Uterine fibroids affect up to 80% of women by age 50 and can cause painful, life-altering symptoms. Dr. Tara Shirazian joins "CBS Mornings" to discuss how diet, exercise and awareness may help.

Emerging research indicates that lifestyle changes, such as maintaining normal vitamin D levels, following an anti-inflammatory diet rich in vegetables, and regular exercise, may help reduce the risk and recurrence of uterine fibroids. Uterine fibroids are non-cancerous tumors that affect up to 80% of women by age 50 and can cause significant symptoms including pain and heavy menstrual cycles.

The study, led by Dr. Tara Shirazian at NYU's Langone Center for Fibroid Care, implemented a post-surgical lifestyle program that showed improved quality of life and reduced fibroid regrowth among participants. The research also highlights a higher prevalence of fibroids among Black women, with genetic factors playing a significant role. Supplements such as vitamin D, green tea extract, and turmeric were also discussed as potentially beneficial.

New research shows lifestyle changes may reduce fibroids

In today's Health Watch, emerging research is finding that lifestyle changes could help to reduce a very common medical condition affecting tens of millions of American women. You heard of this uterine fibroids? They are non-cancerous tumors and impact up to 80% of women by the time we turn 50. Wow. They can have life- Wow is right, Nate. I said the same thing. They can have life-altering symptoms and some complications. Fibroids can cause pain, heavy menstrual cycles, that is never fun, and in severe cases, anemia. July is Fibroid Awareness Month. We're happy to say that Dr. Tara Shirazian, Director of NYU's Langone Center for Fibroid Care, joins us to fill us in. Just like Nate said, wow, when I heard that figure too, 80%, I think it's so much more common than people realize. Yes, it's extremely common, 80% of all women, and I think what people don't know is that not only is it common, but it's also chronic and it's also recurrent. So a lot of people think of fibroids as a one and done kind of thing, we'll take out our fibroids and everything is fine, but in fact they come back in 60 to 70% of younger women especially. And also I've seen that, I've heard that they can get so large sometimes that people think you're pregnant. Yes. That was a surprise to me, I had a friend that said hers was the size of a watermelon, and she was not a big person. Right, they can make you look pregnant, they can grow quite large, they can necessitate really big surgery, they can cause anemia, fatigue, they don't let you live your best life. Caused by what? Well because fibroids are masses, they're inflammatory masses of the uterus. So they can bleed, but they can also create a lot of just local inflammation, so creating pain, fatigue, debilitating symptoms around the periods. So many women suffer and they suffer in silence because they think, oh I'm meant to have a bad period, I'm supposed to be suffering monthly. And so often they delay care and treatment for the fibroid. What are these lifestyle changes that could potentially prevent or reduce the risk? Yes, so I'm so glad you asked about that. Look how you're clapping your hands. I know. Oh God, I can't wait to answer this question. Well because, so for many years women would come to my office and say, well what can I do? So I understand I have fibroids, I need a surgery, but then what can I do to prevent them from coming back? Or what can I do to prevent them from growing? So we started studying lifestyle change. We started studying vitamin D because there's a lot of research around vitamin D deficiency and fibroid growth. So you should take vitamin D. You should take vitamin D. You want normal vitamin D levels. You want diets that are anti-inflammatory. You want lots of vegetables, five servings a day. You want to be exercising because weight can increase the growth rate of fibroids because it produces estrogen that feeds them. So there are a lot of lifestyle changes that you can make that actually can empower you to have better quality of life. And that's what our study shows. And when in the study, how did these lifestyle modifications help these women? Yes, so we built in a whole program after surgery. We said, okay, you had a surgery, now we're going to try and prevent new growth with this lifestyle program. We call it the life program. And the intervention was meant to reduce the regrowth of fibroids. So they did exercise. They met with our nutritionist. We did vitamin D. We followed their lab values. We followed ultrasounds to make sure new fibroids weren't growing. And we just tried to stay ahead of new growth. And the quality of life measures for our patients increased in a statistically significant way throughout the study. So women were doing really well on it. They were very motivated. Of course. It was a small group, so that limits the study. Lupita Nyong'o just recently went public with her fibroid battle. Venus Williams, your Venus's doctor, that's not telling tales out of school. That's public knowledge. Venus Williams has also talked about it. And it seems to be, I've heard that it's more common in black women. Why is that? Well, there's definitely racial disparity in fibroid disease, as we say. So 80% of all women across all races have fibroids. But then 70% of that group are black women. Wow. And we think it's genetic. We think if you have a family history of fibroids and your mom or sister or aunts had fibroids, likely you will develop fibroids. So that's a key group that we should intervene in terms of prevention, really thinking early about care for those women. Are there diet supplements we can take? You talked about the diet we should be following. Yes. Five vegetables a day. That's tough. Five servings is really tough. Five servings for me. But is there a diet supplement or something? Well, vitamin D, like we said. Vitamin D, okay. And vitamin D and green tea extract, which is out there already in a combined vitamin. Okay, got it. And turmeric is good, too. We think there's a lot of antibiotics. Valuable information. Dr. Shirazian, thank you so much. We appreciate you.

