IS A PLANT-BASED DIET GOOD FOR FIBROIDS?

Fibroids are a common reproductive health concern for women. Does your diet have anything to do with fibroids? And if so, is a plant-based diet good for fibroids?

Fibroids are benign tumors that can affect women before menopause. According to the National Institute of Health, as many as 80 percent of women get them before the age of 50.

Normally, it’s not a dangerous condition and may be treated with medication and diet. Just how your diet plays a role in most other conditions, so does it affect fibroids.

In some cases, fibroids can cause quite a lot of problems and ultimately lead to the removal of the uterus through surgery. Also, when they get problematic, you can develop a series of symptoms that can interfere with your day to day life. This is why it’s all the more important to eat well and ensure that fibroids don’t cause any havoc in your body.

What are Fibroids?

Fibroids or Uterine Fibroids refers to non-cancerous growth of cells in or around the uterus. Normally, these are very small, almost as small as a pea. However, in some cases, they can get pretty big, as big as your fist.

When they are small, they don’t show any symptoms, so you might not even know you have them. There are other medical terms for fibroids too, including myomas, leiomyomas, uterine myomas, and fibromas.

Types of Fibroids

Based on the location of the fibroids, they are divided into several types:

Intramural Fibroids: These occur on the walls of the uterus and are the most common of all types. These are susceptible to grow big and fill the womb.

Subserosal Fibroids: These grow outside the uterus and can grow big enough to make one side of the womb look bigger.

Pedunculated Fibroids: This type of fibroid has a stem attached to the tumor and essentially serves as it supports.

Submucosal Fibroids: These are rare and occur in the middle muscles of the uterus.

Fibroids Symptoms

Fibroids’ symptoms vary by the type of fibroids you have and, most importantly, the size. As mentioned before, you may not experience symptoms when the tumor is small or undetectable.

The common symptoms associated with fibroids include:

Heavy periods with clots in the blood
Lower back or pelvis pain
Frequent urination
Difficulty emptying bladder
Severe menstrual cramps
Longer periods
Swelling in the abdomen
Constipation
Leg pain
Pain during intercourse

Submucosal fibroids can also make it difficult to conceive. So if you have trouble conceiving, large submucosal fibroids could be a potential cause.

What Causes Fibroids?

We don’t know exactly what causes fibroids, but doctors and scientists have managed to find a few possible explanations.

Hormones

The hormones estrogen and progesterone may contribute to the growth of fibroids in the uterus. These hormones are produced by the ovaries, and their purpose is to regenerate uterus lining. However, it’s unclear how they or what makes them cause this unusual growth in the uterus.

Pregnancy

Pregnancy often leads to hormonal imbalances, and as a result, estrogen and progesterone in the body increases. This increases the risk of fibroids development in the uterus while pregnant.

Family History

Are fibroids genetic? Possibly, as research shows that family history of fibroids increases the risk. If your mother or a sister has fibroids, your chances of getting them are higher too.

Other Risk Factors

There could be other factors contributing to the growth of fibroids in addition to the above factors:

Vitamin D deficiency
A diet lower in vegetables and fruits
Obesity
Increased consumption of alcohol
High blood pressure
Smoking

It’s important to note that there’s more research needed to confirm these risk factors, as existing research is not conclusive.

Is a Plant-based Diet Good for Fibroids?

There’s quite a lot of room for research when it comes to diet and fibroids, but the existing research does show the benefits of a vegetarian diet for preventing and treating fibroids. In contrast, research also indicates that meat can increase the risk and also increase the severity of fibroids.

Dr. Michael Greger of NutritionFacts.org explores the various research studies in this video about the best diet for fibroids. He shows extensive research done regarding vegetarian diets in connection with breast cancer. Those results can be applied to fibroids, given that they focus on estrogen.

It’s clear that a vegetarian diet leads to lower levels of estrogen in the bloodstream in women. That could possibly prevent fibrosis in the first place, or shrink the size in those women who already have them.

The apparent reason behind the lower levels of estrogen is that most of it ends up in the waste. In comparison, women who mostly eat meat have less estrogen expelled out of their bodies. As we know already, estrogen is the main hormone at play in the development of these non-cancerous tumors in the uterus.

He also cites a few studies that point towards polluted fat, mainly amongst fish eaters, that contribute to fibroids. Environmental pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) are to be blamed. Dark fish meat, in particular, puts women at a higher risk of fibroids through these environmental pollutants.

A research study from 1999, published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, found that green vegetables have a protective effect against fibroids. So women who eat more green vegetables in their diets reduce the risk of fibroids. Similarly, those who have them may be able to halt their growth, simply by increasing the number of such vegetables in their diets.

Targeting Possible Risk Factors

If we look closely, a plant-based diet targets many of the possible risk factors of developing fibroids. In the same video about Fibroids, Dr. Michael Greger mentions excess body fat also being a possible contributor. A plant-based diet can help shed the extra fat which stores those harmful environmental pollutants such as PCB.

Obesity is considered a contributing risk factor, so by reducing body weight, women can protect themselves from fibroids. Similarly, research has shown that high blood pressure can increase the likelihood of fibroids or increase their growth. With a plant-based diet, it’s very much possible to reverse hypertension.

