What To Eat On Your Period
Periods are uncomfortable at best, extremely painful at worst. We can’t avoid them, but we can definitely choose helpful food and drink to get through it a bit easier! And surprise: it is not red meat.
Hydration, iron and omega-3.
Different people have very different symptoms during their period - and it can vary from month to month, too. However, a lot of us experience headaches, nausea, back pain, cramps, mood swings, bloating and an upset stomach. Your period is a time when it’s definitely no fun having endometriosis as my pain is pretty intense - so this is a topic close to my heart. Learning about this from Healthline and a couple of other sources, I was surprised to find that red meat, though high in iron, is not necessarily the best option.
Here are your best friends during your period and why:
Hydrate with water, ideally, or hot drinks if that helps you get more liquid in you. This will help avoid those horrible headaches (they are caused by dehydration). Fruits and vegetables that are high in water, like cucumber and watermelon, are great too. Don’t drink alcohol - this will just further dehydrate you!
Ginger is a fantastic remedy as it is both anti-inflammatory and helps combat nausea. You can read more about the benefits of ginger here. Don’t have too much though, as that can cause heartburn! But a bit of fresh ginger in your tea or food will help you.
Iron is very important during your period, and you can get that from leafy greens like spinach and kale, and also from quinoa, tofu, fish and chicken. I’ve always thought red meat would be great for when I’m on my period for this reason - however reading about it I learned that it might be better to get your iron levels up using other sources, as it is high in prostaglandins - something your body produces at this time anyway and though it serves a purpose (for your uterus to contract and get rid of the uterine lining), this causes cramps! You don’t want to add to that feeling.
Peppermint tea. I’m thrilled to learn that a study from 2016 shows that peppermint tea helps relieve period symptoms like cramps and nausea, this really fits with my personal experience.
A different study shows that omega-3 can help relieve period pain as well. And it seems omega-3 can help reduce depression. This is good to know for any time in your life, but it’s certainly very useful during times where your mood can really take a dive. You can get omega-3 from fatty fish (like a rustic salmon and veg meal), flaxseed, flax oil, and nuts (including nut butters, nut-rich granola or nut snacks).
Magnesium is a huge help for your mood - and several studies show that magnesium will help you regulate your mood in general, as well as when you experience PMS symptoms. You can get magnesium from dark chocolate (which also has iron!), yoghurt (which is also great to regulate your body’s bacteria to fight yeast infections), spinach, nuts, quinoa and tofu.
I hope these tips can help make your next period more bearable!
What are the best period pain remedies in your personal experience? Message me on Instagram @TheFromScratchBody!
