Reclaiming your health: Nutrition and lipoedema
As a clinical nutritionist with lipoedema, I know firsthand how confusing the world of nutrition can be—especially when you are living with a condition that is often misunderstood and misdiagnosed. When living with lipoedema, the journey of trying to manage symptoms, maintain a healthy muscle mass and weight, and improve energy levels can feel overwhelming. The constant misinformation and dismissive attitudes towards our symptoms, often written off as excess weight gain caused by overeating, can make it even harder to stay motivated.
Lipoedema symptoms such as pain or tenderness to touch in affected areas, swelling, heaviness, and disproportionate fat accumulation—are often shrugged off by medical professionals and society. It's easy to become discouraged when you're told that your struggles are simply a matter of "eating too much" or "not exercising enough," especially when you know deep down that there's more to it. This gaslighting doesn't just affect our health - it undermines our confidence, our intelligence, and our ability to keep trying when previous attempts at solutions have failed. So I’d like to help you to break free from these misconceptions.
We’re often told lipoedema is resistant to nutrition and exercise, but it’s important to know that they can absolutely make a difference in managing symptoms. The right dietary approach is not just about weight loss—it’s about protecting muscle mass, improving metabolic health, and lowering the risk of lipoedema progression via obesity and chronic inflammation, and even the development of secondary lymphoedema. I’ll explain why nutrition is vital for managing lipoedema, and how understanding your unique needs and responding with tailored nutritional strategies can help restore balance and improve your quality of life.
Nutrition and metabolic health: The key to managing lipoedema
One of the most important factors in managing lipoedema is maintaining healthy metabolic function. Metabolism is the process by which your body converts food into energy. This process involves complex interactions between hormones, enzymes, and cells, and plays a crucial role in regulating body weight, mood, and overall health. Hormonal imbalances from things such as chronic stress, nutritional deficiencies, high carbohydrate and processed food intake, poor sleep, and/or lack of movement interferes with fat burning/fat storage hormones.
The right nutrition can help to maintain and improve metabolic health by regulating blood sugars, reducing inflammation, and supporting insulin sensitivity (the fat growth and fat storage hormone). Nutrition also plays an important role in maintaining muscle mass, which is essential for preserving mobility and strength. Muscle tissue is more metabolically active than fat tissue, meaning that it burns more calories even at rest. In people with lipoedema, it's so important to protect and build muscle mass to reduce the risk of further weight gain, improve insulin sensitivity, and enhance overall well-being and mental health.
Re-education of nutrition principles
There is a great deal of confusion around nutrition, largely due to the overload of information and people trying a little bit of everything at the same time. Unfortunately, many of the mainstream dietary guidelines are not suited for people with lipoedema or other chronic health conditions. Nutrition needs to be personalised based on your age, your genes, your lifestyle, and—perhaps most importantly—your stress levels (both physical and emotional).
When we think about nutrition for lipoedema, we need to consider not only food but also the broader context of someone's life. For example, people in their 20s will have different nutritional needs than those in their 50s or 70s. Similarly, the unique interplay between your genetics and epigenetics - the way nutrition and lifestyle affect gene expression - plays a critical role in determining how your body responds to food and nutrition.
How to adjust your nutrition for better health
For those of us with lipoedema, reducing the intake of carbohydrates—especially simple sugars and ultra-processed foods—can have an incredibly positive impact. This approach aligns with ketogenic or low-carb protocols, which have been shown to provide similar benefits to weight loss drugs. By replacing foods that break down into sugars with high-quality proteins, healthy fats, nutrient-dense vegetables and low-sugar fruits, you can support and maintain your metabolic health and help reduce the risk of lipoedema progression.
Some examples of ultra-processed foods to eliminate include:
Sugary snacks and desserts
Soft drinks and flavoured milks
Fast food and packaged meals
Refined grains like supermarket bread, pastries, pasta, and white rice
Instead, focus on incorporating nutrient-dense, whole foods that are rich in vitamins and minerals. Good quality protein sources include meat & poultry, fish, seafood, eggs, and plant-based proteins such as legumes and fermented tofu. Healthy fats can be sourced from fruit oils such as coconut, olive, and avocado oils, as well as animal fats like beef tallow.
Gut Health and Nutritional Deficiencies
I see many people with lipoedema in my health clinic who are undereating. Compromised gut health is also quite common, which can make it harder to digest and absorb essential nutrients. This is important because nutrient deficiencies can exacerbate lipoedema symptoms. Common deficiencies in people with lipoedema include iron, vitamin D, and vitamin B12, and if left unaddressed, these deficiencies can lead to fatigue, low immunity, nerve pain, increased cardiovascular disease risk and a number of other health issues.
In my next blog, I’ll dive deeper into how to address these deficiencies and other nutrients that are important for our lipoedema community. For now, it's worth mentioning that those of us with lipoedema may also require support for digestive issues such as poor hydrochloric acid production, low digestive enzyme activity, or inadequate bile salts. If you're struggling with digestive issues, these are all areas to consider seeking guidance for when adjusting your nutritional protocol.
Food Intolerances and Co-Existing Conditions
It's also important to consider food intolerances, which can vary from person to person. For some, dairy, gluten, or nightshades may cause inflammation or digestive discomfort (but not for everyone, so please don’t omit total food groups completely ‘just in case’), further complicating the nutritional landscape. Each individual’s food sensitivities and intolerances need to be taken into account, and this is where personalised nutrition really makes a difference. There are tools such as gut microbiome testing that can help to identify things such as leaky gut, dysbiosis (imbalance of gut microbes), and other helpful information.
Additionally, many people with lipoedema may also have coexisting conditions such as hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS), Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), or Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), which can further impact how nutrition is processed in the body. These conditions often require additional nutritional support and a more tailored approach to help manage symptoms.
Reclaiming Your Relationship with Food
Ultimately, re-educating yourself about nutrition is about more than just losing weight or following a specific diet. It’s about reconnecting with your body and mind and finding an approach that supports your individual needs. Nutrition should be a tool that helps you feel empowered, not a source of frustration or confusion. By embracing a balanced, personalised nutrition plan that supports your metabolic health, you can lower your risk of lipoedema progression, protect muscle mass, improve your energy and mood, and regain control over your health.
In the end, it's not just about what you eat—it’s about understanding why you eat it and how it works for you. By taking control of your nutrition and focusing on what’s right for your unique needs, you can create a healthier, more fulfilling life, regardless of your lipoedema diagnosis.
If you’re struggling with lipoedema or need support navigating your nutritional journey, feel free to reach out. Together, we can make this journey a little easier.
