Diet For Pelvic Health (video script)

Hi there, 

[Introduce self naturally, as desired]

Today we’re going to talk about how diet can help us improve and maintain our pelvic floor health. 

Now, this is just an overview - you will be able to dive much deeper into individual essential nutrients, recipes, timelines, specific healing food plans, and more later. 

Think of this as the basic grounding lesson that you can always return to if you are feeling a little lost in the specifics.

There are a couple of elements to a diet that promotes pelvic floor health. You have to think about:

• Collagen

• Anti-Inflammatory foods

• Clean eating

Let’s take these one at a time. 

If this is the first time you’ve come across the topic of: “how you can eat for better pelvic floor health,” then, you may never have thought about how much collagen you consume. 

[Collagen] Intro section as desired

Collagen, along with a variety of amino acids, are key to our bodies rebuilding themselves. Women in particular need additional collagen at certain times in their cycles, after childbirth, and during menopause. 

Why? 

Well, your fascia,  the connective tissue that holds the muscles and organs in your pelvic floor in their proper place, is full of collagen. 

In fact, studies have made it clear that low collagen levels are related to vaginal prolapse even in young women. 

How do you get collagen in your diet?

It’s primarily found in animal bones. This means that eating animal-based products is an essential part of the puzzle when it comes to pelvic floor healing and maintenance. 

That can be hard for some women taking part in the No Kegels System to hear, especially if they have been vegetarian or vegan for a long time.

Of course, not eating animal products has its benefits too. But keep in mind that most medical studies are carried out on men - so, while not eating meat and dairy may work perfectly for them, it might well come with negatives for women.

In addition, a key component of finding the perfect “diet” (best foods for you), is based on what your ancestors ate and what part of the world you grew up in. So, as you can see there’s a lot more to food than you might have realised and it is hard to give an easy ‘one size fits all’ solution. That being said, we do know that collagen is important for pelvic floor health and maintenance. 

[Anti-inflammatory foods - Immune Awareness] Intro section as desired

On top of consuming collagen regularly, eating anti-inflammatory foods (i.e. alkaline) is a big part of keeping your pelvic floor healthy or your recovery on track. 

This means eating naturally occurring foods, that are raised or grow in nature and have minimal additives. 

A good guide for this is either a paleo diet - if you want the more relaxed end of the spectrum - or the Autoimmune Protocol. 

The Autoimmune Protocol is a diet used by medical professionals in many countries to treat inflammatory and immune-related issues from arthritis to psoriasis. 

What does it look like? 

On a basic level, no processed foods, including flour and refined sugar, no grains, and nothing that often causes allergies or intolerances like tree nuts and night shades. 

[Clean Eating] - Intro section as desired 

Finally, when in doubt, eat as simply as possible. 

This may seem extreme, but anything in the grocery store with more than three ingredients isn’t really ‘clean’.

On top of that, alcohol, coffee, tobacco, should be avoided. 

Clean eating is about bringing things back to basics. 

If this feels like too much, you can start with finding foods with ‘no additives’, cutting back on caffeine where you can, or not picking up foods from the store that have one or more ingredients you don’t recognise. 

The dietary change, maybe more than any other method in the No Kegels System, has to be taken at your own speed.

Make one change today, and another in a week! We aren’t going for the quickest change possible here, we are going for real and sustainable healing that you can stick to over the long run. 

[Key Recipes/Foods] Intro as desired

The easiest way to get that essential collagen I was talking about earlier into your diet could be making bone brone at home, or taking collagen supplements (like capsules or powder).

If you were previously not eating animal products, by all means start with the capsules or powder as a way to slowly introduce yourself to the idea of, and the health benefits, of collagen.

Rember, though, collagen supplements contain only collagen and some other amino acids, not the complementary electrolytes you get from natural sources, like bone broth. 

Plus, amino acids are broken down during the processing phase that makes collagen a palatable powder or pill, so supplements contain additives to make them shelf stable. 

If you feel most comfortable with supplements, use them for as long as you need. This isn’t a prescriptive plan, it is about moving towards better pelvic floor health as best you can. Just look for high-quality collagen powder or tablets with only a few ingredients and minimal processing. 

The best way to get your collagen, and some additional nutrients, is bone broth. 

The basic recipe for a functional bone broth just involves low-boiling animal bones - beef, chicken, pork, or even fish - for 12-14 hours on average, but up to 24 hours if needed so all the nutrients have time to be extracted from the bones and become a part of your broth. 

You can’t live on bone broth alone of course, other ideas for ‘clean’ meals that are either rich in collagen, or low on inflammatory ingredients, include:

• Baked salmon dishes

• Lentil soup

• Roasted cauliflower, turmeric soup

• Turmeric latte/Golden milk

• Roasted veg over lentils

• Healthy beef stew

Green tea with just a little honey is also a great anti-inflammatory drink, with just a touch of caffeine. The perfect replacement if you’re missing coffee and/or black tea.  

[Timeline For Healing]

Healing is not a linear process. 

And we aren’t trying to mask symptoms, we want to alleviate and heal them at their root. There is no exact clock for that. 

Anti-inflammatory foods will allow your body to reconfigure scar tissue as inflammation dies down, and the collagen you are consuming will strengthen your fascia, which then improves your pelvic floor. 

But do be aware - a realistic timeline is weeks and months rather than days. 

For context, the Autoimmune Protocol is a 12-week diet as a first move towards healing. You can expect to feel physically better overall within 12 weeks, but the true physical healing starts after this, once you’ve been able to reduce inflammation and remove allergens.

The full timeline of reversing pelvic floor dysfunction through diet depends on several factors, like what symptoms you’re facing, how long they’ve been present, and what you are doing outside of diet – such as your mindset around healing, processing emotions around pelvic floor challenges, and sticking to important exercises and treatment methods like Hypopressives & Block Therapy. 

Please know that it is never too late for healing to occur – age is not a barrier. In fact, the biggest obstacle to healing is holding the belief that one cannot heal.  

With all that said, most women feel positive results after the 12-week NKS, and even better results after 12 months of making these modifications to their diet. And it only gets better from there. 

[Goodbye, as desired]