis Fighters 