Omega 3 rich, pms busting breakfast banana bread
If you’re having a rough cycle this January, know that you’re not alone.
Many people have worsening PMS, PMDD, period pain and endo symptoms come January.
Why?
Because of busy schedule’s, extra stress, less sleep and usually, dietary changes over the holidays.
And this isn’t pseudo science. Studies have shown that dietary changes like more processed foods, alcohol, sugar, refined carbs, etc. can worsen PMS, PMDD and period pain.
Whilst in contrast, diets rich in antioxidants, omega 3 and whole foods can improve symptoms.
But that doesn’t mean it’s time for a juice cleanse or harsh detox in January. I really don’t believe we should be putting ourselves through excruciating runs and ice-cold smoothies in the dead of winter, it stresses the nervous system, and just further knocks our hormones off course. Plus, we’re less likely to stick with these new habits, because who wants to go jogging at 5am on a pitch black and rainy January morning to come back to an ice cold celery juice? Maybe you love it - and that’s amazing if so - but I prefer more comforting ways to ease into the new year and look after my body.
And this omega 3 packed, luteal phase supportive breakfast banana bread does just that. It’s full of protein, fibre, antioxidants, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals, and complex carbs, all wrapped up in one moist, tender slice. It’s easy to grab and go, and means you have breakfast sorted Mon-Fri with minimal fuss. In fact, the reason I wanted to make this banana bread is because I was sick of making my oats every morning, so I designed a banana bread which had all the quantities of everything I use each day in my breakfast, but in one easy slice, that I could take on my morning walks.
Just one slice provides:
20g flax seed
10g chia seeds
10g sunflower seeds or almonds
10 walnuts
45g oats
1 egg
10-20g blueberries
1/3 a banana
Plus a healthy dose of olive oil too!
It’s also gluten and dairy free.
So, let’s get to it…
This breakfast banana bread is…
Rich in prebiotics and polyphenols to help heal the endo belly and reduce systemic inflammation.
A major study of 10,000 people found that eating 30 or more plant foods a week helps to create a healthier and more diverse microbiome. This recipe offers you around 6-7 of your 30! For extra guidance on how to reach your 30 a week, check out this article by The Gut Health Doctor or this one by Zoe.
This recipe is also high in polyphenols. Polyphenols are types of antioxidants found in certain plant foods that not only reduce inflammation levels and improve overall health, but they are also an absolute favourite food for our gut microbiome, which means they can support our good gut bugs to thrive.
Polyphenols can be found in various plant foods, and are in high amounts in olive oil, flax seeds and blueberries.
The anti-inflammatory effects of extra virgin olive oil, thanks to its polyphenol content, are far reaching. For example, research has shown that extra virgin olive oil can decrease C-Reactive Protein levels, a marker for inflammation.
Additionally, this banana bread is a great source of prebiotic fibre from the whole foods, and provide special soluble fibres like beta-glucans from the oats, that are incredibly beneficial for a healthy gut microbiome.
Research is finding a strong correlation between microbiome disturbances and endometriosis development, such as reduced levels and variety of good gut bugs and higher levels of pathogenic (bad, infectious), opportunistic (in high numbers, can cause problems like inflammation) gut bugs, as well as gut bugs linked to elevated oestrogen levels. These microbiome differences have also been associated with higher IL-8 levels, a type of inflammatory cytokine shown to be involved in the development of endometriosis.
Polyphenols and prebiotic fibre are like gut bug boosters - the more we provide to our good gut bugs, the more they grow and outnumber the bad guys. This helps to bring the gut back into harmony, which can improve gut symptoms and intestinal inflammation and whilst we need to do more research, could even help us fight endo.
Beta-glucans also raise short chain fatty acid levels, including acetate and propionate and even butyrate.
