10 Ways to Prevent and Heal Ovarian Cysts

Have you or a friend experienced an ovarian cyst?

Chances are, someone you know has— even if you aren’t aware of it! Ovarian cysts are incredibly common, with up to 1 in 5 womb babes experiencing them. Much of the time, they don’t cause any problems. But when they do, they can be pretty miserable: from causing painful periods, pelvic and abdominal pain throughout the cycle, nausea, irregular cycles and more, cysts can really interfere with your life, and sometimes have long-term consequences.

As a clinical herbalist and womb health coach, ovarian cysts are one of the common issues I see in my practice. The great news is, there’s so much we can do to support our bodies by addressing the root cause! Let’s walk through what they are, the major causes, and my top 10 tools for prevention and healing.

What exactly are ovarian cysts?

Here’s a quick menstrual cycle 101: every month (if you’re in your menstrual years), in a typical cycle, rising estrogen causes an egg to grow in a follicle inside your ovary, until ovulation occurs when the egg bursts through the ovary and travels down the egg (aka “fallopian”) tube to the uterus. If the egg was fertilized, you get pregnant. If not, you’ll get your period 1-2 weeks later! The follicle that gets left behind forms what’s called a “corpus luteum,” which produces progesterone.

So, a cyst can form in a couple of ways:

1. if the follicle never releases the egg, it can grow larger and result in a follicular cyst.

2. if the follicle bursts but then malfunctions somehow, fluid can fill the space and it becomes a corpus luteum cyst.

These are the most common type of cysts, and are either called “simple” or “functional” cysts.

There are other less common, “complex” cysts, including endometriomas (when the uterine lining grows outside of the uterus and invades the ovaries), cystadenomas (they contain ovarian tissue with mucus and fluids), and dermoid (these are rare and comprised of tissue structures for things like teeth and hair).

This can all sound a little freaky, but they are most often benign (non cancerous), and often resolve on their own.

Okay, so what are the symptoms?

Often, these cysts will take care of them selves — follicles might become enlarged, then fade away as the cycles go on. But, when cysts grow larger instead of shrinking or disappearing, they can cause symptoms, and even rupture. If you’re experiencing these symptoms, it’s worth taking a closer look at what’s going on in the cycle:

Pelvic pain (especially ovulatory pain)

• Pelvic pain (especially ovulatory pain)

• Abdominal bloating (especially around ovulation)

• Irregular cycles

• Anovulatory cycles (not ovulating)

• Fertility challenges

• Spotting or bleeding mid-cycle

• Painful urination (sometimes a cyst can press on the bladder)

• Pain with bowel movements (if the cyst is putting pressure on the bowel)

• Nausea and/or vomiting

What are the typical treatment options?

1. Your doctor may take a  “watch and wait” approach. Many times, cysts will resolve on their own. However there are things you can do to not leave this process up to chance, which you’ll learn about below!

2. Your doctor may try to prescribe hormonal contraceptives to help stop ovulation. If you don’t ovulate, you typically won’t produce any more cysts… however, this doesn’t actually address the size of the existing cysts.

3. If your cysts are severe or at risk of rupturing, your doctor may recommend surgery. Sometimes, this can be accomplished without removing the ovary, but other times, it may be necessary to remove the ovary along with the cyst. If you’re post-menopausal, it’s much more likely surgery will be offered as an option.

What causes these cysts in the first place!?

Like many other hormone imbalance issues, cysts are primarily caused by estrogen dominance. This is a common hormonal imbalance that happens when either:

1. Estrogen levels are too high

2. Progesterone levels are too low, making estrogen appear high in comparison

When these two hormones are off balance, it can cause symptoms such as PMS, breast tenderness, fatigue, constipation, cysts, fibroids, libido changes, and more.  There are a ton of contributing factors that make estrogen dominance so common — everything from gut imbalances, to liver function, to environmental toxins that act like estrogen in the body, to chronic stress, and even hormonal contraceptives!

Deep breaths, though — the good news is, when we know that estrogen dominance is the issue, we can prevent cysts from occurring (or reoccurring) and reduce the likelihood of existing ones rupturing.

10 Ways to Address the Root Causes:

Okay, the part you’ve been waiting for… 10 ways that I help people get to the root cause of their cysts for both prevention and healing!

1. Love on your liver:
   In order to support our optimal estrogen levels for cyst-free ovaries, we have to start by thinking about the liver: this is the primary place where estrogen gets processed, and with so much physical and emotional stress in the world, medications, and environmental toxins, our liver takes on a heavy load! Supporting your liver can look like introducing more bitter foods and herbs into your diet like dandelion and milk thistle , which support liver function and detoxification. Even starting the day with some warm lemon water is helpful encouraging your liver’s natural detox process! We also need to nourish with carbs and protein throughout the day in order to keep our liver functioning. That means not skipping meals, especially breakfast!

2. Reduce your toxin load:
   We can love our liver all we want, but in order to support our hormones, we’ve got to be mindful of the toxins that we're exposed to. There are many chemicals in our plastics, water, makeup, body care products and more that are endocrine disrupting, or “xenoestrogens.” This mean they bind to the same receptors as estrogen in our body — not good! This can result in estrogen dominance symptoms, and limiting our exposure to the extent that we’re able to can make a big difference. Check out my free guide to eliminating endocrine disruptors from your home here!

