How I Healed my Endometriosis

I changed from not being able to tolerate pasteurized dairy to being able to tolerate raw dairy. I changed from not being able to tolerate modern wheat's gluten to being able to tolerate ancient grains' gluten. How can that be, you ask? I asked, too, and boy, did I ever find answers.

As you read this, know that I am not a doctor or even employed or trained (professionally) within the health field. I'm simply sharing what obviously worked in my experience and hoping that you can find some hope in it.

It was the fall of 2020 when an ovarian cyst ruptured that I didn't even know I had. Following that, I was diagnosed with a severe case of Endometriosis and my images showed that another cyst was already in the process of forming. I was frustrated and defensive.. I ate well, or so I thought, getting lots of fruits and vegetables, pasteurized dairy and whole grains into my diet and loved exercising. How could this be?

When I asked why this happens, three doctors told me that, 'it just happens, it's becoming common, there is no cure.' I decided those answers weren't good enough for me and went to a naturopath instead. What could it hurt, right?

Finally, I had some answers and could make sense of things. The naturopath told me that cyst growth and ruptures are caused in part by inflammatory foods, like dairy. Gluten could also be playing a part in it too, so she had me come off of all dairy and gluten for a month to see if the growing cyst would slow down growth and my symptoms would lessen.

Now, being the daughter of a dairy farmer, I thought she was crazy. Dairy is only good for you, right? I had heard of a lot of talk of gluten intolerance, so that didn't surprise me, but I still couldn't put all these pieces together. So, as she requested, I came off all dairy and gluten for a couple months, and it was hard.. but, at my next appt, my cyst had regressed considerably.

"Crap," I thought. She was right about the dairy and gluten.

This is where I took things into my own hands. The naturopath helped me to identify what was causing the symptoms and how to identify them. With that, I studied and studied and studied on how things have changed in dairy and gluten (in wheat) between now and the rest of history when people did not have such common intolerances.

What I found - take it or leave it - is that pasteurization (dairy) and farming practices (dairy and gluten/wheat) have changed considerably, and about the same time as intolerances began rising.

In my opinion and from what I have spent years (literally) studying, pasteurization came about in the earlier part of the 1900's. People began leaving farms and condensing into cities, and animals were housed in less-than-ideal, sloppy living conditions. The milk from dairy cows was so discolored that chalk had to be added to it to bring it back to white, and pasteurization became the norm because so many people were sick from the milk. Pasteurization is the heating of a product to a certain temp and for a certain amount of time to kill any pathogens and enzymes that could be in the milk, good or bad.

Later in the 1900's, the practice of using chemicals (insecticides, heribicides, fungicides, etc) on crops became normal for farmers and wheat varieties became less diverse and more bred for the stronger gluten content (a favorable charicteristic for bread manufacturer's to create uniform and high, springy loaves of bread).

So, I figured I had the basis pinpointed for what was causing my problems but now, how was I going to fix it?

That's when I went on a quest to find raw dairy. I knew that all I'd ever heard on raw dairy was that it was dangerous, but for some reason this all made sense to me, and historically would have been how people ingested their milk with no or less issues. Later on in my studies, I found that raw milk is actually completely safe and extremely nutritious as long as the cows and milk are handled properly by the farmer. Raw milk still contains the enzymes that help people to digest the lactose in the milk, which is the downfall of pasteurization (those necessary ezymes have been killed by the heat). I argue that a lot more people get sick from pasteurized milk than raw milk.

I also discovered that ancient grains, like Einkorn or Emmer wheat still have gluten in them but a much weaker type of gluten that most gluten-intolerant people can actually tolerate. Modern wheat varieties have been extremely hybridized to produce a strong gluten that is favorable in the marketing and processing world as it produces a nice springy, appealing loaf of bread. Now, I use Einkorn for almost everything and my body handles it well.

Once I had come off of the foods that were offending my body and given my body time to heal, and properly re-introduced truly healthier and more wholesome versions of those foods into my body, I healed. My cyst completely regressed and I have had no symptoms in over a year. I feel better than ever and truly think that I have healed.

My opinion. Food for thought - and cheers to many healthy years.

Mary