Typhoon Co-May has left a trail of destruction across the Philippines, making landfall in the country's northwestern region. Torrential rains and strong winds have battered towns and cities, damaging homes, roads, and farmland. At least 25 people have been reported dead.

Pangasinan

Philippines hit hard by Typhoon Co-May, dozens killed

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump appeared on Friday to abandon Gaza ceasefire negotiations with Palestinian militant group Hamas, a day after withdrawing their delegations from talks.

Jerusalem

Middle East Conflict

Netanyahu, Trump appear to abandon Gaza ceasefire negotiations

U.S. President Donald Trump is spending five days in Scotland visiting his luxury golf resorts. While the White House touts the economic impact, some locals say the developments have scarred the land and stirred controversy.

Edinburgh

Trump visits Scotland to tour golf courses amid protests

The U.S. Department of Justice is set to meet with Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's convicted accomplice, amid mounting political pressure on President Donald Trump over his administration's handling of the Epstein case.

Washington

Ghislaine Maxwell to meet with U.S. Justice Dept. amid Epstein probe

Thailand and Cambodia exchanged heavy artillery fire for a second day on Friday (July 25) as their worst fighting in over a decade intensified and spread to new areas, despite international calls for a ceasefire.

Bangkok

Thailand, Cambodia exchange heavy artillery

France intends to recognise a Palestinian state in September at the UN General Assembly, President Emmanuel Macron said in hopes of bringing peace to the region, but the plan drew angry rebukes from Israel and the United States.

Macron says France will recognize Palestine as a state

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has approved a draft bill to restore the independence of anti-corruption agencies, following nationwide protests and EU concerns over recent reforms that threatened their autonomy.

Ukraine Invasion

Zelensky approves anti-corruption bill after protests

Chinese and European Union leaders have met in Beijing for their first in-person summit since 2023, addressing a range of contentious issues amidst growing trade tensions. The talks, led by Chinese President Xi Jinping and EU officials Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa, highlighted the complex nature of China-EU relations.

Beijing

China-EU summit ends in climate deal, talks strain over Ukraine

The United Kingdom and India have signed a trade agreement that will reduce tariffs on goods from textiles to whisky, cars and spices and allow more market access for businesses. British PM Keir Starmer hailed the agreement as a “landmark moment” for both countries.

London

Global Tariffs

UK, India sign free trade agreement during Modi visit

President Trump and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell had a disagreement almost immediately as the two men set foot in the Fed's headquarters in Washington to survey an extensive renovation project on two of the reserve's buildings. Nancy Cordes has more.

Trump, Powell clash during tour of Federal Reserve renovations

Hulk Hogan, the legendary professional wrestler whose real name was Terry Bollea, died on Thursday at the age of 71, according to World Wrestling Entertainment.

Clearwater

Wrestling legend Hulk Hogan dead at the age of 71, WWE says

At least 12 were killed as a Thai-Cambodian border dispute escalated into deadly clashes on Thursday (July 24).

Surin

Thailand bombs Cambodian targets as border clash escalates

According to preliminary data, 43 passengers, including five children, and six crew members were on board.

