Hi folks, it’s Abi here and  I am back with another blog about my gardening experience and today I’d like to focus on my lovely peppers. To avoid repetition, I won’t go into the details of how I grew my peppers as I used the exact same technique I used when growing my tomatoes which you can read here.  What I thought I would do is focus on what I learnt from growing peppers, some of the challenges I encountered and how I overcame these.

Over the past 8 months or so I have been trying to grow four types of peppers – sweet peppers (or bell peppers), Scotch bonnets, Jalapeno peppers and Caribbean seasoning peppers (very similar to Scotch bonnets, but without the heat). Growing these peppers has been a huge challenge and I suppose I was lulled into a false sense of security as I started my gardening journey with tomatoes and okras which have been a breeze in comparison to peppers. If I had to score myself on my pepper assignment I would have to give myself a big fat D, I have failed miserably. I have only had some success (after several attempts) with sweet peppers and it looks like my third attempt at Scotch bonnets may (I don’t want to speak too soon) have produced some results.  Here are some of the challenges that I encountered that led me to give myself a big fat D.

Germination Was a Struggle

Whilst reading up on how to grow peppers, I did learn that germination of peppers does take a lot longer than tomatoes, up to a month. So, I was prepared for that. On my first attempt I planted 24 bell pepper seeds and 24 Scotch bonnet seeds in my seed starting tray (egg containers!), and patiently waited. I watered my soil regularly and with no sign of seedlings at 3 weeks, I wasn’t worried, I thought: ‘well, I have read that it can take up to a month so no problem.’ I waited. After a month, nothing happened, but I was still optimistic and continued to wait patiently. At 6 weeks, I started to get worried and then after two months, I gave up and started again. This time I added Jalapeno and Caribbean seasoning peppers to my pepper collection and sadly I got the same results (I gave up after 6 weeks). I was disappointed. I couldn’t figure out what was going wrong, so after 4 months and 2 attempts I took a trip down to the St Kitts Agricultural Department to get some advice. They were lovely, really helpful and friendly. They explained it could be the seeds and that peppers can be a bit “particular” and I should keep trying. They did say maybe I should cheat and buy some of their young pepper plants which were growing well in their nursery and so I did, I cheated. I bought a row of pepper plants and transplanted them into the garden, thinking perfect I have a head start, but I had challenges with their growth too – I don’t think peppers like me.

I still wanted to try to grow peppers from seed so I tried again and again with the seeds and  finally I was able to get my bell peppers and some hot peppers to germinate (yay!). These are going well, but slowly.

Peppers Are Slow

Having cheated and bought some seedlings and then finally had some success with my own seeds, I have quite a few pepper plants growing in my garden. Starting my gardening journey with tomatoes spoilt me because they grew relatively fast and I was expecting the same for my peppers, but pepper plants, or I should say my pepper plants, were sloooow! They really are taking their own time (but it may be my growing technique as I am a newbie!). If you’re going to grow peppers, you’ll need some patience.  As I sit here now I do have some really cute bell peppers developing and I have harvested about two (Very tasty!), but the Scotch bonnet is growing extremely slowly. So, with all the attempts and buying of seedlings it has taken me about 5 months to get my first bell pepper.

They Need Lots of Water

I live in the Caribbean and it has been really hot over the past few months and some of the challenges with the slow growth could be because they weren’t getting enough water (I am not sure).  I may have underestimated the amount of water that they needed. I am always worried about watering too much and my plants dying of root rot, so I suppose I am a little conservative when it comes to watering.  A couple of months ago, we had a guest over and they were looking at my garden and she felt I needed to give my plants a lot more water. So, she took over for a few days and soaked my peppers. I was really worried thinking they might drown. After about a week, my peppers seemed to perk up and looked a lot happier. Since then I can’t say they have grown any faster but they certainly look a lot healthier.

My Peppers Were Bugged!

Just as I was having some success with my bell peppers and feeling really good about them, I ventured out into the garden one morning and found that my largest pepper plant had lost ALL its leaves. I was shocked. How did that happen in just one night or morning? I looked around and spotted the culprit. A sneaky little green worm, which I later learned was a hornworm, ate my pepper leaves for breakfast. It was so greedy! It didn’t leave anything, all the leaves were gone. I was so upset and I thought that was it for that pepper plant. To my surprise and joy, about a week later my pepper plant started making a come-back, some new leaves were growing happily. I’ll see how it goes, I have my fingers crossed that this plant will survive.

Now, everyday I check my garden for hornworms and I have spotted a few which I have swiftly thrown over the wall!

It Has Been Fun

Although I haven’t been so lucky with my peppers it has been a lot of fun and a nice challenge. It has also been very rewarding too. When I noticed my first pepper, I was elated and when I picked my first pepper I was so proud of myself for persisting, it really was worth it. Although the bell pepper was a lot smaller than I expected, it tasted lovely.

A Great Learning Experience

I have learnt a lot about peppers over the past few months. Through my reading I have learnt that there are thousands of types of peppers (Wikipedia says about 50,000!!), which came as a real shock to me, I was only aware of five different types of peppers before I started looking into them. This means there is a type of pepper for every taste bud (sweet, hot, fruity, woody and smoky) and peppers come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colours (red, green, orange, yellow, purple and more).

When we look at the history of peppers, they are native to Mexico, Central America and South America. They made their way to Spain in 1493 and from there spread to other countries.

Peppers are also quite nutrient rich, their nutrient content is dependent on the type of pepper, but most peppers contain vitamin A, C, K, B6, dietary fibre, thiamine, niacin, folate, magnesium, copper, potassium and manganese.

I have also learnt some personal lessons about the importance of patience, persistence and hard work (they really gave me a good workout).

I’m really looking forward to picking more bell peppers and watching my Scotch bonnets develop. I’ll keep you posted.