Research shows that people with endo may be low in short chain fatty acids. Acetate and propionate play an incredible role in reducing systemic inflammation, immune regulation and helping to stabilise blood sugar, but butyrate is the highlight here. Butyrate has a range of benefits for endometriosis and gut health such as reducing intestinal inflammation, improving insulin sensitivity, preventing leaky gut, promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria and inhibiting the growth of harmful bacteria. But here’s what I find most interesting. Butyrate inhibits our inflammatory immune response to lipopolysaccharides (LPS) - LPS are toxins that come from certain bacteria that can escape into the blood stream and local area via a weakened intestinal lining, and have been shown to be heavily involved in endo pathogenesis.
Blood sugar balancing to stabilise hormones, reduce PMS and lower oxidative stress.
Unfortunately, simple carbohydrates, like the flour and sugar found in regular banana bread, are some of the biggest blood sugar spikers, which can pose a problem for us endo peeps.
Blood sugar spiking foods such as high sugar foods and processed foods can potentially contribute to more PMS, menstrual pain and endo pain. Blood sugar spikes increase oxidative stress, which leads to more inflammation in the body and that may trigger further pain and symptoms. In fact, oxidative stress is higher in people with endo, and it’s a key driver of endo growth.
To avoid these issues, for this breakfast banana bread, I have focused on the presence of healthy fats (from the olive oil, banana, egg, sunflower seeds, walnuts, flax, chia), fibre (chia, flax, oats, banana, sunflower seeds and walnuts) and protein (eggs, nuts and seeds), which have all been shown to help stabilise blood sugar levels and slow down the uptake of glucose/starch from our food (oats and bananas in this case) to our blood stream, preventing blood sugar spikes.
One of the easiest ways for us to support our blood sugar is to opt for whole food carbohydrates, such as whole oats instead of flour, and fruit instead of sugar or maple syrup, as I have done here. Whole foods still contain their fibre, which helps slow down digestion and the resulting absorption of glucose to the blood stream, creating a steady drip rather than a flood. The added benefit is that rolled oats contain beta-glucan, a special type of fibre found in oats that offers a wide range of health benefits, including stabilising blood sugar post-meals (and as a result, makes oat-based foods more effective than wheat based foods for blood sugar stability).
Another great way to support blood sugar is with lower glycemic index foods, and every ingredient in this recipe, other than the ripe bananas (which can get moderate-high depending on ripeness) is low to moderate on the glycemic index scale. The glycemic index is a tool that looks at foods and the impact they can have on your blood sugar, on a scale of 0-100. A high GI index would be 70 and above, a medium GI is 56-69 and a low GI index is 55 or less. High GI foods are very likely to spike your blood sugar levels and do so quickly, foods with a medium GI rating tend to cause a moderate rise and low GI foods tend to keep blood sugar levels stable and steady over time with a gentle rise. This is because low GI foods break down slowly in the gut because they are rich in fibre and slow release carbohydrates, this means that the release of glucose to the blood stream is slow and gradual.
To further slow down any rise in blood sugar, I’ve added some seriously impressive star ingredients; flax, chia seeds, olive oil and sunflower seeds.
Flax seeds contain something called viscose fibre. Viscose fibre forms a gel-like texture when added to water, and when combined with liquids and food in the gut. This slows down digestion (so great for us when we’re drinking coffee) and also the release of glucose (even better when we’re drinking coffee with a pastry or cake!). In fact, research showed that 30g of flaxseed helped reduce the glucose spike with a sugary or starchy meal, whilst 20g flax per day improved overall glucose levels and responses over 12 weeks.
Chia seeds also contain viscous fibre. Just adding 3g, 5g and 7g of chia seeds to cookies was shown to reduce postprandial glucose spikes, and the higher the amount, the better the effect - so with 10g chia per slice, you know your blood sugar is being looked after!
Research has also shown that adding olive oil to meals reduces the post-prandial blood sugar levels (meaning it helps prevent blood sugar spikes from foods/meals), even in high glycemic meals (meaning meals/foods high in sugar or starch that can cause rapid blood sugar spikes).
