Is having your period uncomfortable, painful, or miserable? Medicines can give you side effects and even make the symptoms worse, so what can you do? The easiest thing you can do is control what you put into your body. Here’s Health Fitness Revolution’s list of foods to avoid while menstruating so you can make your time of the month easier for yourself. Your body will thank you later!
Salt
Salt loves to hold onto water. The problem with that is once you consume that water-loving salt the salt retains water in your body, which leads to more bloating. By limiting the amount of sodium you consume you can reduce this uncomfortable and dreaded symptom.
Sugar
Sugar causes mood swings, moodiness, depression, anxiety, and can give you an energy crash. All these side effects work to increase the discomfort and frustration that the side effects you already feel due to your menstrual cycle.
Alcohol
It’s not a secret that alcohol comes with a slew of side effects and risks, so it makes complete sense that alcohol consumption during your menstruation will exacerbate the uncomfortable symptoms you are already struggling with. Alcohol can be very dehydrating, symptoms like headache, digestive complications, and can cause bloating, all of these symptoms sound very similar to the symptoms of menstruation, so it’s best to just avoid this doubling up on symptoms and pain.
Caffeine
Caffeine is relatively well-known to cause problems for women while they are having a visit from Aunt Flo. Caffeine actually has been known to worsen headaches, cause water retention, and make bloating symptoms worse.
Spicy Food
While menstruating you are more susceptible to digestive tract ailments such as an
Red Meat
Red meat contains a relatively high amount of prostaglandins, which are a key component in the inflammation process. By eating red meat, you increase the levels of prostaglandins in your body, which makes cramping worse. During menstruation, it is best to find another source of iron and avoid eating red meats, especially fatty red meats.
Heavy Cream
Foods that have high heavy cream contents or whole milk can aggravate feelings of bloating, cramping, and inflammation. This is because many creamy products are processed with added saturated fats or contain naturally occurring saturated fats. Limiting the amount of heavy cream consumed during menstruation can help decrease pain, so it’s worth a shot, right?
Foods High in Fat
Foods that are high in fat, especially trans fats cause bloating and fatigue, so it is best to avoid them while menstruation because these foods will make your bloating and cramps significantly more uncomfortable.
Chocolate
While chocolate can be good for you, but be careful not to eat too much. You also need to watch out for types of chocolates that are high in sugars.
Foods Your Body Doesn’t Tolerate Well
If you don’t tolerate a certain type of food or product well normally then you should try to avoid it while you are menstruating. While you are menstruating you are already feeling bad and have many uncomfortable conditions or ailments that eating foods that are intolerable to your body will just add to and make things worse.