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If you missed my previous blogs you can read them using the links below:

1. Improving Our Health and Wellbeing Through Gardening: An Introduction
2. Improving Our Health and Wellbeing Through Gardening: How I Got Started
3.  Improving Our Health and Wellbeing Through Gardening: Growing Tomatoes
4. Improving Our Health and Wellbeing Through Gardening: Growing Okra

Back in November 2017 we published a blog post where we summarised research on hair dyes, relaxers and breast cancer, and (sigh) we’re sorry to say we’re back here again writing about black hair products and their harmful effects.

A couple of weeks ago the results from another research study was published and this showed that 80% of black hair products contain endocrine disrupting and asthma causing chemicals. Endocrine disrupting chemicals are of concern as some studies have linked these chemicals to hormone-related health conditions including breast cancer and fibroids.

Latest Research

On 25^th April 2018, researchers from the Silent Spring Institute and Battelle Memorial Institute in the USA published the results from their study which investigated the endocrine disrupting and asthma-associated chemical content of black hair products. They tested 18 black hair products that cut across 6 types of products. These included hot oil treatments, anti-frizz/polish, leave-in conditioners, root stimulators, hair lotions and relaxers. Within these products they tested for the presence of 66 chemicals including BPA, phthalates (a solvent) and parabens (a preservative).

What Did They Find?

Researchers found that the black hair products tested contained 45 endocrine disrupting or asthma-associated chemicals. They stated that they found cyclosiloxanes (used for conditioning and spreadability), parabens and the fragrance marker diethyl phthalate (DEP) at the highest levels, and DEP most frequently in these products.

In their study, root stimulators, hair lotions and relaxers more frequently contained nonylphenols, parabens and fragrances whilst anti-frizz products tended to contain cyclosiloxanes.  Worryingly hair relaxers for children contained five chemicals that are regulated by California’s Proposition 65 or were prohibited from being used in the EU.

What we found particularly disturbing was that ingredients lists were incomplete, meaning that the researchers found chemicals in the products that were not listed on product labels. This is disturbing because many women do try to avoid chemicals such as parabens, but researchers found that butyl and ethyl paraben were never listed on labels and 12% of products with methyl paraben didn’t include this on their label. This is extremely misleading and means that women can’t make an informed choice about the products they purchase. Other chemicals that were frequently not included on ingredients lists were fragrance chemicals and cyclosiloxanes.

You can listen to  Dr. Jessica Helm from the Silent Spring Institute and Tola Okogwu from My Long Hair Journey discuss this latest study in the video below.

California’s Proposition 65 and EU Regulation

There are regulations in place to protect consumers and deter manufactures from including chemicals that are hazardous to our health in their products. Two such regulations are Proposition 65 and the European Union Cosmetics Directive.

California’s Proposition 65, more formally known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, aims to “help Californians make informed decisions about protecting themselves from chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm.” By law, all businesses selling products to people in California must ensure clear and reasonable warnings are included on items that contain harmful chemicals so that people are aware that they will be exposed these chemicals. Some chemicals that are regulated by Prop 65 are o-phenylphenol, BPA, phthalate, ethanolamine and benzophenone.  Businesses don’t have to include any warnings if the chemicals are at concentrations that don’t pose a health risk. Now, in this current study,  it was found that even though two no-lye hair relaxers for children contained a Prop 65 regulated chemical, no warnings were included, and researchers made the point that these would not meet the Prop 65 labelling requirements.

The EU Cosmetics Directive states that all cosmetic products sold in the EU must be safe and they prohibit the inclusion of chemicals in products that have been shown to cause cancer, female reproductive toxicity and developmental toxicity. Some of the compounds prohibited by the EU include BPA, phthalate, alkylphenol and ethanolamine. In this study, some products were found to contain products prohibited by EU law – BPA, phthalate, nonylphenol and diethanolamine. So these products would not be fit for sale in the EU.

What Can We Do?

Well… ladies, we must demand better from brands. We must see what we can do to get companies to remove these chemicals from their products. In the meantime, we have to be very selective and only buy from brands that sell products that are safe, but this can be hard to do if brands are not listing all the chemicals in their products on their labels.

 Here are some brands that we use, or have used in the past, and we believe are safe, but we recommend that you do your research too.

Afrocenchix
Almocado
Camille Rose Naturals
Pure Goodnes
Root2Tip
Shea Butter Cottage
Shea Decadence
Yaphene

Finally, we are currently in discussions with the team behind My Long Hair Journey to see what we can do to start addressing this problem. We’ll keep you updated and let you know how these discussions go. In the meantime, let us know your thoughts on this topic. How do you feel about this new piece of research and are you concerned about the hair products that you use?

More Information

You can download the full research paper below as well as the study’s supplementary material which lists the brands tested in this study and information about EU regulation and California’s Prop 65. And, you can purchase some of the products from the brands listed above on Amazon below.

In today’s blog post Abi shares her sweet and sour broccoli recipe – yum!

We recently changed our diet and started cutting down on the amount of meat we consume. We had already pretty much cut out red meat (we only eat this rarely) and now we eat chicken or fish once or twice a week, the rest of the week we are vegetarian, but our diet is flexible and we’re not perfect, we do indulge every now and again, our overall aim is to achieve a balanced, healthy diet.

I am constantly looking for creative vegetarian recipes. After reading online that many vegetarians replace chicken with cauliflower and broccoli to make dishes like cauliflower buffalo wings (huh!), I decided to get a bit creative and try sweet and sour broccoli.

We love sweet and sour chicken and I have been making a very simple version of this at home for years, so I simply used this tried and tested recipe but replaced the chicken with broccoli, and oh boy, it was a hit! We absolutely loved it, so much so that I had to make it again to make sure it wasn’t a fluke and it was just as good the second time around. It was delicious and honestly (it may be hard to believe) it tastes just like the chicken version.