Additionally, sunflower seeds have been shown to also have benefits for blood sugar. Adding sunflower seeds and other seeds may help lower the glycemic index of carb rich foods, like baked goods. Additionally, sunflower seeds contain compounds that have been shown to improve fasting glucose levels and show improvements in animal models as well.
Constant blood sugar swings can take their toll on hormones, leading to issues like elevated androgens (think testosterone), which can affect ovulation and cycle length. Blood sugar swings may also cause oestrogen excess or dominance and low progesterone if ovulation is interrupted or stopped entirely. Both of these imbalances can cause more PMS, heavier periods, and may also exacerbate endometriosis symptoms.
Additionally, this bread can help us out with luteal phase cravings. When we’re in our luteal phase, we often experience more blood sugar swings because oestrogen, which dominates in our follicular phase, helps us to regulate our blood sugar response, but is lower in the luteal phase. As a result, we tend to get cravings for sweet foods or foods high in starch. The problem is, these foods keep us on a blood sugar rollercoaster, and raise inflammation levels, resulting in more of those inflammatory symptoms and pain that we’re trying to avoid. This banana bread, being lower in sugar and rich in fibre, can help us get our fix without the pain and PMS triggering spikes.
Finally, blood sugar swings are linked heavily with mood disorders such as depression and anxiety, so if you struggle with low moods in your luteal phase, supporting blood sugar can actually support your mental health.
A fantastic source of omega 3 to lower inflammation and improve endo symptoms.
The chia seeds, flax and walnuts are all rich in those beautiful fatty acids, omega 3. A large body of research has shown links with endo and low omega 3 intake, and significant improvements in endo pain and period pain with increased intake or supplementing with omega 3. In fact, numerous research is now showing dietary intake of omega 3 as a helpful treatment for endometriosis inflammation and symptoms. Additionally, research has shown that a higher omega 3:omega 6 ratio suppressed endo cell survival, whilst another study showed suppression of growth.
Why are omega 3 fatty acids so beneficial? It’s mainly to do with their effects on immune compounds called prostaglandins. Prostaglandin E2 and F2α are elevated in people with endometriosis and people with dysmenorrhea. It’s these inflammatory prostaglandins that are the key cause of our pain with endometriosis, they also play a major role in the development and progression of endo. And whilst we need a health inflammatory response to heal after surgery, elevated levels of prostaglandin E2 can also make surgery recovery more painful and slow down wound healing time.
The good news is, we can actually lower the amount we make by the we eat (and supplements we take). A type of omega 6 called omega-6 fatty acid arachidonic acid makes prostaglandin E2 and prostaglandin F2α, but omega 3 makes anti-inflammatory prostaglandins. This banana bread, being rich in omega 3, helps us to keep inflammation levels at bay and prevents excessive production of prostaglandins E2 and F2a.
Can support a healthy oestrogen to progesterone balance and oestrogen metabolism for hormone health and less PMS.
We’ve got a hefty 20g of flax seed in this recipe, with good reason!
Flax seeds are rich in a type of fibre called viscous fibre, which creates a gel-like substance in the gut, and bulks out bowel movements, improving regularity and treating constipation. This is absolutely essential for the last step in clearing out oestrogen - we want to be having at least one bowel movement a day to keep oestrogen at a healthy level. When oestrogen is hanging out in the gut, not going anywhere, it can be reabsorbed, creating higher levels of oestrogen once again.
This is especially true if we have elevated levels of an enzyme called beta glucuronidase, that can be high in people with endo, and recirculates waste oestrogen. The good news? Eating a diet rich in fibre (which flax seed offers in great amounts) helps to lower levels.
Flax seeds have also been shown to improve the metabolism of oestrogen through the liver, by increasing the amount of healthy oestrogen waste products (known as metabolites) and reducing the amount of the more potent, harmful ones, which can cause more oestrogenic activity (which can cause issues like PMS and endo aggravation).
