Anti-Inflammatory Diet for Endometriosis: What the Evidence Says and How I Actually Eat
Updated: Oct 12
In 2024, my body stopped coping.
I'd had my endometriosis surgery at the end of 2023, and I thought the worst was behind me. It wasn't. Burnout from work, SIBO, parasites, a gut that wasn't absorbing properly, and an immune system that simply had nothing left to give. Almost everything I ate left me in pain for hours, and mostly for days. The nights were often the worst part.
Then my tests came back showing high levels of inflammation in my body. And something clicked. These weren't separate problems. They were feeding each other, and my endometriosis was sitting right in the middle of it all.
I decided I'd had enough. The place I started was my plate.
This post is everything I wish someone had handed me back then: what an anti-inflammatory diet actually is, what the research can and can't tell us, exactly what I did (including what I'd do differently), and how to start without turning your whole life upside down.
Disclaimer: The information shared on this website is for general informational, educational and inspirational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Always seek the advice of a qualified healthcare provider with any questions about a medical condition, or before making changes to your diet, lifestyle, medication or supplements.
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The short answer
An anti-inflammatory diet for endometriosis means eating mostly whole foods (vegetables, legumes, fish, eggs, olive oil, herbs and spices) and cutting back on ultra-processed food, sugar and alcohol. It won't cure endometriosis, and the research is still early and mostly small. But studies suggest diet changes may help some women, especially with gut symptoms like bloating, and many women with endo say food makes a real difference to how they feel. It did for me.
What an anti-inflammatory diet actually is
Inflammation is your body's repair system. When you cut your finger, it's the redness and swelling that help you heal. The trouble starts when that system never really switches off. Endometriosis is an inflammatory condition, so it makes sense that so many of us look at what might be adding fuel to that fire.
An anti-inflammatory diet isn't one official plan. It's a way of eating built around foods that research links to lower inflammation, and away from foods linked to more of it. In practice it looks a lot like the Mediterranean diet:
Plenty of vegetables and fruit, in as many colours as you can manage
Legumes, beans and lentils
Oily fish like salmon, sardines and mackerel, which are rich in omega-3 fats
Eggs and good-quality meat or fish for protein
Extra virgin olive oil as your main fat
Herbs and spices like turmeric, ginger and garlic
Nuts and seeds, such as walnuts and flaxseed
And less of: ultra-processed food, added sugar, fried and fast food, and alcohol.
That's it. No superfoods, no powders, nothing you need to order from the other side of the world. Real food, cooked simply.
What the research says about an anti-inflammatory diet for endometriosis
I want to be honest with you here, because you deserve better than the "this food heals endo" posts all over the internet.
The research on diet and endometriosis is real, growing, and genuinely promising. It is also still early. Most studies are small, many have no comparison group, and it's hard to run a proper trial on something as personal as what people eat. Even the main European endometriosis guideline (ESHRE, 2022) says there's no direct proof that diet treats endometriosis, while still saying women can be encouraged to eat healthily and cut back on alcohol.
Here's where things stand:
What was studied | What the research found | How strong the evidence is |
Changing diet overall | A 2021 review of 9 human studies found most reported symptom improvements, but only 2 were randomised trials and most had a moderate or high risk of bias. The authors felt a Mediterranean-style diet was a sensible choice because it's low-risk and good for general health. | Promising but limited |
Low FODMAP diet for gut symptoms | In a 2025 randomised trial of 35 women with endo and gut symptoms, 60% had a meaningful improvement in bloating, stools and tummy pain on a low FODMAP diet. | Emerging, and the best evidence we have so far |
Endo diet vs no change | A 2023 study of 62 women found those who changed their diet had less bloating after 6 months than those who didn't. Small and not randomised. | Emerging |
Gluten-free | In one Italian study, 75% of 207 women reported significantly less pain after 12 months gluten-free. There was no comparison group, so we can't know how much was the diet itself. | Limited |
Omega-3 and trans fats | A study following over 70,000 US nurses for 12 years found women who ate the most omega-3 were 22% less likely to be diagnosed with endo, and those eating the most trans fats (fried food, margarine, crackers) were 48% more likely. This is about risk of developing endo, not symptoms. | Association, not proof of cause |
Antioxidant supplements | A 2024 review of randomised trials found antioxidant supplements reduced period pain compared with placebo, but not ongoing pelvic pain. The studies had a moderate to high risk of bias. | Emerging, and about supplements rather than food |
What women report | In a survey of 484 women with endo, 44% used diet to manage symptoms. They rated it around 6.4 out of 10 for pain, and the biggest improvements they noticed were in gut symptoms and fatigue. | Self-reported |
So what does that mean for you? Food isn't a cure, and anyone promising that is selling something. But the evidence we do have points in a consistent direction, the risks of eating more whole foods are close to zero, and many women (me included) feel a real difference. That's reason enough to try, as long as you do it gently and keep your doctor in the loop.
