Xenoestrogens and Fibroids: What You Need to Know

I wrote a pretty popular blog post about Fibroids a short while ago. I felt I needed to follow up on that post, due to the feedback I’ve received. As you probably know, Black women have uterine fibroids at a higher rate than other demographics of women. Fibroids have been linked to fluctuations in the body’s hormones and estrogen dominance. Black women have fibroids at a higher rate, at a younger age, and more severely than any other demographic of women.

Disclaimer:
I am by NO means a medical professional. I’m anything but, because if I remember correctly, I struggled through [FAILED] high school biology. So nothing I share on this post should be considered medical advice. Instead, you can choose to view it as my personal experience and journey.

Some reports link the chemicals in hair relaxers to the high growth of fibroids in the black community. There are also links to Xenoestrogens, which mimic estrogen. The goal is to have a balance of progesterone and estrogen, and this can be substantially impacted by exposing the body to Xenoestrogens. All of those factors can exacerbate the growth of fibroids.

I’ve had fibroids for twenty-one years, and I found out when I was pregnant with my son. The fibroids were very problematic during my pregnancy, but they didn’t cause too many problems after I gave birth to him. I always knew there was a possibility that they would come back and come back with a vengeance they did about six years ago. Feeling like you were dying every month was the worse of it, and I believe that to be over now.

Although the dying monthly is no longer an issue, I know my hormones are out of wack because fibroid’s usually present due to estrogen dominance. That tends to throw your progesterone out of balance. Ideally, the goal is to get those two back in alignment. That is particularly challenging due to constant exposure to Xenoestrogens.

Typically women get hysterectomies to address the fibroids; However, that does not solve the issue of estrogen dominance. To me, that’s a cause and effect issue. Removing the fibroids addresses the effect but not the cause. That was one of the reasons I opted out of going that route. Additionally, I always irrationally thought if I got surgery, my internals would fall like the blocks in the game Jenga. I prefaced this by saying it was irrationally, save the judgment for ya’ mammy. 😆😆😆

Anywho, the biggest challenge I am having now is trying to eliminate Xenoestrogens from my life. That’s because there are so many Xenoestrogens, and it is almost impossible to remove them all. So using a combination of minimizing, eliminating, and detoxing is a part of my strategy. Below is a list of foods that detox and lower estrogen levels:

Flax seeds
Sprouts
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Kohlrabi
Cabbage
Kale
Bok Choy

In addition to detoxing your body of harmful Xenoestrogens, you should try to avoid certain foods as well. Below is a list of those foods:

Dairy
Meat
Chicken that is not organic
Alcohol
Excessive caffeine
High-fat, processed meats.
Any highly processed foods.
Added sugar of all types
Salt
High sodium foods.
Soda and other sugary drinks

I have eliminated or substantially limited a lot of the above foods. I still drink 1 cup of coffee a day, sugar in moderation, organic chicken occasionally, and I eat cheese as my only dairy indulgence. WELP, can’t give up everything.

Environmental products can also be Xenoestrogens, which can be in beauty products, shampoo, and more. Below is a list of things you should avoid:

Butylated hydroxyanisole, BHA (food preservative)
Erythrosine (food coloring FD&C Red No. 3)
Bisphenol A, BPA (polycarbonate plastic denoted as #7, #3 or PC on the recycling symbol)
Polychlorinated biphenyls, PCBs (electrical oils, lubricants, adhesives, paints)
Ethinylestradiol (birth control products)
4- Methylbenyzlidene camphor, 4-MBC (sunscreen lotions)
Parabens, commonly known as methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, and butylparaben (cosmetics, lotions, and shampoos)

There are so many things you must do to try to avoid estrogen dominance. All the while, there still needs to be a balance of progesterone. It is thought that you can help your body increase its own levels of this hormone by including the following in your diet:

Fiber, like Oats, Quinoa, and flax
Zink, which is in pumpkin, squash, and seafood
Vitamin B-6, which is in seafood, turkey, fish, sunflower seeds
Magnesium, which is in spinach, fish, dark chocolate, nuts, and seeds
Vitamin C, which you can find in yellow peppers, oranges, broccoli, kiwi, and kale
Vitamin D3

So I have been eliminating things that increase estrogen and increasing foods that encourage my body to produce more progesterone. I am a believer in the importance of diet, so if I can balance hormones with diet, I am going to give it the old college try.

My goal is to “come at” the fibroids in different ways in hopes of continuing to minimize them. So, in addition to the above and castor oil treatments, I’ve added some supplements as well. I am taking:

Omega-3 because there’s no way I could ever eat enough fish.
B-Complex with B-1, B-2, B-6, B-12, Folate, and Biotin
B-6 – I eat turkey, like twice per week at the most. So a supplement is best to help increase B-6.
Vitamin D3- because quarantine and I’m not ochea’ in these sunny Covid skreets. 🥴🥴🥴
Vitamin C has been my go-to” for decades.
Indole – 3- Carbinol because I like cabbage and broccoli but not as much as I need to if I want to benefit from them.

I additionally practice Sacral Chakra meditation and balancing. I keep you all posted about my progress.

If you are battling fibroids, I would love to know what you are doing holistically, and naturally, to minimize the negative impact of living with fibroids, on your life. Reach out, let’s chat on FB, IG, and Twitter. Until then, Happy FIBROID Healing.

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