Finally, flax contains lignans, plant compounds that have mild oestrogen-like effects, but are no where near as potent as oestrogen. Structurally, they mimic oestrogen and so can bind to oestrogen receptors. Think of a receptor as the lock, and oestrogen as they key, when we turn the lock, it triggers an oestrogen activity like thickening of the uterine lining. This can actually reduce the impact of high oestrogen levels, but also supports low levels, in menopause, for example.
In fact, one study showed that the participants who consumed 10g fresh, ground flax seeds (uncooked), daily for three cycles had longer luteal phases and a higher progesterone to oestrogen ratio in the luteal phase as well.
Now, despite what the research shows, everyone is individual, so if you find flax seeds make you feel more oestrogen dominant, please listen to your body, and I advise you listen/or read this and this, for more info on how to use flax for your body and endo.
A great source of beneficial nutrients for endo and hormones, including magnesium, zinc, folate, B6 and vitamin E.
Research has shown magnesium to be an effective treatment in preventing dysmenorrhea (period pain) because it reduces inflammatory prostaglandins that are the drivers of both endo and period pain. One study showed that six months of magnesium treatment reduced prostaglandin F2a by over half! In fact, in recent research, magnesium is being explored as a dietary treatment for endo and a higher intake of magnesium rich foods was associated with a lower risk of endo.
Additionally, magnesium helps to regulate our sex hormones, and as result, is a recognised treatment for preventing PMS.
Low levels of zinc have been linked to endo, and research has shown it can significantly reduce period pain thanks to its anti-inflammatory benefits. It additionally supports follicle development and ovulation, while deficiency has been linked to infertility.
Folate is crucial to ovarian function and ovulation, and low folate levels can cause irritability, mood swings and fatigue, and fertility problems.
B6 is one of the most important B vitamins for balanced hormones as it supports progesterone production and oestrogen metabolism. Additionally, research has shown that B6 treatment can help reduce PMS, especially the mood challenges that can come with the syndrome.
A recent meta-analysis of over 589 participants, concluded that vit E supplementation can reduce period pain, pain with sex, daily pelvic pain and even improve quality of life with endometriosis patients. And a systematic review and meta-analysis of eight studies and over 1000 people concluded that vitamin E significantly reduced period pain and could be used as a treatment for dysmennorhea. But it’s not just supplements that help - food helps too! One study found people with endo had a 40% reduced intake of vitamin E, but levels increased after following a high antioxidant diet, and oxidation levels reduced by 20%!
Important notes to help you tailor this recipe to your own body and needs (and tastebuds!)
Is this low FODMAP?
Whilst I love making most of my recipes low FODMAP, this recipe isn’t as ripe bananas ate high fodmap, which are crucial to a good banana bread.
Outside dry? Oven temp factors
I have made this recipe about 10 times now, maybe more, as it’s currently my go-to breakfast. As a result, I’ve made it in three different Airbnbs (I travel full time) and therefore, three different ovens. The first oven I baked it at 175c for 60 minutes and it always came out perfect, moist on the inside and the outside, but then I went to another Airbnb and it came out a little uncooked in the middle, so I did it again at 180c and it was cooked in the middle, but a bit dry on the exterior. With that oven, I had to do 175c for 70 minutes instead, but then my current oven, needed just 55 minutes at 180c.
This is quite typical with baking, the exact same recipe can yield different results depending on your oven, so you might need to make the recipe a few times to know which temp and timing is best for yours.
Another option is to bake at 180c to ensure it’s fully cooked, but to cover to prevent drying the exterior.
Silicone vs metal loaf tin/muffin moulds
This banana bread is a beast of a bake. It has a huge amount of ingredients in order for it to fit in five breakfasts that actually give you everything you need - fibre, healthy fats, protein and carbohydrates.
As a result, it can get pretty big in the oven, and I have found a silicone loaf tin ideal as it expands outwards too, so the bake doesn’t spill over. Alternatively, bake in five muffin moulds for quick grab and go style breakfast muffins, but keep in mind you’ll probably need to cook them for less time - I’d start with 35 - 45 minutes and see how they are.