I loved this dish so much that I decided to share the recipe. If you’re looking for an easy and delicious way to introduce more vegetables into your diet, then I highly recommend you try this recipe. If you do try it, please let me know what you think.

Happy cooking! (and eating!)

In today’s blog post we hear from Silvia who shares her experience with fibroids and explains why she started her blog, Life With Fibroids.

Well, let’s start off with a little bit about me. My name is Silvia and I am married to an amazing man who is so supportive and have an adorable dog who from time to time drives me nuts, but that is okay because I adore him.  I have fibroids and have been living with them for two years and have come to a place in my life where I want to share my story and my personal opinions and connect with others and learn about their stories as well.

I was diagnosed with Uterine Fibroids two years ago officially but have lived with them for just about 6 years now and since then I have done a lot of research but there is still so much more to do, so in no way am I saying I am an expert and I am not a doctor.  I decided to start my website, Life with Fibroids,  to create a space where women of all ages, creeds, backgrounds, religions, and parts of the world could come together and know that having fibroids does not mean that you are alone. Although fibroids is very common it is crazy to think that it is not a very talked about subject for most women and there is really no place to connect with others and ask how they are living with it and going through life with this. I was diagnosed with Uterine Fibroids two ago and they do affect my life they make me have the worst menstrual cycle of my life for example I have more bleeding and the first couple of days is so painful and the cramps sometimes can drop me to my knees. It hurts so much let me just say.

I guess, for me at least, that is the biggest inconvenience and it is so crazy to think that they can develop like they did for me because of the fact that your body can produce too much oestrogen and they can grow over time as well and can cause other problems like infertility if they block the Fallopian tubes and get in the way of implantation but to know that it is on a case by case situation and if you come to find out  that you have them and are worried about that then I would definitely set up an appointment with your doctor and get your situation checked. I did and thankfully they are not going to stop me from getting pregnant but I think for the best option since they have gotten bigger is to get them removed before we try for a baby again since I have experienced a miscarriage due to fibroids and want to avoid any further complications due to fibroids, so that is another reason for me to write this post and try to reach out to those who are in the same situation and be an outstretched hand and let others know you are not alone and I am here for you. I guess I just want to help people share and get connected and help support each other because there are lots of stories like mine but there are also lots of stories that end up with a happy mommy and a happy baby, so like I said it is case by case and if I can help even one person then I think that writing this post and creating my blog, Life with Fibroids, is worth it.

Now let’s get a few things clear about fibroids first:

1. Fibroids are not cancerous and from what I have come to learn not life threatening, so you can take that stress off your mind right now.
2. What my doctor has come to teach me is that for every woman’s fibroids are different and can affect them in different ways and with fibroids especially the kind that I have which is Uterine Fibroids is always a case by case situation so in no way am I saying that I know everything about you and your situation so please feel free to write about your story and connect with others.
3. Fibroids can happen anywhere in the body but the most common fibroid I have come to read about is Uterine Fibroids which is what I have.
4. Even though many women have fibroids they can go their entire lives without knowing it due to having no symptoms and doctors not having any indication to look for them.
5. Women who do have them and do have active symptoms can have a variety and cannot have their daily lives affected in any way and then there is the other side of the coin where women have their everyday life come to a standstill and cannot function and then of course there is the middle ground where you have good and bad days but nothing too drastic, which for the most part is where I fall, well for the most part anyway.
6. My final point on this never-ending list is that for every woman with this diagnosis there is a story and it is different and each and everyone is valuable and important.

So with all that I have said again I just want to say that I created my blog, Life with Fibroids, as a place to connect and share your individual stories and remember that you are not alone and you are one of a kind and that you and I and everyone else living and not living with this is beautiful and amazing. Please feel free to visit my blog, share your stories and help me to connect with others from all over. Thanks for taking the time to read my post and even though I am not the most talented writer I want to share my story and hope that it can help at least one person out there. Thank you again for visiting and taking the time to read my post. At Life with Fibroids I do my best to keep everyone up to date on what is happening with me and my fibroids and try my best to keep it active and hopefully on-going. Have an awesome day and you rock!

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Lake Health and Wellbeing  would like to say a big thank you to Silvia for sharing her experience with fibroids, we hope that through her experience you have gained some useful insight into this condition. You can find out more about Silvia at Life With Fibroids

If you have any questions or comments please do leave these in the comments section below. 

Disclosure: this post contains an affiliate link. Find out more here

We first heard about Eat Love Move on the Secret Birds Podcast a couple of months ago when founder Le’Nise Brothers was interviewed about health, hormones and barriers.  We were really impressed with all the great work that Le’Nise is doing and it also piqued our interest because of the work we’ve been doing on fibroids, an area that Le’Nise focuses on too. We felt the services offered by Eat Love Move would be of interest to you, our readers, so in today’s blog we introduce you to their services.

Who Is Eat Love Move?

Eat Love Move is a business that focuses on women’s health and offers personalised hormonal health programmes and workshops. At the helm of the company is Le’Nise Brothers, a registered naturopathic Nutritional Therapist who specialises in women’s health, anxiety, depression and weight loss.

As a nutrition and wellbeing coach for women, Le’Nise’s mission is to help women understand and embrace their hormones and menstrual cycle and thus much of her work focuses on women who struggle with low energy, sugar cravings and hormonal issues such as PMS, PCOS, endometriosis, heavy & painful periods, fibroids, perimenopause and menopause.

“I’ve had a life-long interest in food – eating it, cooking it and sharing it. I slowly started to make the connection between what I was eating and how I was feeling and used diet and lifestyle changes to improve my anxiety, depression and irritable bowel syndrome.”  – Le’Nise Brothers

Le’Nise firmly believes in the power of food and she takes the time to understand her clients, their lifestyle and goals, and then designs nutrition and lifestyle programmes that are tailored to the individual.