What I did: I cut everything at once
I didn't do this gently. My health was in such a bad place that I felt I had no time to test one food at a time. So I went cold turkey and stopped all of it on the same day:
sugar, and even fruit for the first 8 weeks
alcohol and caffeine
gluten, bread and baked goods
dairy, including cheese
red meat, ham and processed meat
cooking oils and fried food
snacks and anything processed
The first thing I learned? There is sugar in almost everything. I had no idea how much of it I was eating, or how hard it would be to stop.
The first two weeks, honestly the first month, were really hard. It felt incredibly restrictive. I had no guide, no nutritionist (I couldn't afford one), and my doctors had nothing to tell me about food and endometriosis. I was learning as I went, fighting cravings for all the foods I'd eaten my whole life.
Why I wouldn't tell you to copy this
It worked for me, and I'd make the decision to change again in a heartbeat. But looking back, I wouldn't recommend doing it the way I did:
Cutting this much at once can leave gaps in your nutrition, especially if you're also cutting fruit and whole food groups. A dietitian can help you avoid that.
Being that strict was stressful in itself. And stress is the last thing an inflamed body needs.
If you think gluten might be a problem, get tested for coeliac disease first. The test only works while you're still eating gluten. Coeliac UK advises eating gluten every day for at least six weeks before testing.
If gut symptoms are your main issue, a low FODMAP diet is worth asking about, but it's designed to be done with a dietitian and it's meant to be temporary.
If you're where I was, desperate and in pain every day, I understand the urge to change everything overnight. But you'll get further with changes you can actually keep.
What changed for me, and when
This is my experience, not a promise of what will happen for you. Every body is different, and I made many changes at the same time, so I can't point to one food and say "that was it". But this is honestly how it went.
In the first few weeks: my gut pain stopped. For someone who'd spent every day, and many nights, in pain after eating, that alone felt like a miracle. My energy started coming back. The brain fog started to lift. My mood and anxiety began to ease too.
Around 2 months: everything I'd noticed got stronger. That's when I knew I was onto something, and it gave me the motivation to keep going. I also knew this was just the beginning. Healing my gut, dealing with SIBO and calming the inflammation behind my joint pain, endo pain, endo belly and bloating was going to take months, not weeks.
After about a year: my period came, and I barely had any cramps. I still can't quite believe that's my reality. I used to rely on very strong painkillers, while curling into a ball hoping to die, because the pain was unbearable and lasted days. Now I don't take any. If I feel some discomfort, I have a cup of raspberry leaf tea and it usually passes within about 20 minutes.
Please don't stop or change any medication because of my story. Talk to your doctor first. I'm sharing what happened to me, and endometriosis can behave very differently from one woman to the next.
On raspberry leaf tea: there aren't clinical trials showing it helps period pain. The European Medicines Agency recognises it as a traditional herbal remedy for minor menstrual cramps, based on long use rather than research. It's something that really works for me, and I'm telling you so honestly. It's worth a try ;)
How I eat now
Two years on, my day of eating is simple. No weighing, no counting, no complicated recipes. Just a few rules I've built around what my body likes.
