It's been said by the medical community that endometriosis is "a beast that takes on many forms." And some women don't even know they have it. I didn't even know what endometriosis really was until a close friend of mine revealed she had endometriosis. I just knew it affected a woman's ability to get pregnant or it meant a woman could never have children. According to Mayo Clinic, endometriosis is a painful disorder in which tissue similar to the tissue that normally lines the inside of your uterus – the endometrium – grows outside your uterus. And it may spread beyond your pelvic organs. There are four stages of endometriosis – minimal, mild, moderate, and severe. The day my friend revealed her condition to me, she used the analogy of "it's like weeds growing inside your body."
It was summer 2017 when she asked me if I wanted to catch a movie with her. We decided to go see the new Tupac movie, All Eyez On Me. We had some time before the movie started and we walked over to the courtyard and sat down on one of the benches. She said, "Do you remember when I told you I have something to tell you and I would tell you in time? I said, "Yes." My friend went on to say, "Well, I have been trying to get pregnant, but I have stage four endometriosis." That day her story unfolded. Her continuous pain, countless doctor visits, the misdiagnoses, tried and true at-home remedies, medicinal treatments, multiple surgeries, freezing eggs, and her sense of hope. And it's the hope that kept my friend going in her pregnancy journey and battle against endometriosis.
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It was winter 2018; I had taken her out to lunch for her 36th birthday. Again, she expressed her struggles with conceiving. She urged me to get checked out at a fertility clinic and consider freezing my eggs. She said, "I wouldn't wish this pain you or any other woman."For the sake of my friend, I did get screened at a fertility clinic. And it was spring 2019 when she called me and told me she was finally pregnant. I cried tears of joy that day. My lifelong friend was finally going to be a mother and I was finally going to be an auntie again. And now, I have a beautiful 17-month-old niece.
Now, I don't have endometriosis, but my heart goes out to the women who are battling this condition. But what I do know what helped my friend with her endometriosis and her pregnancy journey is holistic remedies. I am not a medical professional by any means, but after visiting my OB-GYN's office yesterday, she confirmed a few at-home remedies that do help women treat this condition.
*The holistic treatments below are in no way a cure or reverse an endometriosis diagnosis. It's important to note that though holistic treatments can help, this varies across women, and it is dependent on what stage of endometriosis a woman is in.
1.Clean Up Your Diet
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A drastic change in diet has been proven to help treat endometriosis. Women should consume a primarily plant-based diet. This means no meat – no chicken, pork, or red meat. This also means no sugar, soy, starches, or super fatty foods. You also want to avoid dairy, caffeine, alcohol, and processed foods high in sugar. There should be an increase in foods with anti-inflammatory properties. Foods like salmon, green leafy vegetables, broccoli, celery, bone broth, chia seeds, and berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, or raspberries) should be included in your diet. It's equally important to stay hydrated; drinking water is an essential part of a healthy diet when dealing with endometriosis as it helps reduce bloating and cramping. Aim for foods that are high in fiber too – they break down estrogens in the body.
2.Chinese Medicine
It has also been said that Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is an effective natural treatment of endometriosis. A mixture of Chinese herbs can alleviate excessive bleeding, reduce pain, inflammation, and masses, and improve blood circulation. Acupuncture also helps with endometriosis. Research shows that acupuncture promotes blood circulation and regulates hormones. The anti-inflammatory properties of acupuncture are effective for pain relief due to their effect on blood chemistry and endorphin levels.
3.Herbs, Roots, and Spices
GiphyDrink up because you're a G. Think ginger, turmeric, and green tea. The good thing is we have access to all these roots and spices at our local grocery stores. Get you some ginger root, slice it into small pieces, and boil it in a pot for ten minutes. Bush medicine for the win, y'all. Herbs like milk thistle, motherwort, chamomile, peppermint, lavender, ashwagandha, rosemary, and flax seeds. Herbs such as these have specific properties that treat a range of symptoms and side effects of endometriosis.
4.Get You Some Supplements
As we women get older, supplements are important in our daily routines. Key supplements like vitamin B6, DIM (diindolylmethane), probiotics, omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium, NAC, Vitex, and Calcium D-Glucarate are vital for women with endometriosis. These specific supplements also help with pelvic pain, gut issues, contractions, pelvic cramps, inflammation, and muscle relaxation. Visit your local vitamin store or drugstore to purchase these items.
5.Mind Over Matter
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When the pain is too severe, meditate. Yes, you read that correctly. Meditation can help manage your endometriosis symptoms. Stress can increase inflammation in the body and that's exactly what endometriosis is. A disease of inflammation. Mindfulness can help you push through the pain on the days this disease is too much to handle. Even being outside, taking time to enjoy the moment can reduce levels of anxiety and depression of living with this condition.
If you plan on trying any of these natural at-home remedies at all, know that eating healthy is the best thing you can do for yourself and your body. This is proven. Also, know that there is hope. For anyone battling endometriosis, trying to get pregnant, or has a family member or friend with this disease, I wish you hope, so much hope.
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The seeds for these entrepreneurs were planted during their time as students at schools like Spelman, North Carolina A&T, and more, which is why xoNecole caught up with Look Good Live Well’s Ariane Turner, HBCU Buzz’s Luke Lawal and Morehouse Senior Director of Marketing and Comms and Press Secretary Jasmine Gurley to highlight the role their HBCU roots play in their work as entrepreneurs, the legacy they aim to leave behind through the work that they do, and more as a part of Hyundai’s Best In Class initiative.
