EP.382/ These Simple Evidenced-Based Strategies Can Actually Lower Your Oxidative Stress Markers with Endo

Podcast

7 Mar

Recently we’ve been talking about oxidative stress and endo, and how it can lead to more inflammation and pain, but also endo growth and earlier perimenopause or ovarian decline.

So today, rather than throwing a tonne of strategies at you in one go, I want to offer some simple dietary hacks that can truly increase your antioxidant levels and measurably lower your oxidative stress and inflammation levels.

An antioxidant rich diet is one of the most supportive things we can do for lowering oxidative stress.

Research has shown that people with endo have lower levels and intake of certain antioxidants, like vitamin C, E, A and zinc to name a few.(1)

And here’s where we can actually really support ourselves.

A high antioxidant diet, with a specific focus on vitamins A, E and C actually lowered oxidative stress markers by 20% and improved antioxidant levels in people with endo.(1) https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/1477-7827-7-54

Another study on endo participants used 1000mg per day of vitamin C and 800IU of vitamin E per day for 8 weeks and found a significant reduction in oxidative stress markers, as well as a significant decrease in period pain and pain during sex.(2)

And finally, 2008 study showed that consuming a bar fortified with both vitamin C and vit E daily, for six months, reduced oxidative stress markers in people with endo.(3)

So, how can we apply this in every day life?

Generally, eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, beans and pulses will support antioxidant levels. But if you want a specific habit to improve levels of vit E, C land A, I have three easy hacks.

The study that looked at a high antioxidant diet, actually simply used 4 tbsp sunflower seeds and 3 tbsps of peanuts per day to raise vitamin E levels, for three months. If you want an even easier way to achieve this, just use peanut butter and sunflower seed butter, you’d roughly need 1.5 tbs of peanut butter and 2 tbsps of sunflower seed butter, and you could add these to smoothies, chia pudding, yoghurt, baked goods, energy balls or even in sauces and salad dressings. An alternative is also almonds, just 30g, which is a serving, contains over 50% of your daily vitamin E needs, and then you could top that up with the sunflower seeds or peanuts.(4)

Now, the same study used a specific variation of fruits to raise vit C levels, but a simpler way of raising vit C levels is with two kiwis a day.

One study found that one kiwi per day for six weeks improved vit C levels to healthy, normal ranges in those with low vitamin C levels, and two kiwis per day took vitamin C levels to ‘saturation’ levels, meaning vitamin C levels reached optimal and highest possible levels.(5)

Another study from 2024 showed that two kiwis a day achieved saturation levels, and significantly reduced inflammatory markers.(6)

So, let’s combine these two hacks. You could have a snack or breakfast of yoghurt, topped with chopped kiwis, almonds and nut butter.

Now, you’re probably thinking “okay, but they also used vit A in that study”, and you’re right, they did, but like vit C, they required participants to eat a range of particular fruits and veggies, which I am all for, because you know I promote plant diversity to get in a great mix of antioxidants and to keep your gut happy, but in this episode, we’re focusing on simplicity.

So, what’s one of the simplest ways to reach or exceed your vitamin A RDA? A medium sweet potato.(7) Now, some people find it harder to convert plant forms of vitamin A into the type of vitamin A our body uses, so you may also want to support your vit A intake with animal sources, with tuna fillet being an incredible great source(7), and for course, provides us with omega 3, which plays a huge role in reducing inflammation with endo (but that’s another podcast for another time, and I’ve linked to an episode on that in the show notes).(8)

So, if we then layer on sweet potatoes to this routine, you could try a sweet potato and peanut butter smoothie (obviously add other ingredients like almond milk, chia seeds, cacao, etc). You could make sweet potato brownies with sunflower seed butter or almond butter, or you could simply have a baked sweet potato for lunch or sweet potato wedges with dinner.

So the end result might be two kiwis and almonds on yoghurt as a snack, a smoothie with peanut butter in for breakfast, and a baked sweet potato for lunch.

So, that’s it.

Add a consistent or at least regular intake of sunflower seeds, almonds or peanuts, kiwis and sweet potato, and you’ll be well on your way to an evidenced-based method of increasing your antioxidant levels, and decreasing your oxidative stress markers with endo.

Now, of course, we’re all different - so some of these foods may not be right for you personally, for example, if you have a peanut allergy, obviously don’t go for peanuts! Additionally, for people with interstitial cystitis, kiwis may be bothersome, because of they are an acidic fruit, so you might need to play around with the right types of foods for you, but what I am trying to show you is that it is possible to lower oxidative stress with foods, especially if you go for foods that have a high amount of certain antioxidants. If you need to find alternatives to the ones I’ve suggested today, Healthline is a really fantastic evidenced-based website for finding lists of high nutrient foods, for example, you could search “Healthline vit E foods” and you’ll get an article with a list that is medically reviewed and fact checked.

Okay, that’s it for this week! I’ll see you next week.

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