Are oats gluten free?
Oats do not contain any gluten, but most factories that handle oats, also handle gluten, which means there are often trace amounts of gluten on the oats. If you have coeliac disease or an allergy, you need to avoid all traces of gluten, so go for gluten free oats. The same may be said if you have a very reactive intolerance. However, if you just generally avoid or minimise gluten, regular oars should be just fine.
Can I make this egg free?
I’ve not tried to make this egg free and I think it would need some tweaking, but you could try using 100-150g nut butter instead, but I am not sure whether that would work well. Let me know if you try it though!
Further resources
If you’re struggling with your endo symptoms or gut health, you might find my courses and one to one coaching helpful. For January only, I am offering £500 off the 1:1 12 session coaching package. You can find out more here. I’ve also got endless podcast episodes on endometriosis and SIBO.
Omega 3 rich, pms busting breakfast banana bread
Ingredients:
225g oats
5 eggs
135ml water*
3 ripe medium-large bananas (the riper they are, the sweeter your bread will be, but be aware that the riper the bananas, the higher their glycemic index)
100g flaxseeds, ground (I used whole flaxseeds which I then ground for freshness, however, when I used pre-ground I noticed the texture of the dough was much thicker and required more water which can affect baking time, so just be aware of this)
60ml extra virgin olive oil
50g sunflower seeds, ground (or ground almonds)
50g chia seeds
50g walnuts
3 tsps baking powder (yes, really - it’s a fibre dense loaf so needs extra lift)
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsps vanilla extract
Optional but recommended: 50g blueberries (do not use frozen, they affect the rise) or 50g 85% dark chocolate.
** If you mix seems too thick, go for 150ml, but be aware it may need longer in the oven.
makes: 5 slices or 5 muffins
prep time: 20 minutes
bake time: 50 mins - 1 hour
cool time: 40 mins - 1 hour
Method:
Preheat your oven to 180 c fan assisted. If your oven runs hot, go for 175c (see notes).
Line a baking loaf or muffin trays with baking paper (see notes).
Blend the oats, eggs, banana, water, olive oil and vanilla extract until smooth. If you do not have a large enough blender for all of this, mash the bananas in a bowl separately, and pulse your oats in a food processor until a coarse flour is formed.
Grind the flax seeds in a coffee grinder or a food processor, in a coffee grinder I just grind 50g for 30 seconds, and then repeat with the next 50g. Then grind the sunflower seeds following the same method, if using.
Combine into a large bowl with the chia seeds, walnuts and raising agents and stir well to combine. If you ground your oats in a food processor and not with the liquids, add these too and stir to combine.
Stir through the berries or chocolate if using.
Slowly pour in the liquid, stirring as you do to prevent clumps. Stir until just together, but avoid over stirring as this can knock the gases out and affect the rise.
Pour into a silicone baking loaf or muffin tins if preferred (see notes).
To give a nice gloss and prevent drying, either brush with milk or egg white, and place on the middle shelf for 50-60 minutes, until a knife comes out fairly clean with just a few small crumbs (I find 60 is best but see what works well for your oven).
Remove from the tin and place on a cooling rack in the paper for 10 minutes, before gently removing the paper and leaving to cool for another 30 mins. Enjoy your first slice when warm, but can also be sliced, wrapped and refrigerated when cool, for five days. I just grab a slice each morning before my daily walk!
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Need more help or want to learn how to work with me?
Ways to work with me:
One to one coaching info and application
Live and Thrive with Endo 2.0 DIY online course
Endo Sessions: Single and mini-package one to one endo coaching
SIBO Sessions: Single and mini-package one to one SIBO coaching
Masterclasses in endo nutrition, surgery prep and recovery and pain relief
This EndoLife, It Starts with Breakfast digital cookbook
Free resources:
This podcast!