Breakfast is my biggest meal, and it's always protein and veg. Usually eggs, avocado, something fermented (like sauerkraut or kimchi), beetroot, gherkins, tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes and lots of greens. Sometimes a slice of homemade bread. Some mornings I have leftover roasted vegetables, or a warm, filling soup with lentils or beans.
Lunch is lighter. More vegetables, less protein, often vegetarian. This is when I have my salads.
Dinner is warm. Usually roasted meat or fish with a mix of roasted and steamed vegetables. Sweet potato is my go-to.
I rotate my vegetables every day or two so that over a week I eat the whole rainbow. Different colours mean different nutrients and different fibres, and a varied diet is one of the few things gut research consistently supports.
A few things in my kitchen make this much easier:
Most of my vegetables get roasted on a big uncoated stainless steel tray. I use this Hestan stainless steel baking sheet set*: no non-stick coating to wear off, and it copes with high oven heat for years.
For lighter lunches I batch-cook and store portions in Pyrex glass storage boxes*, which go from fridge to oven (lid off) without needing plastic tubs.
I buy some of my ferments and make the rest at home in glass jars. When I make them, these glass fermentation weights* keep the vegetables under the brine so they don't go mouldy.
If you want the full list of foods I lean on and why, I've gone deep on that in Best Foods for Endometriosis: What to Eat and What the Research Shows.
What I cut, and what happened when I brought it back
After 2 months, I started reintroducing foods one at a time, so I could see how my body reacted to each one. This part taught me more than anything else. Some foods I'd blamed turned out to be fine. Others I'd never have suspected turned out to be my biggest triggers.
Food | What happened for me | What the research says |
Eggs | The first thing I brought back. Eggs are really good for me and I eat them most days. | A good source of protein. No evidence linking them to worse endo symptoms. |
Milk | Fine in small amounts, now and then. | Unclear for symptoms. Observational studies of US women found those eating around 3 servings of dairy a day were slightly less likely to be diagnosed with endo, but that's about risk of developing it, not symptoms, and it may partly reflect vitamin D in fortified milk. No one has tested what happens when women with endo cut or add dairy. Some women find it worsens gut symptoms. |
Gluten | Fine for me occasionally, in moderation. - I still get some gut discomfort. | Limited. One large uncontrolled study found many women felt better gluten-free, but there's no strong trial yet. |
Cheese | My biggest trigger. I eat it very rarely. | Studies link cheese with a slightly lower risk of developing endo, but nothing tells us how it affects symptoms. This is a good example of why your own reaction matters more than a general rule. |
Alcohol | Another big trigger. I don't drink any more. | The ESHRE guideline suggests women with endo reduce alcohol. |
Caffeine | My guilty pleasure, and the hardest to give up. Once I'd cut it, I realised how much it had been affecting my energy. | Studies link drinking more than about 300 mg a day (roughly 3 cups of coffee) with a higher risk of endo. It's an association, not proof. |
Red meat | I struggle to digest it, so I have it maybe once or twice a year. | Evidence on red meat and endo is currently too weak to draw conclusions. |
Sugar | I no longer eat added sugar. I have natural sugar from fruit, honey, and occasionally maple syrup in baking. Dropping sugar was the best thing I did for my health. | Cutting added sugar is part of every healthy eating guideline, endo or not. |
Processed food | I don't eat it. I do allow myself the occasional pizza. | Diets high in ultra-processed food are linked to worse health generally. |
The lesson? Your triggers are yours. A list of "foods to avoid with endometriosis" is a starting point, not a rulebook. Reintroducing foods one by one, and noticing how you feel for a few days after each, is how you find out what your body actually needs.
I go much deeper into each of these foods in Foods That May Make Endometriosis Worse.
The fats I cook with, and why I stopped using seed oils
Changing my cooking fat made one of the biggest differences to how I feel. I stopped using sunflower, rapeseed and "vegetable" oil completely. Here's why, and it's about much more than one fatty acid.
How seed oils are actually made
Extra virgin olive oil is made by crushing olives and collecting the oil. That's it.
