Do you or someone you know suffer from fibroids? I have to be honest here - before I started researching this topic I completely blanked on what fibroids were – and I’m a woman! So, what are fibroids? What causes them – and can they be cured? Keep reading to find out all the answers.
Fibroid Facts
Research estimates that twenty to thirty percent of all women of childbearing age will develop fibroids, which are benign tumor growths in the uterus. More than eighty percent of all African-American women will have had fibroids by the time they are fifty.
While fibroids are not life-threatening, they can be painful, press into the bladder and cause frequent urination, and affect a woman’s ability to conceive a child. In severe cases, a hysterectomy that removes some, or all, of the uterus must be performed.
Is Surgery the Only Answer?
A new study has shown that hysterectomies aren’t the only surgical option with promise: a treatment known as uterine artery embolization (UAE) may also help. This procedure cuts off blood flow to the fibroids and causes them to die.
Over a two-year period, eighty percent of the women who received UAE treatment did not have to have a hysterectomy to relieve their symptoms.
Prevent and Treat Fibroids Naturally
What else can you do to treat fibroids, or prevent them from developing in the first place? A low-fat, high-fiber diet can decrease estrogen levels, which, when elevated, has been linked to fibroid growth. Obesity has also been linked to high amounts of estrogen in the system, so getting weight down to within a healthy range is ideal.
Supplementation of the diet with chasteberry, a fruit commonly taken to reduce excessive menstrual flow, can lower estrogen and shrink existing fibroid tissue. Teas made with wild yam, motherwort, ginger and prickly ash bark are popular for their purported fibroid shrinking abilities.
A popular folk remedy for fibroids is castor oil—not taken orally, but soaked onto a warm washcloth and place on the skin above the area where the fibroids are.
If you have already been diagnosed with fibroids, consult with your doctor before taking any herbal remedies.
In Summary
I feel a little silly not having known about fibroids, considering I am of the female constitution. But now we all know, and we’re already healthier people because of it!
