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Women who eat a diet rich in green vegetables or fruit have a reduced risk of endometriosis while those who have the highest intake of beef or ham suffer an increased risk of the condition, new research indicates.*
Endometriosis, relatively common among young women, occurs when endometrial tissue, which normally lines the uterus and the uterus alone, starts to grow elsewhere in the pelvic area. Endometriosis is chronic, painful, and progressive. Its lesions are not cancerous, but they can develop to the point that they cause obstructions or web-like scar tissue that attach to nearby organs, often causing severe cramping, inflammation, pain during intercourse, and sometimes infertility.
Researchers at the University of Milan, Italy, surveyed 504 women with endometriosis and another 504 with no history of the disease, asking them about their dietary habits.
Among women who ate a diet rich in green vegetables, the risk for endometriosis was reduced by 70%. Among those eating a diet full of fruit, risk was cut by 40%.
Conversely, those women who ate a lot of beef, other red meat, or ham increased their odds of getting endometriosis by 80 to 100%.
Stated lead investigator Fabio Parazzini, M.D., of the Gynecological Clinic of the University of Milan: "Our study does suggest that there is some link between diet and risk of endometriosis and indicates that we now need a proper prospective interventional investigation to study these factors.
"Endometriosis is a distressing condition that affects the quality of life for many women. If there are adjustments that can be made in the diet to lower the risk, it is vital that we gain really firm evidence about which foods protect and which foods increase risk.”
By Dr. Parazzini’s estimation, eating a diet full of fresh fruit and green vegetables could prevent about 10,000 new cases of endometriosis a year in Italy alone.
* Human Reproduction, 2004; 19: 1755.
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