Endometriosis & Wine

A spilling glass of red wine

So, we’ve all heard that a glass of wine can be good for you.  Healthy, actually.  Then we’ve all heard that it can be harmful.  Throw in the mix that some of us suffer from Endometriosis…and that many people try to cut alcohol out of their lifestyle to prevent flare-ups and symptoms.  Alcohol is not only harmful to our bodies and livers, but contains a lot of sugar, as well as wreaks havoc on our system.  But I like me some vino!

Cutting out alcohol all together is likely your safest bet if you’re wanting to live cleaner and healthier.  The liver filters out toxins, as well as estrogen, from the body.  As you may have read elsewhere, Endometriosis is an estrogen-fed and reliant disease.  If our livers cannot properly filter out estrogen, we are simply empowering our illness.  Alcohol is also high in sugar…and we’ve previously discussed how sugar may increase your Endometriosis pain and flare-ups.  Studies have shown that alcohol may also increase estrogen levels due to phytoestrogens in alcohol…plant estrogens that  mimic human estrogen (…wait…I didn’t know that. Crap.)

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Endometriosis & Iron Levels

two iron dumbbells
(…no, not that kind of iron)

So, if you’re reading this you probably already know a little bit about Endometriosis.  Recently at our support group meeting, the question of iron levels and anemia came up.   With all that bleeding, can we suffer from anemia or an iron deficiency?

And, again, the topic of iron levels and Endo came up at our Endometriosis Awareness & Support Walk: could the blood left in my pelvic region from shedding Endo have caused the “abnormally high” iron levels during a blood test?

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