Their Services

Eat Love Move’s services fall into three categories:

• Personalised Health Programmes
• Hormone Health Programmes
• Workshops and Talks

Personalised Health Programmes – these are a minimum of 8 weeks long and are for women who have symptoms or health issues, are concerned about their family’s medical history or have been advised by their doctor to improve their diet.  A typical personalised health programme consists of the following:

• Initial personal consultation including an in-depth health and lifestyle assessment
• Personalised nutrition advice and supplement plan
• Current medication and nutrient interaction evaluation, if applicable
• Recommendations of clinical tests and interpretation, if applicable
• Follow up consultations – face to face, skype, telephone
• Mini progress review calls
• Email support
• Personalised menu planning and recipes

Hormone Health Programmes – Eat Love Move offers three programmes:

1. Period Helper – this is a personalised programme that helps women with their periods and menstrual cycle so they enjoy life with no PMS or pain (yay!)
2. Hormone Helper – this programme teaches women how to manage their hormones and stress, and how food can bring things back into balance.
3. Menopause Helper – teaches women how to support their hormones and get a sense of balance so they feel better as they go into perimenopause and menopause

Workshops and Talks

Le’Nise is passionate about helping women learn more about how they can improve their health and wellbeing and regularly facilitates workshops and delivers talks covering a range of topics including meal planning, wellbeing in the workplace, self-care and hormone health.

More Information

For more information and to book a free 20 minute health and wellbeing review you can email hello@eatlovemove.com or visit their website

Eat Love Move offers Skype and FaceTime consultations so you can access their services from anywhere in the world, or if you’re based in London you can find Le’Nise at the Onebody Clinic in Chiswick on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 9 – 11am

Alternatively, you can join Eat Love Move’s private Facebook group, Embrace Your Hormones. It’s a private and positive space for women to ask questions about their hormones and menstrual cycle and get evidence-based information and support.

Disclosure: this post contains an affiliate link. Find out more here

I remember it like it was yesterday, I was 27 years old living in Washington, D.C. I kept feeling a sharp, somewhat dull ache in my pelvic area. I had never felt anything like it before. It would creep up on me suddenly and out of the blue. At times, it would trigger a sharp pain down my leg. At first I ignored it, as I thought it was just related to my monthly menstrual cycle. I always felt deeply connected to my body and prided myself on trusting my intuition. I decided, it was time for a visit to my doctor.

My doctor, always friendly, always efficient. She ran every test imaginable, we even repeated some twice. Some were painful, others were very routine. I had several smears done, in an attempt to make sure nothing suspicious was missed. After months of tests, exams and being prodded, I was told, “Nothing is wrong with you.” I was relieved but at the same time confused. Why didn’t the doctor know, why isn’t she fixing me, after all that is her job. Back then I obviously gave doctors a little too much power. I have come a long way, as this blog will soon describe.  It didn’t end there, I saw another doctor, this time recommended by one of my mentors. She said, “Jo-Ann, he is the best. When I had my breast cancer, he took care of me and he is the reason why I survived.” I visited him and the results were the same. I returned to my old doctor and once again, she told me there is nothing wrong with me. She suggested over the counter painkillers and at one point intimated that I may depressed. This is when it dawned on me that I have something that they don’t understand. She said, “Yes, you have fibroids, but they do not cause pain. “You are fine,” she continued, “Your blood flow is fine and all looks good!”

I went home and started researching.  I became obsessed, fascinated and even a little in love with my fibroids. I felt like I had to love them in order to understand them, otherwise I would have just been in a perpetual state of frustration. Weird but true, I really immersed myself into this world of uterine myomas, my uterus, my ovaries and widely speaking, my womb. You, see I did not fit the criteria for what doctors generally believe are problematic, therefore I was somewhat sidelined.

A year later at aged 28 I relocated to the UK. I was beginning a new era in my life. I was starting business school, transitioning and looking forward to a new chapter across the pond in Europe. The pain continued, life continued and nothing changed. I decided to visit my GP, perhaps she would tell me something different and she did! She told me I did indeed have fibroids, she mentioned there were many of them, some bigger than others and that based on their position, they were in fact causing pain and creating some discomfort. I felt relieved, she paid attention and asked me the right questions. She was very laid back, she spoke with ease and experience. At one point she suggested I relax and try to get to know more about my body. I heard what she said but I was not truly willing to pay attention. I wanted a quick fix, I needed relief. She explained that fibroids are normal but sometimes they can be a nuisance. She referred me to a gynaecological consultant, in short, in the summer of the year of my 29th birthday I had the fibroids removed via laparoscopic myomectomy. I initially felt the difference! I was lighter, the pain was gone and well, I was happy again.

I forgot about my fibroids until seven years later at aged 36, when I was participating in a duathlon and I felt it, that pain, the one that struck me almost ten years before. I knew exactly what it was and I was overwhelmed with grief and sadness. I visited my GP, this time a different lady, who was somewhat cold and unapologetic. She said, “Yes, you have fibroids but they are normal and you can live with them. I am sorry but we cannot do anything for you. I have women with bigger problems and I think you will be fine.” I went home and I cried, not only was she was lacking in empathy and slightly rude but she completely disregarded my experience. Other women had bigger problems than me, what does that even mean? Yes, of course, I do not have uterine cancer or endometriosis but does this make me less worthy of attention?

After wallowing in self pity for weeks, I decided to contact the lovely consultant who performed my laparoscopic surgery. Can you believe he died? Additionally, I read online that before he died he was involved in a malpractice lawsuit, after performing the same procedure on another woman, who unfortunately died. It is as if everything was against me. I sobbed some more. I was miserable for months.

