Is there an endometriosis Diet?

There is no one specific diet for endometriosis. No food, diet, or supplement will “cure” endometriosis, but it can help manage symptoms and is great for overall health and well-being. Your diet needs to be individualized to your specific needs, and it can take quite a bit of experimentation to find what works for you.

Some studies have found that a few things seem to help manage symptoms of endometriosis. Most of the strategies help to eliminate any food intolerances and influence inflammation and estrogen (Thomas & Natarajan, 2013). Some of the dietary strategies might include:

Gluten free diet (Marziali et al., 2012)
Low FODMAP diet (Moore et al., 2017)
Anti-inflammatory diet (Leonardi et al., 2020)
Fruits, vegetables (“preferably organic”), and whole grains (Ghonemy & El Sharkawy, 2017; Harris et al., 2018)
Antioxidants, such as vitamins A, C, D, and E as well as B vitamins (Darling et al., 2013; Ghonemy & El Sharkawy, 2017; Huijs & Nap, 2020; Thomas & Natarajan, 2013) [Caveat- one study stated that vitamins from vitamin rich food and not supplements were noted with the difference (Darling et al., 2013)]
Anti-inflammatories such as green tea, resveratrol, fish oil, healthy fatty acids (omega-3), N-acetylcysteine, quercitin, curcumin, parthenium, nicotinamide, 5‐methyltetrahydrofolate (Ghonemy & El Sharkawy, 2017; Huijs & Nap, 2020; Leonardi et al., 2020; Signorile, Viceconte, & Baldi, 2018)
High fiber diet (Thomas & Natarajan, 2013)
Rule out food intolerances and individualize your diet (Karlsson, Patel, & Premberg, 2020; Kronemyer, 2019; Leonardi et al., 2020)
“Balanced diet with adequate vitamins and minerals, reduction of alcohol, sugar, and caffeine intake, exclusion of fructose or lactose intolerance” (Halis, Mechsner, & Ebert, 2010)
The consumption of soy is controversial in endometriosis; however, Huijs & Nap (2020) note that “the amount of phytoestrogens present in soy is relatively low, making the effect of avoiding soy on suppressing endometriosis-related symptoms questionable”. They conclude that “there is insufficient evidence to advise women with endometriosis to avoid soy” (Huijs & Nap, 2020).

Karlsson, Patel, and Premberg (2020) summed it up best by stating that “participants experienced decreased symptoms and increased well-being after adopting an individually-adapted diet”; therefore, it may take some experimenting to find what works best for you as an individual.

*Interstitial cystitis is often called the “evil twin” of endometriosis and its symptoms can be greatly influenced by diet (see Interstitial Cystitis).