Below is a summary of what some women have reported during their periods and how diet and hydration have helped them manage their period related issues better. Please visit your gynaecologist should you wish to get clarity on how to combat the below triggers or any other issues you may face.
Key points:
- Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! Always stay hydrated; women lose quite a bit of blood during periods, so it is crucial to make sure you are drinking more than your daily average during your periods.
- Food Intake: Consuming foods like spinach (high in magnesium and iron- helps with elevating pain and replenishing iron respsectively), and going for a high protein and fibre diet can be quite useful. You can consider consulting your nutritionist to come up with a diet plan that is high protein, high fibre and rich in spinach & other sources of iron and magnesium (keep your allergies in mind when you are creating a diet plan for yourself).
- Avoid: alcohol (increases dehydration and can make cramps worse), caffeine (reduce to lessen period pain), processed foods (avoid blood sugar spikes). (infobox: blood sugar spike refers to a jump in the glucose levels in your blood. Short term it can increase headaches, fatigue, and increased urination. Long term it can increase the risk of diabetes and insulin resistance).
PMS: Common symptoms include fatigue, dizziness, mood swings and bloating.
- Recommended: Having whole foods and grains (vs processed foods) is highly recommended. Processed foods lead to a spike in your blood sugar levels which can have a direct impact on your mood (think: sugar rush). Keeping hydrated is a must, perhaps a reduction in salt levels can help in reducing water retention.
Pain: Women have reported abdominal cramps, lower back pains, overall body pains, and headaches among others.
- Recommended: Increasing protein and fibre intake, especially consuming fatty fish, can help (they have Omega-3 which is an anti-inflammatory and helps with better blood circulation). Magnesium rich foods like spinach can work as muscle relaxants and anti-inflammatories which can help ease pain. It is very important to keep hydrated during your periods due to the amount of blood and tissue lost and to help ease muscle pain.
Flow: If you belong to the lucky group of women with heavy flow (which can also increase fatigue and dizziness), we have some suggestions.
- Recommended: Increasing iron rich foods can be good. A heavy flow means you are losing a fair amount of blood and tissue. Low iron in your blood can increase fatigue and dizziness (common during periods) and since iron is important for the body to make haemoglobin (a key component of a red blood cell), it needs to be replenished. Eating some red meat, lentils, or spinach can be very helpful.
Digestion Issues: Digestion issues are common during periods due to hormonal changes.
- Recommended: Eating fibre rich foods and whole grains can be helpful. Whole grains, lentils and fresh foods (e.g. carrots and celery) are helpful not just to aid digestion because of their high fibre content, but they can also help with avoiding blood sugar level spikes (which also helps with mood swings – common with PMS).
Acne: Hormonal changes can lead to acne or other skin issues.
- Recommended: Eating whole foods and avoiding complex carbs (e.g. processed pastas and sugar) can help with stabilising blood sugar levels. Since sugar exacerbates acne, avoiding it is key. Hydration is a must for clearing up skin. Other recommendations include eating good fats like avocados, fatty fish (they help relieve pain during periods as well), and fresh fruits (e.g. berries, which are anti-inflammatory and help with skin).
Please leave us comments below to let us know if any of these helped or other recommendations you may have.
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