Then one day, I was online and read about acupuncture. This is probably where I should state that I am a vegan, I have been so for 23 years now. I am very active, I exercise regularly-cycling, walking, hiking, I love being in nature, I tend to think I am positive, open minded and in touch with my body. This is what I thought, until I visited my acupuncturist for the first time. She was also a Chinese traditional doctor. With every visit I learned something new about traditional Chinese medicine, the teas, the pins she stuck in my body and the like. I was fascinated. I kept asking her, “Is this going to work?” She always smiled but never responded, until one day she said, “Everything will work, when you get to know your body.” Was that not what the really nice GP said too? She also said, “You work long hours, you don’t sleep well, despite being a vegan you drink too much coffee, you don’t breathe, you are like a machine, jumping from one thing to the next.” She added,  “You are like a jumping rabbit.” She was right!

This time around I was ready to listen and so I did. I started studying my body, paying attention and tuning in. She taught me how to meditate, how to breathe, she told me to start doing yoga again ( I did it for a year when I was 25 and stopped). She also encouraged me to keep a period diary. I began reading books about my body, my womb and explored how my hormones affect all of me. This then introduced me to the concept of what it means to be feminine. For a long time I thought to be feminine is to a be a woman. Every woman is feminine right? Well, not really, every book I read touched on the pillars of femininity such as collaboration, empathy, patience and vulnerability. Everything I was NOT! And why? Because I was too busy letting life run over me. A mental shift began and I started making connections between my mind, my body- specifically my fibroids and hormones- and connecting to my inner me. I literally tapped into my inner self in a way I had never done before.

I believe that my fibroids were my body’s way of saying you are off, you are out of sync and you need to fix it. In a strange way I believe it was my body screaming for me to connect with my womanhood and all those things that make me uniquely me. Somehow along the way between the career and incessantly doing I lost all of those feminine qualities and it took years of pain, one laparoscopy, a very wise acupuncturist, several doctors and my willingness to surrender to my intuition to arrive at where I am now.

I turn 40 in two months, I still have the fibroids but there is no pain, they have not grown or shrunk and I have learned how to manage them. I also switched careers, started a business, relocated to a new country and have an understanding of my body that I never knew existed. It is quite unbelievable what can happen when one pays attention to all the signs around them.

I honestly believe that this experience was meant to enhance my quality of life. I no longer see my fibroids as these awful tumours lingering inside of me but as reminders of how I should live and what I should focus on. Every woman has a different fibroid story and albeit mine does not include heavy periods and endless bleeding, the mental and emotional burden was heavy. I think my connection to my inner self is one that I never knew existed and has transformed my mindset and life in unconventional and unremarkable ways.

I realise now that the quality of my life is not dependent upon what I do, or how I do it but how deeply connected I am to my body. For a very long time, I thought I knew who I was because I ticked all the boxes. What a revelation, I actually didn’t. If you were like me, looking for relief the first step, does not begin with that doctor’s appointment and it does not end with a yoga class. Instead it begins with you. Like I was told more than once, “Get to know your body.”  And I will add, get to know you!  An exploration of self is the beginning to a curing of the mind, body and spirit!

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Lake Health and Wellbeing  would like to say a big thank you to Jo-Ann for sharing her experience with fibroids, we hope that through her experience you have gained some useful insight into this condition.

If you have any questions or comments please do leave these in the comments section below. 

Disclosure: this post contains an affiliate link. Find out more here

Today we tackle a question that we are asked quite regularly at our fibroids events: ‘Is there a link between fibroids and endometriosis?’

To answer this question, we’re going to look at what research tells us, but first let’s start with a bit of background on endometriosis. You can find out about fibroids on our fibroids page here

What is Endometriosis?

Endometriosis occurs when cells similar to those that line a woman’s womb are found in other parts of the body like the ovaries, fallopian tubes, bladder and stomach. The problem with this is that the cells that line the womb have a specific function which is only appropriate in the womb. The cells that line the womb build up, break down and bleed every month during our period. In the womb the blood has an escape route (the vagina), but in endometriosis the blood from the womb-like cells don’t have an escape route, and this can cause pain, inflammation and scarring.

Endometriosis is a long-term condition that affects millions of women worldwide causing a range of symptoms, such as heavy and painful periods, back pain, constipation, infertility and more. Thus, it has a significant impact on a woman’s quality of life.

Is there a link between fibroids and endometriosis?

When we look at research that has been conducted in this area, there does seem to be a link between fibroids and endometriosis. Firstly, several studies have found that many women with fibroids also have endometriosis, but just how common it is to have both fibroids and endometriosis isn’t clear as it has varied between studies. For example, a study carried out in the US by a team in Stanford in 2010 found that 86% of patients with fibroids also had endometriosis, whilst in 1994 a team in Italy found that just 12% of women with fibroids had endometriosis. Furthermore, three other studies found that 87%, 21% and 28% of women with fibroids also had endometriosis.  So, it does vary from there being a very strong link (87%) to a relatively weak, but significant link (12%).

When we look at the biology of fibroids and endometriosis there is evidence of a link between these two conditions. It has been reported that fibroids and endometriosis have common biological abnormalities that contribute to the development of both conditions. Namely these are defects in molecules called 17B-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (involved in hormone regulation) and aromatase (involved in the production of oestrogen). Related to this it is thought that women with fibroids and/or endometriosis tend to have a hormone imbalance having excess amounts of oestrogen in the body which, in both conditions, causes growth of the abnormal cells.

Why is it important to know about this link?

