A gynaecologist, Dr Prosper Igboeli, has advised women to eat foods that contain vitamin D to avoid the formation of fibroid.
Igboeli, the Managing Director of a fertility and IVF centre in Abuja, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, on Wednesday in Abuja.
He said fibroids were abnormal growths that developed in or on a woman’s uterus and could sometimes become quite large and cause severe abdominal pain.
He said fibroids, which cause remained unknown, could also cause heavy periods but in some cases, give no signs or symptoms at all.
According to him, the growths are typically benign or non-cancerous.
Igboeli, who listed oily fish such as salmon, sardines, herring and mackerel, red meat, liver, egg yolks and fortified foods such as some fat spreads and breakfast cereals as sources of vitamin D, also listed the symptoms of fibroid to include heavy menstrual bleeding lasting more than one week, frequent urination and difficulty emptying the bladder.
According to him, fibroids could cause pelvic pressure or pain and frequent urination.
He advised women to eat foods, fruits and vegetables that contain calcium.
He explained that “vitamin D deficiency is connected to fibroid formation. We have taken serial measurement of vitamin D in patients and found out that a lot of black women suffering from fibroid also have vitamin D deficiency.”
The gynaecologist also said that the estrogen and the progesterone that women make on monthly basis stimulated the vessel of the womb to transform into tumorous fibroid.
The doctor said red meat and ham had been linked to higher risk of fibroids, while green vegetables seemed to protect women from developing fibroids.
He added that both young and middle-aged women could develop fibroids, noting that “for the older women, it may stop when they reach menopause.”
According to him, fibroids could run in families, noting that if a woman’s mother had fibroids, there was an increased chance that the child may also develop fibroids later in life.
Igboeli said fibroids could recur if not properly removed, including the small ones.
He, however, advised women not to use herbal medicines or depend on prayers to solve the problem of fibroid, saying “herbs can destroy the womb.”
“Seek doctors advise for prompt medical attention,” he counselled.
“Some herbs can destroy the fibroid quite alright, but sometimes it affects the womb.”
Source: NAN