3. Get your cruciferous veggies:
   Veggies in general are important for our hormonal health, as fiber is a big part of the estrogen clearing process! In particular, vegetables in the cruciferous family (kale, collards, cabbage, broccoli, chard, etc.) contain a compound called DIM (Diindolylmethane, if you’re fancy), which supports the liver’s detoxification process. Increased intake of the cruciferous vegetables has been observed to shift estrogen metabolism, increasing the balance of the forms of estrogen which may be more protective and away from the estrogen metabolites that can be harmful, and can even reduce risk of hormonal cancers such as breast cancer.

4. Eat fats!
   Most of us grew up hearing, “fat is bad for you.” Here’s the truth: our hormones are made up of cholesterol, which come from fat! Making sure you’re getting enough healthy fat sources is critical for optimal hormone production — and not enough fat is actually one of the common reasons I see people having trouble with ovulation, especially on a vegan diet. Ghee or clarified butter, tallow and eggs are some examples, in addition to coconut, fatty fish, and avocado (of course everyone has different dietary needs — find the ones that work for you.) In addition, fat is important for balancing your blood sugar, another key component in hormone health!

5. Reduce stress
   Always easier said than done, I know! But chronic stress really wreaks havoc on our hormones, especially progesterone. When we’re stressed for long periods, the body prioritizes making cortisol (a stress hormone) over progesterone, which can exacerbate estrogen dominance. Even short and simple practices like taking 10 deep breaths before getting out of bed in the morning can slow the spike of cortisol. Good rest and restorative movement practices can also go a long way.

6. Sleep in the dark
   Speaking of stress, did you know that sleeping with artificial light can stress your body out? When we’re exposed to artificial light at night, it impacts our circadian rhythms, increases cortisol, and yep — decreases progesterone. Sleeping in FULL darkness (no phone lights, no street lights, etc) with a sleep mask or blackout curtains can have a powerful impact on your progesterone levels, helping keep estrogen dominance in check.

7. Guard your gut health
   Gut dysbiosis is another major cause of estrogen dominance. Gut dysbiosis is an imbalance of the gut bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract. If there is an excess of bacteria that produce a particul compound called betaglucuronidase, this reverts estrogen back into its active form instead of eliminating it from the body, and it is then absorbed back into the bloodstream resulting in estrogen dominance. Supporting our gut microbiome with a diverse array of fermented foods like kimchi, saurkraut, kefir (or if you’re like me, injera!) is a great way to support a healthy microbiome. Additionally, it’s important to identify any food intolerances that might be causing digestive upset, and removing the triggers so that your gut can heal.

8. Try womb steaming
   Womb steaming (aka pelvic/yoni/vaginal steaming) is a supportive practice that brings oxygenation and circulation to the womb, and can be helpful in breaking down the build up of cysts. This practice involves squatting or sitting over steamy water, often infused with herbs, which can support the actions of moving blood and increasing circulation to the pelvis. For active cysts, I typically suggest steaming 2-3 times per week while you’re not menstruating. (Please note this is not intended for pregnancy, and use your discretion or consult with a practitioner if you have an IUD or active infection.) If you’re new to steaming, check out my how-to guide here!

9. Use castor oil packs and abdominal massage
   In addition to womb steaming, castor oil packs and abdominal massage is another amazing practice that many of my clients (and myself) have found to be extremely helpful in breaking up adhesions in the womb space and improving blood flow and circulation. All you need for a castor oil pack is hexane free castor oil, a heat pack or hot water bottle, and some flannel or cloth pieces. Check out my quick IG reel for a how-to!

10. Supplement intentionally
    If you’re working on addressing estrogen dominance and preventing or healing your ovarian cysts, supplements can be a helpful part of a protocol — but don’t throw in everything in the kitchen sink! My favorite supplements here are magnesium, DIM, and a vitamin B complex. Magnesium is involved in over 300 enzymatic processes in the body, and many of us are low in it. It helps regulate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis – the part of your body responsible for how you respond to stress, can support progesterone levels, and has been clinically shown to reduce PMS, anxiety, and menstrual cramps (amazing!). DIM is that compound mentioned above in our cruciferous veggies — it’s tough to get all the nutrients we need directly from our food these days, so adding DIM can be a great help in estrogen metabolism. Finally, B vitamins are critical for hormone health (and they’re also depleted by hormonal contraceptives). They  heavily influence the adrenal glands, increase progesterone levels and decrease estrogen, and they have been shown to relieve symptoms of PMS, especially when combined with magnesium or calcium. Making sure we’re getting plenty of B vitamins can help to limit excess estrogen, which then limits the growth of cysts.

Want to Learn More?

I hope this article was super helpful for you in navigating ovarian cysts! If you’re ready to learn more, join my newsletter by signing up for the free PMS reset challenge — this 2 week mini course breaks down all the steps to getting to the root of estrogen dominance with short, actionable audio lessons delivered to your inbox each day. I’d love to stay connected and support you through your womb healing journey!

With womb love,

Qiddist

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