It’s important for patients and doctors to be aware of the link between fibroids and endometriosis so patients can receive the most appropriate treatment. If there is no awareness that women with fibroids are likely to also have endometriosis, patients diagnosed fibroids will be treated for just their fibroids and their symptoms may persist which the doctor and patient may think is due to the treatment being ineffective, but the persistent symptoms could be due to undiagnosed endometriosis. Researchers from the Stanford Study therefore recommend that doctors explore whether their fibroids patients also have endometriosis. Their study did identify helpful clues to identify whether a patient with fibroids may have endometriosis. They found that women who were diagnosed fibroids were more likely to have endometriosis if they:

• Had pelvic pain that was disproportionate to the size of their fibroids
• Were infertile

Therefore a good starting point for doctors and patients wanting to explain persistent symptoms after fibroids treatment is to explore whether the two symptoms above are present as this could mean the patient has endometriosis. If we can pinpoint these patients early then steps can be taken to alleviate their symptoms and thus improve their quality of life.

More Information

For more information about endometriosis you can visit Endometriosis UK’s website and for more information about the link between fibroids and endometriosis you can check out the references below.

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References

1. Huang J.  et al. (2010). Coexistence of endometriosis in women with symptomatic leiomyomas. Fertil Steril, Volume 94(2), p 720.
2. Nezhat C. et al. (2016). Strong Association Between Endometriosis and Symptomatic Leiomyomas. JSLS, Volume 20 (3).
3. Maclaran K., Agarwal N. and Odejinmi. (2014). Co-existence of uterine myomas and endometriosis in women undergoing myomectomy: risk factors and surgical implications. J Minim Invasive Gynecol, Volume 21 (6), p 1086.
4. Tanmahasamut P., Noothong S., Sanga–Areekul N., Silprasit K. and Dangrat C. (2014). Prevalence of endometriosis in women undergoing surgery for benign gynecologic diseases. J Med Assoc Thai, Volume 97 (2), p147.

Disclosure: this post contains an affiliate link

We recently came across this really useful ‘Know Your Flow’ infographic created by Be Prepared.Period. It provides really clear information to help you understand what is normal with regards to your period.

For women with fibroids this infographic may be useful  in assisting you when you’re having a conversation with your doctor during your follow-up appointments.  Using the information provided in this infographic you can describe how heavy your period is and explore with your doctor whether the colour of your period is cause for concern.  This may help your doctor understand whether your symptoms are getting better and whether a particular treatment has been effective.

Check out the infographic below and let us know in the comments section below whether you found this useful or not, and you can find out more about Be Prepared. Period on their website here

Disclosure: this post contains an affiliate link

Welcome back to our gardening and health blog series where we’ve been taking you on a personal journey as we explore the health and wellbeing benefits of gardening for ourselves. Today, Abi Begho is back and this time she’s sharing her experience of growing okra and why she thinks okras are the stars of the show.

Growing okra plants has been fantastic. So far, they have been the star of the show! They seem to absolutely love the hot climate here in St Kitts and have really thrived producing lots and lots of okra pods. We have had so much okra that we ran out of okra recipes and weren’t sure what to do with them – we have made gumbo (multiple times), crispy okra (a few variations), stewed okra and tomatoes (many times), Nigerian okra stew, okra in scrambled eggs (!) and okra in various salads. It’s been a fun experience.

Let’s Start at the Beginning: What is Okra?

Okra also called okro, ochro and ladies fingers is a popular vegetable in West Africa, India and the Southern States of the US. It is a very hardy plant being heat and drought tolerant and as you guessed, it is a tropical plant and doesn’t do well in cold temperatures.

It belongs to the mallow family of plants making it a close relation to the hibiscus (it was hard to believe this until I saw the okra flower myself), cotton and cacao, just to name a few of its cousins.

There are many varieties of okra, I read somewhere there are thousands (who knew! I am learning so much from gardening). Some of the popular varieties of okra are Clemson Spineless,  Red Burgundy, Burgundy, Emerald and Cajun Delight.

Okra is a healthy, tasty addition to your diet containing vitamin B, vitamin C, folic acid, potassium and calcium. It is also very high in fibre.

How I Got Started Growing Okra

We love okra so it was one of the first things on my list of things to grow in our garden.

Having read that there are so many varieties of okra, I was a bit confused and unsure about what variety of okra to grow. So I consulted with my trusty friend, YouTube, and the consensus was that Clemson Spineless was a good variety to start with.  So, I headed to the shop and bought a packet of seeds and planted several of them  in a container.

I was shocked by how quickly the seeds germinated. I expected them to germinate in 5-7 days, but just three days later I had little seedlings growing happily in my container.  I left them for a week or so and then transplanted them into the garden, being careful with the roots, as they are very delicate, and left them to do their thing. I just watered them every now and again and made sure they were in a nice sunny spot and I watched them grow.

Buds, Flowers and Okra Pods

About a month after I planted the seeds I noticed my very first okra buds. I literally squealed with delight when I saw them, it was so unexpected as was my squeal – my husband thought I was being attacked or something! Then three weeks later, the most beautiful okra flower appeared and then promptly disappeared within a couple of hours – if you blink you miss the beauty (Okra flowers only open for a few hours and then they close up  in preparation for okra pod formation). Two days after the flower appeared a tiny little okra pod had formed and then, voila, two days after that I had picked my first okra – yay!

Below you can see the progression from okra bud to okra pod.

In total I have 9 okra plants and for months they were serious okra producing machines! Like I mentioned earlier, we had so much okra we didn’t know what to do with them. It was great! And, I just have to mention how perfect the okras have been. I have never ever seen such good-looking okras and we used to buy okra all the time in the UK. Every okra I picked was beautifully formed, no defects and very tasty.

 As I type  the okra plants are 5 months old and sadly they are looking a bit tired, okra pod production has slowed down, their leaves have dropped and the plants don’t look as healthy as they did a few months ago. I think they are coming to the end of their lifespan or maybe they have some kind of fungal disease as I read they are supposed to keep producing for a really long time.  So, I have bought some new seeds and will be planting these soon.

