Foods To Avoid During Menstruation

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Women are known for binge eating when their mood swings hit. And what better time for your mood swings to hit then during your menstrual cycle. And during periods, the stress levels of women will also rise due to their extreme and volatile mood swings. The stress levels during menstrual cycle can be reduced if you take care and consume the right kind of foods.

The body is effected in other ways as well, during your menstruation period. A number of symptoms like cramps, nausea, pain and headaches are also felt during menstruation due to the contraction of the uterus. The medical term for the pain felt during the menstruation period is dysmenorrheal. Almost half the women are affected by dysmenorrheal, more so if they are relatively younger. These cramps, bloating, pain and nausea can be reduce or even eliminated if a proper diet is followed and certain types of food are avoided during menstruation.

Most women experience these exhausting and physically draining symptoms during their menstruation due to lack of proper nutrition. A healthy diet can be extremely beneficial in reducing these symptoms and minimising their effect. This can be done by giving special focus to nutritious food and avoiding those kinds of food that will adversely affect your menstruation. Here are some of the foods to avoid during menstruation and stay happy when you are down.

Caffeine

Caffeine is one of the main foods to avoid during menstruation. This is because caffeine will constrict your blood vessels. It will also cause your body to become dehydrated. This will result in menstrual discomfort as dehydration and constriction of blood vessels cause headaches and increased nervousness. So avoid coffee, caffeinated drinks and chocolate with caffeine.

High Sugar Food

It is also advisable to avoid consuming too many high sugar foods like candy bars, soda or confectionaries during your menstrual period. This is because eating high sugar food will cause a blood sugar level spike that will soon crash. When your blood sugar level crashes abruptly after a spike, it leaves you feeling irritated, cranky and lethargic.

Commercially Baked Goods

Avoiding commercially baked goods is an excellent way to reduce menstrual cramps and pain. This is so because commercially baked goods contain a large amount of trans-fat. Trans-fat or trans-fatty acid will drive the estrogen level up, which will cause dramatic and sudden pain in the uterus. This will result in escalation of menstrual cramps.

Processed Food

Any sort of canned or processed food should be necessarily avoided during the menstruation period. This is so because canned or processed foods always contain sodium. And sodium has to be avoided during the menstruation as it causes water retention and makes the body bloated. So it is advisable to avoid processed food like processed meat or cheese, soy sauce and MSG. Also avoid any canned food which contains 200mg of sodium per serving or more.

Refined Grains

When original grains undergo processing, they lose almost all their nutrient content to become refined grains. Because of this factor, refined grains can tamper with blood sugar levels. They also affect appetite between meals. These factors can affect the menstrual symptoms in an adverse manner. Foods like pasta, white rice and white bread have to be avoided if you desire to reduce the symptoms of menstrual cramps.

Fried Food

Fried foods contain high levels of fat and oil, which increases estrogen levels. It is not relevant if the oil is animal oil or vegetable oil. Fried foods like French fries, fried chicken and onion rings have to be avoided to keep the estrogen levels stable. This keeps the uterus stable and reduces the cramps and pain.