On Honoring HBCU Roots To Create Something That Is For Us, By Us
Ariane Turner
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When Ariane Turner launched Look Good, Live Well, she created it with Black and brown people in mind, especially those with sensitive skin more prone to dryness and skin conditions like acne and eczema.
The Florida A&M University graduate launched her business to create something that addressed topical skin care needs and was intentional about its approach without negative terminology.
Turner shared that it is important to steer clear of language often adopted by more prominent brands, such as “banishing breakouts” or “correcting the skin,” because, in reality, Turner says there is nothing wrong with the way that our skin and bodies react to various life changes.
“I think what I have taken with me regarding my HBCU experience and translated to my entrepreneurial experience is the importance of not just networking,” Turner, the founder and CEO of Look Good, Live Well, tellls xoNecole.
“We hear that in business all the time, your network is your net worth, but family, there’s a thing at FAMU that we call FAMU-lee instead of family, and it’s very much a thing. What that taught me is the importance of not just making relationships and not just making that connection, but truly working on deepening them, and so being intentional about connecting with people initially, but staying connected and building and deepening those relationships, and that has served me tremendously in business, whether it’s being able to reach back to other classmates who I went to school with, or just networking in general.”
She adds, “I don’t come from a business background. As soon as I finished school, I continued with my entrepreneurial journey, and so there’s a lot of that traditional business act and the networking, those soft skills that I just don’t have, but I will say that just understanding how to leverage and network community and to build intentional relationships is something that has taken me far and I definitely got those roots while attending FAMU.”
On Solving A Very Specific Need For The Community
Luke Lawal Jr.
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When Luke Lawal Jr. launched HBCU Buzz, his main focus was to represent his community, using the platform to lift as they climbed by creating an outlet dedicated to celebrating the achievements and positive news affecting the 107 historically HBCUs nationwide.
By spotlighting the wonderful things that come from the HBCU community and coupling it with what he learned during his time at Bowie State University, Lawal used that knowledge to propel himself as an entrepreneur while also providing his people with accurate representation across the internet.
“The specific problem in 2011 when I started HBCU Buzz was more so around the fact that mainstream media always depict HBCUs as negative,” Lawal says. “You would only see HBCUs in the mainstream media when someone died, or the university president or someone was stepping down. It was always bad news, but they never shed light on all the wonderful things from our community."
So, I started HBCU Buzz to ensure the world saw the good things that come from our space. And they knew that HBCUs grew some of the brightest people in the world, and just trying to figure out ways to make sure our platform was a pedestal for all the students that come through our institutions.”
“The biggest goal is to continue to solve problems, continue to create brands that solve the problems of our communities, and make sure that our products, our brands, our companies, and institutions are of value and they’re helping our community,” he continues. “That they’re solving problems that propel our space forward.”
On How Being An HBCU Alum Impacts The Way One Shows Up In The World
Jasmine Gurley
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Jasmine Gurley is a proud North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University alum. She is even more delighted with her current role, which enables her to give back to current HBCU students as the Senior Director of Brand Marketing and Communications and official press secretary at Morehouse College.
“It was a formative experience where I really was able to come into my own and say yes to all the opportunities that were presented to me, and because of that, it’s been able to open the doors later in life too,” says Gurley of her experience at North Carolina A&T. “One thing I love about many HBCUs is that we are required to learn way more about African American history than you do in your typical K through 12 or even at the higher ed level."
She adds, “It allowed us to have a better understanding of where we came from, and so for me, because I’m a storyteller, I’m a history person, I’m very sensitive to life in general, being able to listen to the stories and the trials that our ancestors overcame, put the battery pack in my back to say, ‘Oh nothing can stop me. Absolutely nothing can stop me. I know where I came from, so I can overcome something and try anything. And I have an obligation to be my ancestors’ wildest dreams. Simultaneously, I also have a responsibility to help others realize that greatness.
Gurley does not take her position at an HBCU, now as a leader, lightly.
“People think I’m joking when I say I’m living the dream, but I really am,” she notes. “So I wake up every day and know that the work that I do matters, no matter how hard it might be, how frustrating it may be, and challenging it. I know the ripple effect of my work, my team, and what this institution does also matter. The trajectory of Black male experiences, community, history, and then just American advancement just in general.”
On the other hand, through her business, Sankofa Public Relations, Gurley is also on a mission to uplift brands in their quest to help their respective communities. Since its inception in 2017, Sankofa PR has been on a mission to “reach back and reclaim local, national, and global communities by helping those actively working to move” various areas of the world, focusing on pushing things forward for the better.
“Through Sankofa, we’ve worked with all different types of organizational brands and individuals in several different industries, but I would think of them as mission-based,” says Gurley.
“So with that, it’s an opportunity to help people who are trying to do good in the world, and they are passionate about what they’re doing. They just need help with marketing issues, storytelling, and branding, and that’s when my expertise can come into play. Help them get to that moment where they can tell their story through me or another platform, and that’s been super fulfilling.”
Join us in celebrating HBCU excellence! Check out our Best In Class hub for inspiring stories, empowering resources, and everything you need to embrace the HBCU experience.
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