Energising and Hormone Supportive Microwave Teff Banana Bread Muffin

It’s the time of the year when baking becomes a go-to hobby for most of us. Cinnamon buns, pumpkin pies and banana breads take over our Instagram feeds and call us into the kitchen!

But, as you know, I am a huge fan of satisfying those cravings with foods that are supportive of our hormone health, help to fight endo belly and lower inflammation, to keep levels at a bay (plus, how we eat can genuinely affect our PMS levels).

And whilst sometimes, nothing will do but your favourite banana bread recipe, occasionally, you may find your craving this sweet baked treat, but don’t want the flare up or stomach upset, or sugar crash that comes with it.

If that’s you, I am here with this Energising and Hormone Supportive Microwave Teff Banana Bread Muffin.

This recipe is:

• Rich in hormone supportive mineral and vitamins from the teff, including magnesium, zinc, calcium, B6 and iron. Together these guys can reduce PMS, ease menstrual pain, support fertility and ease mood swings throughout your cycle (see below for the low down).

• Packs an omega 3 punch from the egg, walnuts and chia, to help pain and inflammation. These good fats help us to make our anti-inflammatory prostaglandins (as well as other anti-inflammatory mediators), naturally occurring immune compounds that help to counteract the effects of our inflammatory prostaglandins. People with endo (and people with dysmenorrhea and heavy menstrual bleeding) have been shown to have higher levels of inflammatory prostaglandins, and what we eat can help us to modulate these levels and lower pain . Additionally, various studies indicate an association with lower levels of omega 3 fatty acids and dysmenorrhea and endometriosis. In fact, dietary intervention with omega 3 fatty acids is now being explored for endometriosis treatment and management.

• High fibre, and rich in healthy fats and protein to slow down the release of glucose to the blood stream and provide you with a good source of fuel without the crash and burn. The soluble fibre from the psyllium husk and chia seeds create a gel like consistency that slows down the release of glucose from the teff, banana and oats, drip feeding you with energy rather than causing a big surge. Blood sugar management is (in my opinion) crucial to endo management because high blood sugar levels can affect hormones and increase oxidative stress and inflammation, both of which can worsen endometriosis symptoms.

• Can help with constipation and/or diarrhoea and endo belly problems. Both psyllium husk and chia seeds are stool bulking, which helps to solidify diarrhoea but also stimulates bowl motility in people with constipation. In fact, psyllium is an evidenced based tried and tested tool for constipation and even diarrhoea.

• Is a great source of prebiotics to feed our good gut bugs. People with endo may be low in certain types of beneficial bacteria, high in certain pathogenic bacteria and low in short chain fatty acids - prebiotics from fibre rich foods like oats, psyllium and chia seeds, as well as polyphenols from cacao and olive oil can help feed good bacteria and increase short chain fatty acids. This can not only help us beat endo belly, but may also play a role in fighting endo itself.

• It’s a great source of anti-inflammatory antioxidants from the teff, olive oil, cacao and chia. Research suggests people with endo have lower levels of antioxidants and higher levels of oxidation and inflammatory markers. A diet rich in antioxidants was shown to lower these markers.

• Low FODMAP to prevent bloating flare ups and IBS symptoms. People with endo often have gut microbiome alternations which can cause stomach upset, small intestine bacterial overgrowth and /or IBS. People with these gastrointestinal issues may find that foods high in fermentable carbohydrates can irritate their symptoms (because gut bugs love to eat these foods, creating gas, bloating, etc) and additionally, there is some research suggesting a low FODMAP diet may be helpful for people with endo who also have gut symptoms (more needs to be done). Does this mean you should go full blown low FODMAP? No (though some of you may benefit from it, as a short-term therapeutic diet), but to prevent triggering endo belly and worsening any pre-menstrual bloating, I wanted to keep this recipe low FODMAP so as many people as possible could enjoy it.

More science and Important notes to help you tailor this toast recipe to your own body and needs (and tastebuds!)

Bloating and IBS issues

I’ve tried to make this recipe as endo belly friendly as possible by keeping it low FODMAP and rich in gut loving foods, but remember, everyone is different, especially if you also have SIBO, which sometimes requires further (but temporary) restriction.

Teff flour blood sugar and gut health benefits

The star of this recipe is the teff flour. Typically, I try to avoid using flours too much, as they tend to spike blood sugar because they provide the body with easy to digest starch. However, teff is a bit of an exception.

Teff has a high amount of fibre, particularly insoluble fibre and is higher in fibre than rice, wheat, maize and sorghum. Carbohydrates and most of our nutrients are digested in the small intestine. This fibre helps to slow down digestion, which slows down the glucose release (carbs) into the blood stream, creating steadier energy levels and no crash.

This is important for us endo people, because blood sugar spikes can lead to hormonal imbalances like oestrogen dominance or elevated testosterone, more inflammation and pain, and poor energy levels. You can learn more about blood sugar and endo here, here and here.

