5 Nigerian Foods Good For Women With Fibroids

Fibroids, also known as Uterine Leiomyoma, are benign tumors of the uterus or abnormal growth developing in the uterine tissues. The cause of fibroids is unclear, and no definite causal factor exists. However, it may be linked to genes, hormones and high body mass in some circumstances.

This article focuses on women with fibroids and how to work around their diet to minimize their growth.

Importance of a healthy diet for Nigerian women with fibroids

Some foods may serve as a trigger to an already existing illness. Therefore, you should always consider your health status before munching or nibbling away. Hence, the importance of having a healthy diet for women with fibroids cannot be overstated.

Eating healthy will help lower the risks and improve the symptoms. Tweaking your diet may help place you in the right direction to decrease your risks of fibroids.

What to look out for in a Nigerian diet if you have fibroids

If you are hoping to improve your symptoms, endeavour to include the following in your food consumption;

Omega 3 fatty acids: This can be found in cold water fish like titus and tuna.

Vitamins: Incorporating enough vitamins in your meals may help prevent or slow fibroids growth. Vitamins, especially vitamins B and vitamin D, are essential for the bones, nerves and immune system in their entirety.

Fiber: Aside from aiding the bowel movement and other outstanding benefits, they do wonders by helping you and your appetite. You eat less and lose weight, as losing weight helps hinder fibroid growth. Consider foods like oats, lentils, beans, millet, brown rice and other whole grains.

Low-fat dairy products: Eating the right amount of low-fat dairy produce can be helpful in some women as the body thrives on calcium and probiotics. Yogurt and Cheese are some of the dairy products you should consume more.

Potassium: The adequacy of potassium helps to balance blood pressure. Ensure to add foods rich in potassium to your meal plans. These include bananas, potatoes, tomatoes, oats etc.

Supplements like cod liver oil.

5 Nigerian Foods Good For Women With Fibroids

Unripe plantain porridge and leafy vegetables: Unripe plantain is a good source of iron. You can garnish this with snails or fish.

Brown rice and vegetable stew: Brown rice belongs to the whole grains family. Replace your white rice with brown rice, which contains the necessary nutrients to impede fibroid growth.

Beans porridge: Leguminous foods also restore the normal estrogen levels in the body. Beans are a legume and equally contain fiber. You can alternate between beans and plantain or beans and sweet potatoes too to make it less boring and at the same time relishing.

Sweet potatoes: These contain natural carotenes and fibers, which are essential for good health. You can either boil it and eat it with an accompaniment or prepare it as porridge. Remember to season with tasty natural ingredients like rosemary and scent leaves.

Fruits and leafy vegetables: Because fruits and vegetables are high in fiber, they help to shrink fibroids over time by facilitating the body to clear excess estrogen through your stool. Fruits like avocado and pear can greatly help to impair fibroid growth. Citrus fruits like lemons, grapes and apples can also be great substitutes.

Increase your intake of tomatoes, and do not forget to include a sufficient amount of leafy green vegetables like broccoli and cabbage in every meal or prepared as a meal of its own.

Being careful not to overwork yourself and aiming to maintain a moderate weight is also beneficial. Increased visceral fat can increase the risks of uterine fibroids.

What to avoid in a diet if you have fibroids

Although one cannot completely rule out a particular food class, meals should be consumed for healthy benefits. To minimize the risk of fibroids, consider and quit the below, as studies have shown that avoiding them helps impede their growth.

Excess sugar intake and refined carbohydrates: A fibroid patient should avoid all sugar diets as high sugar intake spikes blood sugar levels, leading to hyperinsulinism, which triggers fibroid growth. Also, refined carbohydrates like pasta, white bread, white rice, cakes, and cookies can alter estrogen levels and cause your body to produce excessive insulin.

High-calorie foods and unhealthy saturated fats: Intake meals high in calories can increase your risk of fibroids. It may increase your body mass index, raising your estrogen levels. This estrogen feeds fibroids. These unhealthy calories are processed meals, red meat, and eggs.
Therefore, aim to consume the barest minimum amount or, better still, seek alternatives and avoid them altogether. Gradually substitute red meats and other processed meals with fish, fruits and vegetables.

Alcohol: Certain alcoholic drinks and beverages threaten general health, let alone one with a health challenge. Studies have shown that taking alcohol-based products, especially beer, spirits, and wine, can lead to hormonal imbalance, making you prone to fibroid formation. It can also trigger inflammation.

There isn’t an assured permanent cure for fibroid as its disappearance or reoccurrence varies. It can be best managed either through surgery, medication or natural shrinkage. Most fibroid occurrences shrink over time as one ages. This is because the hormones (estrogen and progesterone) that stimulate it drop at menopause.

However, fighting off fibroids is majorly linked to adopting and maintaining an overall healthy lifestyle; in most cases, the growth is monitored, especially through lifestyle changes. You must speak to your healthcare provider first regarding ways to manage it.

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