Natural Solutions for Period Pain
Women often grow up thinking that period pain is a normal thing that all of us have to just deal with but the truth is that painless periods or periods where there’s just a little bit of mild cramping on days 1 and 2 are definitely possible. Period pain is caused by prostaglandins which are inflammatory compounds released when your uterine lining starts to shed. These prostaglandins stimulate the uterine muscles to contract to help shed the lining, but too many of these prostaglandins can cause pain. The underlying issue for women with very painful periods is too many prostaglandins and too much inflammation so of course the goal is too reduce both.
Although the pill is often prescribed to women as a way to manage the pain, it can actually rev up inflammation even more and in other areas of the body. If you’re taking hormonal contraceptives to manage symptoms you can expect those symptoms to return once you come off the pill. You can definitely start to work on incorporating anti inflammatory foods, lifestyle practices and supplements while on the pill if that’s a concern (check out my previous post called Support Your Body Naturally While on Hormonal Birth Control).
Dietary protocol for reducing inflammation and prostaglandins…
Avoid processed oils like canola, corn and soybean oils which are commonly found in packaged food, frozen foods and restaurant foods.
Avoid refined sugar (white sugar, conventional baked goods and pastries, cookies, desserts, etc.) as much as possible. Choose natural sweeteners instead like coconut sugar, fruit, dates, maple syrup or raw honey.
Reduce or avoid intake of cows milk dairy (especially if you’re eating it daily)
Choose unprocessed whole foods whenever possible
Include plenty of anti inflammatory Omega 3 rich foods throughout the month like fish, seafood, chia, hemp & flax seeds, and walnuts.
*Digestion and gut health play a big role in keeping inflammation in check so if you're experiencing digestive/gut issues it’s important to address this first.
Supplements to consider:
Zinc- a potent antioxidant with anti inflammatory properties that has been show to reduce period pain.
Magnesium- a deficiency in magnesium can increase inflammation and studies show most people are not getting enough. Magnesium can reduce period pain by relaxing the tension in the uterine muscle and decreasing prostaglandin levels.
Omega 3- very powerful anti inflammatory properties which have been shown to be more effective than Ibuprofen.
Other things to consider…
Herbal tea can be a really soothing remedy throughout the entire menstrual phase. My favorite tea for this is a mixture of red raspberry leaf, nettle, cramp bark and peppermint. You can often find these herb combined in a women’s blend like Good Goddess Tea or Moon Tea by Clef Des Champs.
Reduce exposure to estrogen mimicking chemicals like synthetic fragrances (perfume, scented candles, air fresheners, scented beauty/hygiene products) and plastics. It’s especially important to reduce plastic use in the kitchen by choosing a reusable water bottle and never heating up your food or putting hot food into plastic containers.
Consider abdominal massage techniques like Mercier Therapy or Fertility Massage which can help to improve circulation and blood flow to the uterus. Castor oil packs also have this benefit if massage is unavailable to you.
Make sure that you give your body the rest it needs in the few days before and during menstruation. Our bodies need time to restore and replenish so if we are constantly stressed out and pushing ourselves either at work, in our workouts or elsewhere even when our body is telling us to slow down it can cause worse PMS and menstrual cramps.
Painful periods can also be a sign of endometriosis, infection, fibroids or ovarian cysts so if you have very severe period pain that results in you having to miss school or work it’s important to speak to your doctor who can run some tests and rule them out.