One of the fibres found in teff is called resistant starch. It is different from the typically starch we find in cooked rice or potatoes, because instead of being rapidly absorbed by the small intestine (creating a blood sugar spike), it resists digestion and makes its way to the large intestine. Here it feeds our good gut bugs and helps to create a short chain fatty acid called butyrate. Research shows that people with endo may indeed be low in certain beneficial bacteria and short chain fatty acids like butyrate, and improving those levels can reduce endo belly symptoms like bloating, but can actually potentially help us battle endo too. Learn more about this here.

Teff’s mineral content

Something I see in about 70% of my endo clients (often worse in clients with SIBO and endo together) is low iron levels. This is often due to heavy periods, but additionally, having SIBO can and often does lower iron absorption, but additionally, the fear of red meat in the endo community can also mean people are skipping red meat but not getting in enough iron from other foods (I teach about meat and endo safety in my course, but you can also learn about it here and I’ll be doing a solo episode on the topic soon). This can result in low energy levels, depression, heavier periods (yes, really!) or lighter periods (it depends on the individual), dizziness, heart palpitations, brain fog and more. Not symptoms you want on top of endo and SIBO symptoms.

So, especially as chronic fatigue and brain fog are such a debilitating symptoms of endo, we want to ensure we’re keeping iron levels stable as that will really help us to improve energy.

The problem is, iron from plant foods is hard to absorb. There are various reasons for this, but one of them, particularly in grains that have a good amount of iron, is the presence of phytates. These are naturally occurring plant compounds found in grains, beans and legumes, and unfortunately, they bind to essential minerals like zinc, magnesium, calcium and iron (all essential for period health btw) and prevent their absorption.

Does this mean you should give up all of these plant foods? No, it just means we need to vary up our sources of these minerals, and where possible, soak (or even ferment) our grains and beans beforehand, which actually breaks down some of the phytates in them and helps improve mineral uptake.

The great news is, teff has a low phytate to iron ratio, and as a result, research has shown it has a provides a better iron uptake than many other grains. The even better news is that teff is also a really good source of other hormone and period supportive nutrients like magnesium, calcium and zinc.

Zinc levels have been found to be low in people with endo, and helps regulate the immune system, so may be one of the reasons why our immune system is so dysfunctional and allows for endo to grow (amongst other contributing factors of course). Zinc is also essential for building sufficient progesterone levels by helping to develop healthy follicles, and has been shown to reduce menstrual pain.

Low levels of calcium has been repeatedly associated with increased PMS symptoms and research has shown that treatment with calcium supplements can reduce the syndrome and even period pain*(because low levels of calcium can cause more contractions).

Finally, magnesium is a bit of a hormone hero. It helps reduce PMS symptoms, supports healthy oestrogen metabolism (clearance) and is a treatment for period pain, because it lowers prostaglandins, the suckers that drive up menstrual pain.

B6 benefits

This recipe could contribute between 8-15% of your daily requirements (depending on the amount in the ingredients) from the banana and oats.

B6 is another hormone supportive nutrient and plays a dual role in supporting healthy GABA levels, GABA is our calming neurotransmitter, and low levels causes tearfulness, low moods and irritability - especially in our luteal phase. Progesterone upregulates GABA receptors (basically, makes us more sensitive to GABA so it’s more effective) and so when progesterone is low, we can really feel the lack of GABA support. B6 is crucial to the production of progesterone, but interestingly, it’s also crucial for the production of GABA itself too!

B6 also plays a role in histamine metabolism, and histamine is implicated in endo pain and development, but also can make PMS worse due to its influence on oestrogen, the nervous system and brain neurotransmitters.

Protein content

This recipe is also a pretty good source of protein at 14g per muffin (though I wouldn’t go so far as to say high) thanks to the teff (which naturally has a good protein profile), chia, nuts and egg.

Having a snack or breakfast that is rich in protein can help keep blood sugar levels stable and energy levels up, which not only helps with fatigue, but keeps hormones happy too.

If you want to have this for your breakfast, I would add 100-150g greek yoghurt to up the protein content, or if you’re vegan or can’t eat dairy, have with a protein shake on the side. Learn more about dairy and endo here and here.

Blood sugar

As you know, I am always trying to create recipes that taste good but also don’t have a huge effect on blood sugar. I’ve used a firm banana in this recipe, because it has more resistant starch, which is slower to break down, and causes less of a blood sugar spike as a result. Ripe bananas are higher in starch and so may have more of an impact on your blood sugar (it’ll vary from person to person), but I’ve given you a low FODMAP serving size option because it will be sweeter and have a better flavour.

The good news is, bananas contain fibre that helps slow down the release, but I’ve also added extra blood sugar support in the form of fibre from the chia and psyllium, fat from the egg and olive oil and protein from the egg, walnuts, teff and chia seeds.

According to AI, this recipe has a moderate glycemic load and glycemic index, which means it’ll have a moderate impact on your blood sugar (this can vary, depending on your personal metabolism). I recommend you have this as a snack before a walk or exercise, or when you’re on the go and need some slower release fuel - this will help use up the fuel without any negative glucose impacts.

