When I still had my period (I’m menopausal now, so that time is fortunately over), my first day used to be horrible. I would get terrible cramps, that sometimes made me throw up. All I wanted to do was go to bed with a hot water bottle.

And as I’m talking to women about their overall health and discuss their periods, I’m quite stunned to hear how many of us experience period symptoms like cramping, heavy bleeding, headaches and migraines, mood swings, etc.

This happens every month! For some of you, it makes you feel horrible in some way for up to 5 days our of 30. That’s a lot of time!

 

What if you could reduce these period symptoms by making some changes to what you eat?

I did some research, and this is what I found.

If you experience PMS:

• A diet high in sugar, caffeine, salt, alcohol makes PMS symptoms worse.
• If your diet is low in calcium you also experience more PMS symptoms.
• Eating bananas can help to decrease water retention and regulate your mood, as well as help with sleep.
• Quinoa is a high protein grain that also contains lots of iron and vitamin B12 to help with mood swings and low energy.
• If you don’t eat enough omega 3 fatty acids (in fish like salmon, tuna, rainbow trout, and nuts and seeds) you increase the mood swings associated with pms.

If you have painful periods:

• Alcohol temporarily increases oestrogen and testosterone, and if you have painful periods, heavy flow and premenstrual discomfort it may be exacerbating these symptoms
• If you are low on vitamin D you may experience more cramping, headaches, acne and pain before your period
• And too little vitamin E can lead to heavier, painful periods

 

A ‘recipe’ for less period symptoms:

Did you know that women tend to eat more calories in the 2 weeks leading up to their periods than in the 2 weeks after their period? This could well be in the form of the not-so-healthy foods.

Instead, in the weeks leading up to your period, try to:

• Stay off the sugar, caffeine and alcohol as much as possible. If you have a craving for either, try to eat a piece of fruit (especially banana), or a handful of nuts. Replace at least 1 caffeinated drink and 1 alcoholic drink with a glass of herbal tea or water.
• Eat more fibre: fibre helps to remove oestrogen and too much oestrogen is a key factor in pms. Think about raw nuts & seeds, wholegrains, fruit with their skin on.
• Eat more oily fish: eat some salmon, tuna, or rainbow trout 2 or 3 times per week. Canned fish is fine. Also eat a handful of nuts and seeds 1 or 2 times a day.
• Have some dairy (unless dairy intolerant): the calcium in dairy will help reduce PMS and the tryptophan can reduce your anger outbursts in PMS.
• Get out into the sun: your body processes vitamin D most effectively from the sun, and more vitamin D will help with cramping, headaches, acne and pain before your period.
• Have some good quality protein with every meal (including snacks), such as dairy, turkey, legumes (peas, chickpeas, lentils and peanuts) or eggs.

As a busy mum, you don’t want to have your period symptoms add to the stress!

Try some of these food solutions and see what works best for you.

I’d love to hear how you go!