Most supermarket seed oils go through a very different journey:
Extraction with a solvent. The seeds are crushed and soaked in hexane, a petroleum-derived solvent, which pulls out far more oil than pressing ever could.
Refining, bleaching and deodorising. The raw oil is dark and smells strong, so it's chemically refined, bleached, then heated to over 200°C to strip out the smell and taste. What's left is a clear, neutral oil with a long shelf life.
The EU limits leftover hexane to 1 mg per kilo of oil, and says oils within that limit are safe. But the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is currently re-evaluating hexane, because the safety studies it relies on date back to the late 1980s and early 1990s.
That high-heat deodorising step also creates unwanted by-products called process contaminants, mainly 3-MCPD esters and glycidyl esters. EFSA considers glycidol genotoxic and carcinogenic, and has flagged that some children and high consumers may be exposed to worrying levels. The EU has set legal limits on these contaminants, and tightened them further this year for oils used in baby food. They're highest in refined palm oil, but they form in refined oils generally, which is exactly why they're not a worry with extra virgin olive oil.
What happens when you cook with them
This is the part that changed my mind for good.
Oils rich in polyunsaturated fats, like sunflower and corn oil, are more fragile. Heat them and they break down faster, forming compounds called aldehydes. Researchers at the University of the Basque Country found that sunflower oil produced toxic aldehydes in greater amounts and sooner than olive oil during prolonged frying. A 2019 study found these aldehydes don't just float away in the steam: they end up in the fried food, with high levels found in fast-food chips. In lab research, these aldehydes damage cells and DNA.
Another study heated ten common oils and found extra virgin olive oil produced the fewest harmful breakdown products, while rapeseed (canola) oil produced the most.
Smoke point didn't predict how stable an oil was.
The risk climbs when oil is heated for a long time or reused, which is exactly what happens in restaurant and takeaway fryers.
How they ended up in our kitchens
Seed oils weren't adopted because anyone proved they were good for us. Cottonseed oil started out as a waste product of the cotton industry. Once chemists worked out how to bleach and deodorise it, it became cheap to sell. In 1911 Procter & Gamble hydrogenated it into Crisco and marketed it as clean, modern and pure, without ever telling people what it was made from.
Hydrogenated oils were full of trans fats, which were later proven to raise the risk of heart disease. It took about a century to get rid of them: since April 2021, the EU has banned foods with more than 2 g of industrial trans fat per 100 g of fat. For me, that history says everything about why "cheap, processed and heavily marketed" should never be mistaken for "healthy".
Why the omega-6 in seed oils matters for endo
Seed oils are the biggest source of linoleic acid, an omega-6 fat, in the modern diet. Here's why that concerns me, especially with endometriosis.
Omega-6 is the raw material for the chemicals behind endo pain. Your body turns omega-6 fats into arachidonic acid, which it then uses to make prostaglandins like PGE2. PGE2 is one of the key drivers of endometriosis: it fuels inflammation, period cramps and pain, and helps endometriosis lesions survive and grow. Researchers have even called it "the master of endometriosis". Omega-3 fats from oily fish compete with omega-6 and lead to far less inflammatory versions.
Changing the balance has reduced pain in trials. In a 2021 randomised trial of 182 adults with migraine, 88% of them women, a diet high in omega-3 cut headache days by about 2 a month. A diet high in omega-3 and very low in omega-6 cut them by about 4 a month, double the benefit. It wasn't an endometriosis study, but it's the closest trial evidence that lowering omega-6 can reduce inflammatory pain.
We've never eaten this much of it. The amount of linoleic acid stored in Americans' body fat rose from about 9% to over 21% between 1959 and 2008, closely tracking the switch to soybean and other seed oils. No one knows the long-term effects of carrying that much.
Some old trials raised red flags. When researchers recovered data from two trials from the 1960s and 70s, they found worrying results. In the Sydney Diet Heart Study, 458 men who replaced saturated fat with safflower oil, which is almost pure linoleic acid, had higher death rates than men who didn't. The Minnesota Coronary Experiment found a similar pattern: cholesterol went down, but deaths didn't.