Final Thoughts

I have really enjoyed growing (and eating!) okra. It has been pretty straightforward as okras are very low maintenance and, as I mentioned previously, very hardy,  so they have given me no problems whatsoever.

If you live in a warm climate I highly recommend you try growing okra and if you live in a cold country, you can still jump on board and grow them during the summer months.

WelI… that’s it for now. In my next blog I’ll be discussing my lovely little bell peppers. See you then and happy gardening!

If you want purchase some okra seeds, I recommend the Clemson Spineless, which is what I grew and had great success with. You can order some seeds from Amazon below

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If you missed our previous blogs you can read them using the links below

1. Improving Our Health and Wellbeing Through Gardening: An Introduction
2. Improving Our Health and Wellbeing Through Gardening: How I Got Started
3.  Improving Our Health and Wellbeing Through Gardening: Growing Tomatoes

On 14th March, we hosted a fibroids Twitter chat with the Fibroid Forum UK. We had a great time discussing the work of The Forum, how they’re supporting women who have been affected by fibroids and explored some of the challenges women with fibroids encounter.

You can read some of the highlights from this really interesting chat below and if you have any questions for the Fibroid Forum, please do send them an email or drop by their next support group session (all the details are in the chat below).

Hi everyone, it’s our my pleasure to welcome you to another one of our #fibroids #TwitterChats. #FibroidsChat (1/4)

— Lake Health and Wellbeing (@lakehealthwell) March 14, 2018

Today we’ll be chatting to, @FibroidForumUK, and exploring all the great work they’ve been doing to support women who have been affected by #fibroids. (2/4)

— Lake Health and Wellbeing (@lakehealthwell) March 14, 2018

Now, it’s my pleasure to introduce our guests @FibroidForumUK.

Welcome @FibroidForumUK , please tell us a bit about your organisation and what you do. #FibroidsChat (4/4)

— Lake Health and Wellbeing (@lakehealthwell) March 14, 2018

Hello everyone, it’s great to be a part of this chat. Fibroid Forum UK was set up in 2015 by a group of women who have suffered with fibroids. #FibroidsChat

— Fibroid Forum UK (@FibroidForumUK) March 14, 2018

We started Fibroid Forum UK to raise awareness of the condition, provide support for women with fibroids and empower them to make informed choices about treatment. #FibroidsChat

— Fibroid Forum UK (@FibroidForumUK) March 14, 2018

So, let’s get started.@FibroidForumUK, can you tell us what motivated your team to start the Fibroid Forum UK #FibroidsChat

— Lake Health and Wellbeing (@lakehealthwell) March 14, 2018

Between us we have had various forms of treatment for fibroids including myomectomy, hysterectomy and embolisation #FibroidsChat

— Fibroid Forum UK (@FibroidForumUK) March 14, 2018

There were good and bad things about our collective experiences but we all felt that there was generally a lack of information about fibroids and about choices for treatment options. #FibroidsChat

— Fibroid Forum UK (@FibroidForumUK) March 14, 2018

We wanted to make sure other women had all the information they needed. #FibroidsChat

— Fibroid Forum UK (@FibroidForumUK) March 14, 2018

It can also be a daunting experience mentally and physically and we want to help other women on this journey by coming alongside them. #FibroidsChat

— Fibroid Forum UK (@FibroidForumUK) March 14, 2018

We feel it’s important for those of us who have information to share this with others. We don’t want women to suffer in silence. #FibroidsChat

— Fibroid Forum UK (@FibroidForumUK) March 14, 2018

.@FibroidForumUK Having probably interacted with many women affected by #fibroids since you started, what has been the most interesting and also the most surprising thing that you’ve learnt about fibroids since delving into this area?

— Lake Health and Wellbeing (@lakehealthwell) March 14, 2018

We’ve learnt a lot! One example is that the location of the fibroid can be more important than the size, particularly when thinking about treatment options. #FibroidsChat

— Fibroid Forum UK (@FibroidForumUK) March 14, 2018

We were also surprised to hear just how long women wait before seeking help. We seem to find coping mechanisms before reaching out and this doesn’t help. #FibroidsChat

— Fibroid Forum UK (@FibroidForumUK) March 14, 2018

Many women didn’t realise how big a problem it was and looked for other reasons to explain their symptoms. #FibroidsChat

— Fibroid Forum UK (@FibroidForumUK) March 14, 2018

I did this myself – when I was very tired over a period of time I put this down to lifestyle and thought I needed to slow down. We really want women to identify the symptoms early on and seek help. #FibroidsChat

— Fibroid Forum UK (@FibroidForumUK) March 14, 2018

.@fibroidforumUK, you have organised educational events in both #London and #Birmingham. Can you tell us about these events? #fibroidschat

— Lake Health and Wellbeing (@lakehealthwell) March 14, 2018

Yes, that’s important. We held events in 2016 and 2017. There were presentations from consultant radiologists, obstetricians and gynaecologists. There was also a forum for women to share their experiences. #FibroidsChat

— Fibroid Forum UK (@FibroidForumUK) March 14, 2018

.@FibroidForumUK , What were some of the most common challenges that women who attended these events raised about #fibroids? #fibroidschat

— Lake Health and Wellbeing (@lakehealthwell) March 14, 2018

Many women didn’t feel that the range of treatment options were explained or offered to them. #FibroidsChat

— Fibroid Forum UK (@FibroidForumUK) March 14, 2018

Many women didn’t feel that the range of treatment options were explained or offered to them. #FibroidsChat

— Fibroid Forum UK (@FibroidForumUK) March 14, 2018

There was also an issue of doctors not realising that fibroids could be a cause of the symptoms when some women visited and explained what was happening in terms of heavy bleeding, fatigue, etc. #FibroidsChat

— Fibroid Forum UK (@FibroidForumUK) March 14, 2018

It looks there needs to be some educational work done with doctors too #fibroidschat @FibroidForumUK

