Padma Lakshmi gets real about her battle with endometriosis

Padma Lakshmi wears a variety of hats: all-star mother who finds time to meditate, boxing babe, and host (plus taste tester) on Bravo’s Top Chef. And in a recent interview with the Cut, Lakshmi revealed that she’s on an unofficial mission to spread endometriosis awareness.

Endometriosis plagues 10 percent of women globally; it causes a tissue, not unlike the one that lines your uterus, to grow on other parts of your body, like your ovaries, intestines, or bladder. So when you have your period, the other layers shed at the same time as your uterine lining. “Ouch” is a major understatement—endometriosis can be completely debilitating.

“If I had a problem with my prostate or if I had erectile dysfunction, there would be many treatments readily available for me. But because I have a women’s reproductive health issue, I had to suffer.” —Padma Lakshmi

“I didn’t know about this disease until somebody finally listened to my symptoms, told me I wasn’t crazy, and explained what I had,” said Lakshmi, whose case—sadly—isn’t an anomaly. It commonly takes about a decade after you start developing endometrial symptoms for doctors to finally come to a diagnosis. Lakshmi told the Cut that her case took 23 years to diagnose.

After finally receiving a label for her condition, Lakshmi underwent a series of surgeries and came out the other side relieved, shocked, and—well—angry. “If I had a problem with my prostate or if I had erectile dysfunction, there would be many treatments readily available for me. But because I have a women’s reproductive health issue, I had to suffer,” she told the Cut.

Preach, sister. You can now count Lakshmi as yet another #bossbabe joining the ranks of celebs like Lena Dunham and Julianne Hough to shine some much-needed light on this common condition.

Tia Mowry used food to ease her endometriosis—here’s how. Plus, this is the link between endometriosis and cancer that you need to know about.