Painful lady times are something I've had to accept as part of my life. Generally this means I am fully out of commission for 1-2 weeks, and my friends know that if I'm M.I.A not to bother. It's not fun, but I would like to share with you any info I try out - what works and what doesn't.
Around 10 years ago I went vegetarian to avoid cruelty to animals. I had never considered going vegan until I met a girl in college with endometriosis. Her regular doctor told her the only way to cure her daily stomach pain was to either have a child, or have a hysterectomy. Before taking a drastic measure, she went to see a Chinese herbalist who recommended she go vegan immediately and take up yoga. She saw immediate results.
From that day it took me 2 years to break my cheese addiction. The final straw for me was working at a new cafe and having to dump 17 cartons of rotten, lumpy milk out in the basement sink. DONE. I had been skeptical about going vegan, but at the time my family doctor told me to avoid dairy before and during my period. So I had to be vegan half the month anyways, might as well. It's a decision I'm glad I made. My cramps lessened and the skin on my red dry cheeks cleared.
But cutting out dairy wasn't enough. An amazing iridologist I saw at the Vegetarian Food Fair 2 years ago saw that I had a gluten intolerance. This was around the time I noticed I was getting stomach pain similar to menstrual cramps quite often, and began to fear it was something serious. When I began to cut back I noticed I felt much more like myself and less groggy, crampy, tired and depressed. Who knew food could have such a strong effect on your mental state?
Other things I have noticed are to avoid sugar - which for me tends to worsen cramps. I know it's hard when all you want is some chocolate! But it immediately makes me feel worse. Eating more raw food seems to help lessen the pain as well.
But what can you eat during your period?
If you can relate, I would LOVE to hear from you or hear any tips you have. It seems that I almost can't eat anything during my period because anything in my stomach turns to an acidic bubbling mess that can also lead to nausea. I usually stick to soups and cannot have anything raw or cold.
According to Leslie Kenton in Passage to Power, foods to avoid are:
Coffee, tea, alcohol, sugar (and anything containing sugar) artificial flavourings and colourings, convenience foods, wheat and wheat products, meat, fish, game, cigarettes, drugs, chocolate, colas and milk and milk products... so it's basically all the refined and junk foods. In the pre menstrual phase its best to eat lots of fresh fruit and veg, soy products and healthy stuff that allows your body to detox.
Last month I tried:
Drinking hot tea with cayenne pepper. I noticed I had less cramping.
This month I tried:
Taking a spoon of maca powder in my morning smoothie every day. My mood, back pain and what I call pre-period "ghost cramps" were reduced by about 80%. Definitely going to keep taking this natural stress & hormone regulator.
I also have been going to the gym 3x a week which is supposed to help. I think I may have ruined things by having coffee and gluten a few days before this cycle. Let's see what happens when I try taking magnesium today. I'll be back with more tips every month, hooray ovaries!
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