What about butter, ghee and tallow?
For decades we were told animal fats cause heart disease and that vegetable oils and margarine were the healthy swap. A lot of that story was shaped by money. In 1948, Procter & Gamble, the makers of Crisco, gave the American Heart Association $1.7 million, and in 1961 the AHA told Americans to swap animal fats for vegetable oils. In the 1960s, the sugar industry secretly paid Harvard scientists to blame fat for heart disease instead of sugar. And the "healthy" margarines people switched to were full of trans fats, which were later banned.
The research since has softened the case against saturated fat a lot. The biggest review of long-term trials, 15 trials lasting at least two years, found that cutting saturated fat didn't reduce deaths. A review of over 600,000 people found no link between butter and heart disease.
It's not black and white, though. Saturated fat does raise LDL cholesterol, cutting it was linked to fewer heart attacks and strokes in those same trials, and one large analysis linked high butter intake to a higher risk of endometriosis. Ghee and tallow have barely been studied. That's why I use them in moderation, mainly for high-heat cooking, and why extra virgin olive oil is my everyday fat: it's the one fat the research consistently supports.
Why extra virgin olive oil is different
It's easy to mix these up, so here's the simple version. Almost every fat contains some linoleic acid, olive oil included. The difference is how much. Sunflower and corn oil are roughly half to two-thirds linoleic acid. Extra virgin olive oil is mostly oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat that's much more stable when heated, with only around 10% linoleic acid. And because it's pressed rather than refined, it keeps its natural polyphenols and vitamin E, which help protect it (and possibly you).
Olive oil also has some of the strongest research behind it of any food. Here's what it shows, from the most relevant to endo onwards.
Inflammation. A review of 30 trials with over 3,000 people found that olive oil lowered two key markers of inflammation in the blood, CRP and IL-6, more than the comparison diets did. A 2025 review of 15 more recent trials found the same for a Mediterranean diet with olive oil.
A natural ibuprofen-like compound. In 2005, scientists discovered that fresh extra virgin olive oil contains oleocanthal, which blocks the same inflammation enzymes (COX-1 and COX-2) as ibuprofen. It's the reason good olive oil gives you that peppery tickle at the back of your throat. The amount is small: about 50 ml of oil a day equals roughly a tenth of an ibuprofen dose, so it's not a painkiller replacement. But eaten every day, it may be one reason the Mediterranean diet is linked to lower inflammation.
Blood vessels and circulation. The same 30-trial review found olive oil improved how well blood vessels widen and relax (endothelial function), an early sign of healthy circulation.
Heart health. In the PREDIMED trial, adults at high risk of heart disease who followed a Mediterranean diet with extra virgin olive oil or nuts had around 30% fewer heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular deaths than a low-fat control group. In the CORDIOPREV trial, 1,002 people with heart disease followed for 7 years had about 25% fewer major cardiovascular events on a Mediterranean diet rich in extra virgin olive oil than on a low-fat diet.
Cholesterol and blood fats. In the EUROLIVE trial, 200 men across five European countries took 25 ml a day of olive oils with low, medium or high polyphenol levels. The higher the polyphenols, the more their "good" HDL cholesterol rose and the less their "bad" LDL cholesterol was damaged by oxidation. That's why the UK and EU allow one official claim: olive oil polyphenols "contribute to the protection of blood lipids from oxidative stress", but only for oils with at least 5 mg of polyphenols per 20 g, eaten daily. Swapping saturated fats for unsaturated fats like those in olive oil also helps maintain normal cholesterol levels.
Blood sugar. In part of the PREDIMED trial, people on the Mediterranean diet with extra virgin olive oil were about 40% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes over 4 years than the control group.
Living longer and the brain. A Harvard study following over 92,000 people for 28 years found that those who had more than 7 g of olive oil a day (about half a tablespoon) had a 19% lower risk of dying from heart disease or any cause, and a 29% lower risk of dying from neurodegenerative disease. The same group later found a 28% lower risk of dementia-related death.