Tynda

Passenger plane crashes in Russia, killing all 49 people on board

Pro wrestling legend Hulk Hogan has died, World Wrestling Entertainment said in a statement on social media. He was 71. CBS News' Shanelle Kaul has more.

Hulk Hogan dies at 71, WWE says

The Wall Street Journal reports that former Attorney General Pam Bondi told President Trump his name appeared in the Epstein files. The White House denies wrongdoing.

Report: Trump was briefed on mentions in Epstein files

Columbia University will pay $200 million to resolve federal claims it failed to stop harassment of Jewish students during campus protests. The Trump administration had suspended the school's access to $400 million in funding.

New York

Columbia settles for $200 million over antisemitism claims

Israel issued a statement indicating that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked the Gaza negotiating team to return to Israel for ceasefire talks. CBS News' Ramy Inocencio reports.

Israel brings back Gaza negotiating team for ceasefire 'consultations'

Also in the settlement is an agreement to ask prospective international students “questions designed to elicit their reasons for wishing to study in the United States,” and establishes processes to make sure all students are committed to “civil discourse.”

Columbia University to pay more than $220M in deal with Trump

There are several developments in the cases involving Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the migrant in ICE custody whom the Trump administration wrongly deported. CBS News' Katrina Kaufman reports.

Nashville

Kilmar Abrego Garcia to remain detained following new court orders

Dr. Salvador Plasencia admitted to distributing ketamine to actor Matthew Perry before his 2023 overdose. He is the fourth person to plead guilty in the case and faces up to 40 years in prison.

Los Angeles

Doctor pleads guilty in Matthew Perry death case

While both sides acknowledged progress on humanitarian issues, talks on a full ceasefire remain stalled. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called for "result-oriented negotiations" to end the devastating war.

Istanbul

Russia and Ukraine conclude third round of peace talks in Istanbul

A passenger plane has crashed in southeastern Russia with up to 49 people onboard. Emergency services say the An-24 aircraft took off from the city of Khabarovsk and was heading to the town of Tynda. Wreckage was found on a mountainside around 15 kilometres from the flight's intended destination.

Russian passenger plane with 49 on board crashes

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed to retain the independence of anti-corruption agencies, bowing to pressure from the first wartime street protests and rare rebukes from European allies.

Kyiv

Zelenskiy to protect anti-corruption agencies, bows to protests

U.S. President Donald Trump's name is among the many appearing in the Epstein files, according to the Wall Street Journal, and he was told as much earlier this year by the U.S. Justice Department.

Trump calls reports he knew his name is in Epstein files ‘fake news’

Dr. Salvador Plasencia, the doctor accused of supplying Matthew Perry with ketamine in the month leading up to his death, has pleaded guilty to four counts  of distribution of ketamine. Plasencia is the fourth of the five people charged in connection with Perry's death to plead guilty.

California

Doctor accused of supplying ketamine to Matthew Perry pleads guilty

Russia and Ukraine have exchanged prisoners following the latest round of talks in Istanbul. The swap, involving dozens of soldiers — some severely wounded and held since the war’s start in 2022 — took place on Wednesday night. While the prisoner exchange marks a rare point of agreement, both delegations remain divided on ceasefire terms.

Ukraine-Russia talks: Delegations remain divided on ceasefire terms

After reviewing the Epstein files, Attorney General Pam Bondi told President Trump his name appears alongside many others, according to a new report in the Wall Street Journal. CNN’s Paula Reid details what we know.

DOJ told Trump his name is among many in Epstein files: Sources

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a bill reducing the autonomy of two Ukrainian anti-corruption bureaus. Ukrainians protested in Lviv and Kyiv, concerned that the bill could lead to more corruption and threaten Ukraine’s chances of entering the European Union.

Ukrainians protest new anti-corruption law

A federal judge on Wednesday ordered Kilmar Abrego Garcia's release as a second judge barred ICE from taking him into custody. CBS News legal reporter Katrina Kaufman has more.

Judge orders Kilmar Abrego Garcia's release

A judge on Wednesday (July 23) sentenced Bryan Kohberger to four life sentences without the possibility of parole after he pleaded guilty to the murders of four University of Idaho students in 2022.

Breakdown