Not much is known about this disease, but by some estimates 15% of American Women suffer from endometriosis. The symptoms can range from nothing to severe cramping, bleeding and internal scarring. What happens is that because the endometrial lining of the uterus is meant to be shed every month it is not tacked down like other tissue, such as lung, liver or kidney. The other thing about this tissue is that if it does migrate to other organs it still retains its identity as endometrial tissue. If it attaches to the kidney it doesn’t help the kidney function. Instead it grows throughout the menstrual cycle as if it were still in the uterus. Then when menstruation happens it cramps and bleeds just like the tissue in the uterus. Unfortunately is does not let go of the organ it is connected to and disappear. Instead it starts the growing process all over again.

Because the triggering mechanism for this phenomenon isn’t known there are many theories. One of the most believable is that this is an immune deficiency. This is because multiple studies say that women with endometriosis tend to also have diseases such as allergies, and frequent infections. There is some evidence that boosting your immune system can slow down the progression of the disease, as well as get rid of some of the symptoms. My method for boosting the immune system begins with the Enriching Gifts Plant Enzymes. Enzymes improve digestion and help clean out the blood stream of things such as uric acid, cholesterol and food particles. This in turn takes the pressure off the immune system so it can do its job better. Another product that I find helpful for immune systems is the Enriching Gifts Sterol Max. Plant sterols build up the immune system more directly. They encourage the production of immune system cells, especially the T-Cells.

Another area that all health practitioners focus on with endometriosis is the estrogen levels. The way meat and dairy products are produced in our country increases the amount of hormones, including estrogen that is absorbed from eating these products. There is abundant evidence that lowering the estrogen levels in the body has an impact on the severity of the symptoms. There are several herbal products that can help with this. They include Black Cohosh, Dang Gui, and Dandelion root, Burdock, Yellow Dock, Red Clover and Soy. All of them work slightly differently, so check with someone that understands the individual products before trying them.

Reducing the pain and cramping is frequently appreciated by women with endometriosis. This is usually the symptom that they notice the most. Herbs that help in this area are Valerian, Chamomile, Cramp Bark, Wild Yam, Feverfew, and Yarrow. What I use for any time of pain and inflammation is Enriching Gifts Aloe Ace-Max. For me having one thing I reach for no matter the cause of the pain and inflammation makes life a lot easier. Aloe is a natural anti-inflammatory and helps injuries heal quickly. Enriching Gifts Aloe Ace-Max is a very concentrated form of Aloe.

Because there is some evidence that endometriosis may be triggered by a weak immune system health practitioners are advising that women with this problem to look at strengthening their overall health. They are recommending eating a healthy diet of organic foods, including a lot of fruits and vegetables. They are also saying that we need a good multi-vitamin to ensure we are getting the proper nutrition. With depleted soils we can’t always depend on our diets alone. The vitamin formula I take every day is Enriching Gifts Complete Vitamins Plus. These are potent enough to support good health, without getting into areas where you need to be monitored by a doctor. Another common suggestion is to increase your anti-oxidants. For that I reach for Enriching Gifts Metabolic Complete. These contain more anti-oxidants than you can get from most single source supplements without getting into those dangerous levels where you need doctor supervision.

One book suggested that getting rid of all overall toxins can also lower your estrogen levels. To do this you want to make sure your liver and kidneys are working well. One recommendation they gave was to increase your magnesium intake. The Enriching Gifts Complete Vitamins Plus contains 250mg of magnesium, just shy of the 350 this doctor was recommending. Another way increasing your reduction of toxins in the body is Enriching Gifts Daily Detoxification. This product works with the liver, kidneys and digestive tract to carry toxins out of your system. It was formulated in this way because many products that leave the digestive tract out of the mix tend to constipate people, thereby defeating the purpose of detoxification. Once the toxins are pulled out of the cells and processed by the liver and kidneys you want to make sure they have a fast exit out of the body and are not lingering to be reabsorbed.

Forty years ago the common treatment for endometriosis was a hysterectomy. This isn’t very helpful if you want to have a child. Now the surgical treatment is laparoscopic surgery. This is used to cut away the individual spots of tissue wherever they are can be found. This has been shown to be a temporary solution in that the tissue tends to grow back in the same place. There has been moderate success with this technique for those that want to get pregnant, in that the time to get pregnant can be shorter than the time it takes for the tissue to grow back.

As with all the issues we have discussed they key seems to be good nutrition, exercise, and the proper supplementation to ensure good overall health. With those keys the body seems to know how to deal with issues such as endometriosis. The problem is that this method takes a lot of time, and we humans tend to get impatient. If you can’t wait for the slow process to work and need to do something more quickly at least consider following up with a lifestyle that will help rebuild your body afterwards.