If you know your blood sugar isn’t super stable, add an extra 5g of chia seeds which will further slow down the glucose release, you can also omit the oats, which will lessen the starch content.

Gritty texture? Buy the right teff!

It’s really important to get a finely milled teff flour, as it can sometimes be a little gritty. I didn’t have a problem with any teff flours being gritty in the UK, so I wouldn’t worry too much, but on my travels (I travel full time), I have bought some that were like eating sand. Not pleasant!

Histamines

Bananas, walnuts and chocolate are considered to be reasonably high histamine foods or histamine liberators (can trigger the release). Whilst it’s really not necessary for everyone with endo to go low histamine (that’s a very restrictive diet and shouldn’t be done long term), some people with histamine sensitivities may struggle with symptoms such as pain, inflammation, allergies and gut symptoms with a high histamine intake.

If this is you, you may find skipping the walnuts or chocolate helpful, as not everyone needs to go super low histamine to feel relief (I mean, you could remove the banana, but then it becomes a whole different recipe!). Additionally, just this recipe being low FODMAP helps lower the histamine content, as the low FODMAP diet reduces histamine intake due to its serving sizes.

Some people’s PMS is worsened by high histamine levels, so if this is you, you may be better off reducing higher histamine foods a few days before your period or when your PMS is worse. I will say though, the biggest histamine culprits are aged, fermented, cured, smoked and cultured foods - when we start looking at fruits, nuts, etc. we’re getting into a much more restrictive zone that’s not necessary for everyone.

Is heating olive oil in the microwave inflammatory?

There’s a lot of confusion around oils and which ones are okay to heat (even as a nutritional practitioner, I have a hard time keeping up with the changing data!).

One of the key cause of concerns with heating oils is the formation of advanced glycation end products. Advanced glycation end products are harmful compounds that are produced when proteins and fats are heated and bond with sugar molecules, and they can also be produced naturally in our body from blood sugar spikes. AGES cause oxidation in the body, an inflammatory process linked to endo.

High temperatures, dry cooking methods and long cooking methods, as well as browning of food (called the Maillard reaction) increases the production of AGES.

Lower cooking levels (under 180c), moist cooking methods, and shorter temps, with less browning, lowers the AGE formation. Cooking this mug cake in the microwave is a moister, shorter and lower temp cooking method, so the AGE formation is much lower than it would be if you were let’s say, baking the cake in the oven, or using it to fry.

Another concern with heating olive oil is oxidation. Oxidation is a chemical reaction where molecules (such as fats) lose electrons, leading to the formation of free radicals. Free radicals damage our DNA, and cause oxidation in our own bodies, which as I mentioned above, triggers an inflammatory response and is linked to endo. Oxidation of oils happens at high heats and kicks in at an oil’s smoke point. Olive oils smoke point is around 190-220°C or 374-428°F, which means it may begin to break down and lose some nutritional properties if overheated. Since microwaving typically does not reach these high temperatures, it’s unlikely to affect the oil's health benefit.

Having said that, olive oil is a little different from other oils. Its rich antioxidant content actually protects it from this oxidative process, even above its smoke point, and so it retains many of its beneficial properties and stays stable, and this makes it a safer oil than many to cook with.

This leads me to its nutritional benefits. Olive oil is rich in antioxidants called polyphenols - our gut loves these antioxidants, and so they can help us rebuild a healthy gut and microbiome (which sadly, not many of us with endo have). The worry with cooking olive oil is that it will lose its rich polyphenol levels, but the data shows that if you buy a extra virgin olive oil, the polyphenol levels are so high, that not only do they actually protect the oil from degrading, but that there is a significant amount left remaining after cooking. The reduction of polyphenol loss is reduced further by the short cooking times and lower heat of the microwave.

If you want to understand more about cooking olive oil, this is a fantastic evidenced based article.

Further resources

If you’re struggling with your gut health, you might find my courses and one to one coaching helpful. You can find out more here. I’ve also got endless podcast episodes on gut health and blood sugar.

To understand more about the low FODMAP diet, start here.

Method:

Combine the dry ingredients in a microwavable mug, whisk with a fork to combine.

Add the wet ingredients, and beat with a spoon or a fork, as if you’re beating an egg, for 30 seconds or so, until really well combined (this prevents the egg whites from separating and frothing up on top when cooking).

Leave for two minutes for the mix to thicken - again, this is an important step as without it, I’ve noticed the egg whites tend to separate whilst cooking.

Microwave for two minutes on high (you may need to adjust according to your microwave). You can check it’s cooked by inserting a tooth pick or wooden skewer and seeing if it comes out clean.

Leave to stand for two minutes, as it will continue to cook at this stage, which gives it the right texture.

Ideally, leave for an extra two minutes to cool (I promise it’s better this way). Empty into a bowl or eat in the mug.