Breast cancer. In PREDIMED, women in the extra virgin olive oil group had a much lower rate of breast cancer than the control group. But there were only 35 cases in total, so the researchers themselves say it needs confirming in bigger studies.
Endometriosis itself. This is the one I'm most excited about. In 2022, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, funded by the US National Institutes of Health, tested oleuropein, a compound from olive leaves (also found in smaller amounts in olive oil), in mice with endometriosis. The endometriosis lesions grew about 6 times smaller than in untreated mice, inflammation dropped, and fertility improved: all the treated mice got pregnant, compared with 70% of the untreated ones. It worked by blocking a specific oestrogen receptor that endometriosis tissue relies on. The next step is testing it in women, and I'll be watching closely.
What this means for you. The quality of the oil matters. Many of these benefits are linked to the polyphenols, and refined or "light" olive oil loses most of them. That's why I use a genuine extra virgin olive oil every day, and a high-polyphenol one for drizzling: November Polyphenols*, which is lab-tested every harvest and came in at over 1,200 mg/kg of polyphenols, which meets the threshold for the official health claim. For everyday health, extra virgin olive oil is about as well supported as a food gets.
What I use instead
Ideal: grass-fed ghee or tallow for roasting and high-heat cooking.
Realistic, and a brilliant start: extra virgin olive oil. It's in every supermarket, it's stable enough for everyday cooking, and it's the fat with the most research behind it. Look for dark glass bottles, not plastic.
For everyday cooking I use Odysea organic Kalamata extra virgin olive oil*. It's EU Organic and PDO certified, and it scored highest in Which?'s independent taste tests. For drizzling over salads and vegetables, or a shot in the morning I use a high-polyphenol oil like November Polyphenols*, which is lab-tested every harvest. Save that one for using raw, as heating it wastes what you're paying for.
A few more habits that help: I buy my oils in dark glass rather than plastic, I don't reuse cooking oil, and the biggest one of all is that I avoid deep-fried takeaway food, which is where most of us get the most heavily heated oil.
Your pan matters too
I moved away from non-stick pans a long time ago, and I cook in uncoated stainless steel now. My everyday pan is the Demeyere Industry 5-ply 11-inch frying pan*: no coating to scratch or wear down, and it heats evenly right to the edge. You can find my full pan collection, and all my other kitchen favourites, in Products I Use: Kitchen & Meal Prep.
There's a lot to say about non-stick coatings, PFAS and what to cook with instead, and a lot of scary claims out there too. So I'm giving it its own post later in this series, where I'll separate what's proven from what isn't.
How to start without burning out
If I could go back and talk to myself at the start of all this, this is what I'd say.
1. Keep your meals simple. Changing how you eat is hard enough. You don't need complicated recipes. Protein, a pile of vegetables, a good fat. Done.
2. Start with one change. Swap your cooking oil. Or add a vegetable to every meal. Or cut out the fizzy drinks. One thing you can keep up beats ten things you give up on by Friday.
3. Buy organic where you can, and don't stress where you can't. I wash non-organic fruit and veg in a baking soda solution. A 2017 study found that soaking apples in a 1% baking soda solution for 12 to 15 minutes removed far more of two common pesticides from the surface than tap water did. It's cheap, easy and it gives me peace of mind.
4. Reintroduce slowly, and pay attention. If you cut something out, bring it back on its own and notice how you feel over the next few days. That's how you find your own triggers.
5. Be kind to yourself on the bad days. There will be days you eat the thing you "shouldn't". When that happened to me, I'd tell myself: it's OK, we start again tomorrow. Punishing yourself only adds stress, and stress adds to the fire. Looking back, being so strict was stressful in its own way.
6. Get support if you can. A GP or a registered dietitian can check for things like coeliac disease or nutrient gaps, and a dietitian is essential if you try a low FODMAP diet.
Small change is always better than no change at all.
