Eat to beat period symptoms

There’s no denying that what you eat can have a huge impact on how you feel - whether it’s caffeine highs or sugar slumps; but is there a correlation between what you eat and your period symptoms? Here’s our advice for how to eat to improve those stomach cramps, bloating & headaches that can be commonplace during your period.

About 80% of women will experience period pain and abdominal cramping at some stage in their life. This is caused by a group of fats in the uterus called prostaglandins. Prostaglandins are essential for a healthy period as they tell the uterus to contract in order to expel its lining. However, when these contractions are too severe this is when you can experience pain, cramping and general discomfort. Likewise, when too many prostaglandins are produced, these can leak into the gut causing nausea and diarrhoea.

Whilst this isn’t great news, what is good is, it stands to reason that if you reduce the prostaglandins, then you can somewhat reduce cramping too. Research has shown that magnesium and zinc can alleviate the effects of prostaglandins. As such, it’s worth incorporating foods rich in these into your diet, particularly in the lead up to and during your period.

5 foods rich in magnesium include:

• Dark Chocolate - you’ll find 16% of your RDA in just one 28 gram serving
• Leafy Greens - such a kale or spinach
• Legumes - from lentils to beans or chickpeas
• Seeds - try adding flax, pumpkin or chia seeds to smoothies, oats or yoghurt bowls
• Cashew Nuts - you’ll find 20% of your RDA in a 28 gram serving

5 foods high in zinc include:

• Meat & Shellfish - incredibly you’ll find 212% of your RDA in just 6 medium oysters, whilst 30% of your RDA can be found in a 100 gram serving of ground beef
• Legumes - from lentils to beans or chickpeas
• Seeds - one 30 gram serving of hemp seeds contains 30% of your RDA of zinc
• Cashew Nuts - again, you’ll find 11% of your RDA for zinc in a 28 gram serving
• Potatoes - one large potato contains 7% of your RDA of zinc

Omega 3 has also been shown to reduce inflammation and the level of prostaglandins. As such incorporating foods rich in Omega-3’s such as salmon or mackerel could help improve period pains. Studies have also shown that supplementing with Omega-3 can actually be more effective than ibuprofen in treating severe period pain.

If you suffer from heavy periods, the blood loss can result in a dip in iron levels which can lead to low energy. To counteract this, make sure to include high-iron foods into your diet, such as:

• Spinach
• Kidney beans
• Quinoa
• Red meat
• Pumpkin Seeds

Even better, eating these foods in conjunction with foods high in Vitamin C - such as broccoli, cabbage or citrus fruit - will help your body absorb iron better! Lastly, adding turmeric into your diet has also been shown to reduce the severity of PMS symptoms. This is because turmeric features an ingredient called curcumin which is known for its anti-inflammatory effects. As such try adding turmeric to soups, curries or even supplementing with it!

For further information, please see:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3392715/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3208934/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4861396/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26051565/

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