This review study from the International Journal of Fertility and Sterility also confirms some of the benefits of a plant-based diet against fibroids. It discusses the effect of meat on the onset and growth of fibroids in the uterus.

It also relates to stress and less physical activity to be a potential risk for fibroids. A plant-based diet can also help with reducing stress and anxiety.

So, all in all, incorporating more plant-based foods in your diet can prevent or treat fibroids by essentially eliminating the things that exacerbate the situation.

Treatment: Will Fibroids Go Away?

Fibroids, once diagnosed, are usually treated with medication. While the medication does work in reducing the size of fibroids and controlling the symptoms, often, these drugs have side effects. If you continue to take these medications for a long time, you risk side effects, such as hypoestrogenism.

So what other options are there? Herbal therapy and acupuncture are also used for treating fibroids, at least to the extent of controlling the symptoms.

Traditional Chinese herbs have been useful to some extent, but much like medication, there are side effects. Some herbs contain dangerous contaminants such as mercury or arsenic. On the other hand, there is not much proof about acupuncture being beneficial either.

Therefore, the obvious choice, of course, seems to be diet and exercise. This is not merely based on assumption, but based on studies and real-life examples. This story published over at Forks Over Knives is a promising example of how a plant-based diet can treat even the nastiest of fibroids.

The account of this woman who was ready to get a hysterectomy shows that serious changes in diet can really make the difference. Since her diet has some meat consumption, it only took giving that up to see tangible results.

It’s also important to discuss menopause when talking about fibroids. Fibroids can reduce on their own after menopause. Since menopause results in a drop of estrogen, it consequently shrinks the fibroids in the uterus as their estrogen supply line is cut. Of course, if you’re diagnosed at an early age, you cannot wait till menopausal age.

In some cases, fibroids may just disappear on their own. Doctors usually monitor fibroids for a while after diagnosis to see if they are shrinking on their own. Depending on the size, your doctor might not start you on medications right away.

What to Eat When You Have Fibrosis?

Is a plant-based diet good for fibrosis? Yes, but it can be made even better. Some foods, in particular, can help immensely in shrinking fibrosis and reducing the often disturbing symptoms like the heavy menstrual flow and severe cramps.

Eat the Right Veggies and Fruits

Research has found that cruciferous vegetables are good for treating fibroids. So you want to add more broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower in your diet.

Tomatoes and apples are also helpful for this specific purpose. These two fruits can be easily increased in your diet.

Reduces Sugars

Eliminating sugars and processed carbs might also help. It will also ensure that you don’t gain excess weight, as that can exacerbate your situation with fibroids. Besides, the best plant-based is the one rich in whole foods rather than sugars and processed foods.

More Phytoestrogens

Phytoestrogens are plant estrogens that help regulate estrogen in your body. Eating more foods rich in phytoestrogens may help reduce the excess amounts of estrogen in your bloodstream, ultimately reducing the supply of estrogen to the fibroids.

So which foods have phytoestrogens? Whole grains like wheat, barley, oats, are known for containing phytoestrogens. Flax seeds, mung beans, dried beans, and soybeans can also increase your phytoestrogen intake.

Drink More Green Tea

A study found green tea extracts to help in reducing the size of fibroids. This controlled group study showed that not only does green tea stop further growth, it may just also shrink the fibroids. Therefore, it’s beneficial to drink green tea almost daily if you have fibroids.

FAQs

Are Fibroids Painful?

Fibroids can result in pain and discomfort if they are very large. For instance, they can result in pelvic pain in specific spots. That pain can also become chronic over time. Some women may also experience more severe cramps when they get their periods. The pelvic pain from fibroids can also occur during sex.

Fibroids are also known to result in leg and back pain. This is because the uterus pushes against your lower back, causing pain. As many as 60 percent of women with fibroids have lower back pain.

Do Fibroids Make You Fat?

Fibroids may not necessarily make you fat, but it can increase the size of your abdomen. Your abdomen may look swollen and resemble a baby bump from pregnancy. The bigger the fibroid gets, the heavier it becomes, so you may also see an increase in your body weight.

Do Fibroids Bleed?

Fibroids can result in abnormal vaginal bleeding. Women usually experience heavy bleeding often with clots if they have fibroids, specifically large fibroids. Some women even experience bleeding in between periods.

Do Vegans Get Fibroids?

A vegan diet, which is the most restrictive form of a plant-based diet, may significantly reduce the risk of fibroids. This is because it’s completely devoid of meat, which is one of the risk factors for fibroids.

Vegans generally eat foods that may prevent the onset of fibroids or reduce their size. That said, other risk factors can result in fibroids, so it’s difficult to say that vegan women are immune to fibroids.

Wrap Up

Is a plant-based diet good for fibroids? It sure does look like it! But we clearly need even more research about this, especially about the exact causes of fibroids.

Fibroids are not dangerous but should be taken seriously, especially if you plan on having children. It doesn’t usually cause complications during pregnancy, but you still want to ensure that they don’t grow big.

Diet will also play a major role in preventing anemia, which is a complication that sometimes results from blood loss due to fibroids.