— Lake Health and Wellbeing (@lakehealthwell) March 14, 2018

Absolutely l am totally there for doing some via social media and group chats it’s up to us to raise the profile of Fibroid suffers. I am really passionate about it because l am still suffering after surgery 10 years of fighting it. #fibroids #BlackTwitter

— RAINBOW BLAK (@RAINBOWBLAK) March 15, 2018

Yes, some doctors seem to know more about fibroids than others. We would like to see a universal standard of information included as part of their training. #FibroidsChat

— Fibroid Forum UK (@FibroidForumUK) March 14, 2018

Did you find that women in #London and #Birmingham raised the same or different issues? @FibroidForumUK #fibroidschat

— Lake Health and Wellbeing (@lakehealthwell) March 14, 2018

Yes, the women raised similar issues about lack of information but also about feeling quite lonely as they went through their experiences. #FibroidsChat

— Fibroid Forum UK (@FibroidForumUK) March 14, 2018

This is part of the reason why we set up the support group so women can share and be encouraged by others who have been through similar experiences. #FibroidsChat

— Fibroid Forum UK (@FibroidForumUK) March 14, 2018

We’ve heard from a lot of women how their social lives were impacted, particularly if they were bleeding heavily. They just stayed at home, and sometimes had to take time off work. #FibroidsChat

— Fibroid Forum UK (@FibroidForumUK) March 14, 2018

This is part of the reason why we set up the support group so women can share and be encouraged by others who have been through similar experiences. #FibroidsChat

— Fibroid Forum UK (@FibroidForumUK) March 14, 2018

Oh that’s great. Can you tell us a bit more about your support group? Just in case people out there might like to attend @FibroidForumUK #fibroidschat https://t.co/ELljRu0xpo

— Lake Health and Wellbeing (@lakehealthwell) March 14, 2018

Oh that’s great. Can you tell us a bit more about your support group? Just in case people out there might like to attend @FibroidForumUK #fibroidschat https://t.co/ELljRu0xpo

— Lake Health and Wellbeing (@lakehealthwell) March 14, 2018

Yes, we run a quarterly support group for women. Our next one is on Monday 26 March at 6.30pm at St Thomas Hospital in London. Everyone is welcome. #FibroidsChat

— Fibroid Forum UK (@FibroidForumUK) March 14, 2018

What do you think needs to be done (by the NHS and by organisations like yourself) to address these challenges? @FibroidForumUK #fibroidschat

— Lake Health and Wellbeing (@lakehealthwell) March 14, 2018

Organisations like ours need to do as much as possible to raise awareness of this issue among women. As individual women, we need to share our stories and also give leaflets on fibroids to our doctors. #FibroidsChat

— Fibroid Forum UK (@FibroidForumUK) March 14, 2018

The NHS can follow the guidelines that are already in place about giving women leaflets on fibroids when they come to appointments, and others. #FibroidsChat

— Fibroid Forum UK (@FibroidForumUK) March 14, 2018

What other events, support and work have you undertaken and what are your plans for the future? @FibroidForumUK #fibroidschat

— Lake Health and Wellbeing (@lakehealthwell) March 14, 2018

Our future plans are to host more events and see more support groups started across the country. We will continue to raise awareness where we can with those who are involved in treating women with fibroids. #FibroidsChat

— Fibroid Forum UK (@FibroidForumUK) March 14, 2018

Hi @CAREAbtFibroids, if you’ve been following our discussion, I was just wondering if you see some of the same issues over there in the US – women with fibroids feeling lonely, lack of information, doctors not recognising symptoms.

#fibroidschat

— Lake Health and Wellbeing (@lakehealthwell) March 14, 2018

Definitely. One of the most troubling aspects is how many women with fibroids wait for years without seeking treatment.

Fibroids place a heavy toll on a woman’s emotional well-being and can lead to body-issue anxieties and lower self-esteem. #FibroidsChat

— CAREAboutFibroids (@CAREAbtFibroids) March 14, 2018

Where can women find out more about these services and the work that you’re doing on fibroids? And if people want to support your organisation how best can they do that? @FibroidForumUK #fibroidschat

— Lake Health and Wellbeing (@lakehealthwell) March 14, 2018

They can join our Facebook group. They can also email us fibroidforum@outlook.com. We will have more information about how people can support us in the near future. #FibroidsChat

— Fibroid Forum UK (@FibroidForumUK) March 14, 2018

Do you have any tips or advice you can share for women living with fibroids? @fibroidforumuk #fibroidschat

— Lake Health and Wellbeing (@lakehealthwell) March 14, 2018

Generally, it’s important that we take care of ourselves – that includes our physical, emotional and mental well-being. It’s important to seek appropriate medical advice as all of us are different. #FibroidsChat

— Fibroid Forum UK (@FibroidForumUK) March 14, 2018

Well, we have come to the end of our #FibroidsChat. A big thank you to @fibroidforumUK for joining us. It has been really nice speaking to you and learning more about the work of your organisation. It’s great what you’ve been doing and we wish you all the best #fibroidschat

— Lake Health and Wellbeing (@lakehealthwell) March 14, 2018

Thank you @lakehealthwell for having us as your guests. Keep up your good work too! #FibroidsChat

— Fibroid Forum UK (@FibroidForumUK) March 14, 2018

What a great chat we had with @FibroidForumUK. They provided some really useful insight into some of the challenges that women with #fibroids face and how they’re addressing some of these issues.#fibroidschat

— Lake Health and Wellbeing (@lakehealthwell) March 14, 2018

If you’re based in London and have been affected by #fibroids, check out their support group on 26th March at 6.30pm at St Thomas Hospital in London. Everyone is welcome. #fibroidschat

— Lake Health and Wellbeing (@lakehealthwell) March 14, 2018