Questions I get asked a lot
Can an anti-inflammatory diet cure endometriosis? No, food doesn't remove endometriosis tissue. But it can change how you live with it far more than most of us are ever told. For me, fixing my diet meant steady energy instead of feeling sluggish all day, no more constant pain and discomfort after eating, regular bowel movements, and eventually periods with barely any cramps. I simply felt well again. The research backs up much of this: in studies, women who changed their diet reported less bloating, less tummy pain, better bowel habits, less fatigue, less painful sex, lower pelvic pain scores and a better quality of life. Food works best as part of your care, alongside your medical team, and it can make a real difference to how you feel every single day.
How long does it take to notice a difference? For me, the gut pain eased within the first few weeks, the bigger shifts came around 2 months, and my periods changed after about a year. In the 2025 low FODMAP trial, women saw gut improvements within 28 days. Everyone is different, so give any change at least a few weeks before you judge it.
Should I go gluten-free? Maybe, but get tested for coeliac disease first, while you're still eating gluten. Then, if you want to try, cut it out for a few weeks and reintroduce it to see how you feel. For me, gluten is fine occasionally, but I still get some gut discomfort from it, so I keep it to a minimum.
Is dairy bad for endometriosis? There's no clear answer yet. Large observational studies of American women found that those who ate around 3 servings of dairy a day were slightly less likely to be diagnosed with endometriosis. But those studies only show a link, they're about developing endo rather than living with it, and part of the link may come from vitamin D added to milk. No trial has tested whether cutting or adding dairy changes symptoms. Some women (me included, with cheese or yogurt) find it's a trigger, so the only way to know is to test it on yourself.
What's the best oil to cook with if you have endometriosis? Extra virgin olive oil is the best-researched choice. It's mostly stable oleic acid, it holds up well to everyday cooking heat, and its polyphenols are linked to lower inflammation markers in trials. I also use grass-fed ghee or tallow for high-heat cooking, and occasionally organic extra virgin coconut oil*. I avoid refined seed oils like sunflower and corn oil, which break down faster when heated.
Do I have to eat organic? Ideally, yes. Eat organic whenever you can. A review of 343 studies found pesticide residues were around 4 to 5 times more common on conventionally grown crops, and organic crops had 20 to 40% more antioxidant polyphenols and about half the cadmium, a toxic heavy metal. But don't worry if you can't buy everything organic. It's expensive and not always easy to find, and I don't buy everything organic either. Here's how I handle it:
Variety matters most. Eating lots of different vegetables, organic or not, does far more for you than eating a few organic ones. Never let the price of organic stop you from eating more plants.
Spend your organic budget where it counts. Every year the UK charity PAN UK publishes a "Dirty Dozen" list of the fruit and vegetables most likely to carry pesticide residues, based on UK government testing. Buy those organic first.
Wash everything else well. I soak non-organic fruit and veg in a baking soda solution, about 1 teaspoon of baking soda in 500 ml of water, for 12 to 15 minutes, then rinse with filtered water. Peeling removes even more, though you lose some of the fibre and nutrients in the skin.
Coming next in The Endo Kitchen
This post is the start of a series. Each one goes deep on one part of eating for endometriosis, with the research, my own experience and what I actually use.
Coming up next:
Foods That May Make Endometriosis Worse: alcohol, processed food, sugar, gluten, caffeine and dairy, what the research really says about each, and how to find your own triggers
The Best Cooking Oils for Endometriosis: olive oil, ghee, tallow, coconut oil and the seed oil debate
Non-Stick Pans, PFAS and Endometriosis: what's proven, what's hype, and what to cook with instead
Want each one in your inbox as soon as it's live? Sign up here and I'll send it straight to you.
Keep reading
Best Foods for Endometriosis: What to Eat and What the Research Shows the foods I build my plate around, and the research behind them
Endometriosis and Chronic Inflammation: My Journey to Reclaiming My Health: the bigger story of how I rebuilt my health
Endometriosis Explained: Symptoms, Causes and Management: if you're still getting your head around what endo actually is
This post shares my personal experience and a summary of current research. It isn't medical advice. Please speak to your GP or a registered dietitian before making significant changes to your diet or medication.
With love, Lena Founder of Live Beyond Endo
Stay connected, stay informed, and above all, stay empowered.
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