Yeah, I know, great title. I apologize in advance to any men reading this, but one of the benefits of blogging is to share information that is helpful to others. In this case it is more helpful for the ladies (but guys don't hesitate because it may benefit the lovely ladies in your life).
Some of my closest friends and family know that I have struggled with abnormal pap smears since I was 25 years old. Today I had a biopsy of two small areas of my cervix and will be getting the results in a few weeks. I appreciate the prayers of everyone, but that is not the reason for this blog post.
As I do with most anything these days, I came home from the doctor's office to do a little research. I know many doctors cringe when they hear their patients are "researching" online, but hey, this is one of the things that I love about the Internet! In relation to medical issues, my favorite things to research are causes, treatment options and most importantly natural remedies. I love to see how food, diet, lifestyle and supplements can impact areas that doctors routinely treat with medical methods.
One of the tidbits that I saw was that 67% of women with abnormal pap smears were nutritionally deficient. With the ever growing food and nutrition problems we have in our culture, this was not a shocker. But this did motivate me to want more information on the foods, vitamins and minerals that could impact my situation. My hubby, Nate was so kind to do all sorts of research today to find more information on natural treatments, supplements and food lists that are sorted by vitamin and mineral content (thanks, babe:).
Nate found one study that was particularly interesting. Dr. Tori Hudson of Portland, Oregon conducted a study of 43 women with varying types of cervical abnormalities, including 10 with cancer. They led the women through a 6 week course of vitamin and mineral supplementation. In the end, 38 of the 43 women had completely normal pap smears, 3 had partial improvement and 2 stayed the same. Pretty impressive!
Gary Null, author of The Complete Encyclopedia of Natural Healing, stated that women who have low levels of vitamin C are seven times more likely to develop cervical cancer than women with adequate levels of vitamin C.
So needless to say, I am compelled to make some more dietary changes in my life! Those who know us too well know that we have had our fair share of dietary changes in the past few years, but I'll save that for another post. I will also be considering the advice and recommendations of my doctor as well(don't worry;). I just figure if some of these changes will impact my future health for the better, then it is all worth the fuss!
Stay tuned for future post on the vitamin and mineral regiment from the above study and lots of yummy info on the world's healthiest food!
interesting. I did not know you had been going through all that. I too, had some abnormal ones in college. I had a biopsy and stuff as well. Nothing ever was found, and after one procedure I have had normal ones since...so who knows what it was. I think a lot of women have them. Hpefully yours will become normal though!! good luck.
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