Omega 3 Fatty Acids for Menstrual Health. Benefits of Omega 3 Fatty Acids The most significant health benefit of Omega 3 fatty acids for women who experience menstrual cramps and other problems is their anti-inflammatory abilities. Omega 3 fats are used by the body to manufacture anti-inflammatory series one and three prostaglandins, which help prevent menstrual cramps, inflammation associated with endometriosis, and many side effects of PMS and hormonal imbalances, including headaches and migraines, constipation, anxiety, depression, and more. Inflammation also contributes to a number of health problems associated with menopause, including joint pain, thinning hair and skin, vaginal dryness, osteoporosis, hot flashes, and heart disease. Omega 3s prevent blood from clotting excessively, a benefit most commonly associated with reduced risk of heart disease and stroke, but also helpful for women who suffer from heavy and/or painful periods.
Sources of Omega 3 Fatty Acids Other excellent sources of Omega 3 fatty acids include: Exercise for Menstrual Health. If you suffer from menstrual problems such as menstrual cramps, PMS, menstrual migraines, menstrual fatigue, PCOS, and more, one of the most important things you can do is exercise regularly. Exercise offers numerous health benefits to women with menstrual problems. One of the most common causes of many menstrual problems is hormone imbalance, most frequently in the form of estrogen dominance, which simply means excessive levels of the hormone estrogen in relation to progesterone and other hormones.
Exercise plays an important role in maintaining healthy hormone balance. Estrogen is produced by fat cells, so estrogen dominance is more common among women who are overweight or obese. Unfortunately, excessive estrogen levels can also make it harder to lose weight because estrogen raises insulin resistance. Regular, moderate exercise helps maintain proper hormone balance by maintaining a healthy weight or assisting with weight loss in order to reduce production of estrogen to normal levels. Reduce Menstrual Cramps By Eating Less Meat. Vegetarian diets are associated with many health benefits, but there's no need to cut meat and other animal products from your diet entirely. These tips can help you make the transition to less meat.
Start gradually. If you eat meat three meals a day, try cutting it down to two, and then one. Experiment with alternatives, which can be as simple as using marinara sauce instead of hamburger on your pasta, or as complex as a full course vegetarian Thanksgiving. Cut your favorite meat dishes last. Treat meat as a condiment. In many traditional food cultures around the world, where meat is expensive and therefore special, meat is consumed frequently, but in small quantities, as a supplement to the main meal of grains and vegetables, rather than the main course itself.
If you're going to do something wrong, do it right. Instead of eating low quality meats often, eat high quality meats occasionally. Buy grass-fed, organically raised, free range meat, eggs, and dairy. Dietary Fiber for Menstrual Health. Dietary fiber is an important part of a healthy, balanced diet. Though fiber is best known for its role in preventing constipation, heart disease, and diabetes, it also provides many benefits for women who suffer from menstrual cramps, endometriosis, PCOS, and similar reproductive problems. Dietary Fiber Encourages Healthy Hormone Balance One of the most common causes of many women's health problems is hormone imbalance, and the most common type of hormone imbalance is excessive levels of the hormone estrogen in relation to progesterone. Dietary fiber helps maintain healthy hormone balance by binding to waste estrogen in the intestines and bowels and removing it from the body. Dietary Fiber Encourages Healthy Bowel Function Constipation can also exacerbate menstrual cramps, another reason to increase dietary fiber in your diet.
Does Soy Relieve Menstrual Cramps? Soy has been a popular food in East Asian cultures (many of whom, incidentally, report a much lower rate of menstrual cramps and other problems than Western cultures) for thousands of years, but it is still new and strange to many Western consumers. If you are new to soy, here are some things to try: Tofu is the most famous soy product and it tends to get an unfairly bad rap, perhaps because people try to use it as a substitute for meat instead of treating it as a unique food in its own right. Tofu is naturally much blander than meat, but it takes on the flavors of whatever you cook it with. I like it best in stir-fries with a good sauce and lots of vegetables, in miso soup with spinach or kelp, or crumbled into sloppy joe sauce. Miso is fermented soy, used most commonly in soups. I find a good cup of miso soup to be as comforting and homey as chicken noodle soup, though it can be an acquired taste.
The soup's warmth may feel good when you're having cramps as well. Treating Heavy Periods with Vitamin K. The best sources of vitamin K are leafy green vegetables, such as Romaine lettuce, and fermented soy products such as miso. Cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, and kale have also large amounts of vitamin K, but contain other agents that may inhibit its full absorption. Healthy acidophilus bacteria, which is found in yogurt, kefir, and similar fermented dairy products containing live cultures, manufactures Vitamin K in the body. This is the easiest type of Vitamin K for the body to absorb. High intake of Vitamin E and calcium (such as by supplementation) can inhibit Vitamin K absorption, as does aspirin, mineral oils, X-rays, and other radiation.
Freezing destroys it. Antibiotics kill healthy intestinal bacteria such as acidophilus and reduce the body's production of vitamin K. Consult a doctor before increasing your intake of vitamin K if you have any history of blood clots, stroke, pulmonary embolism, or similar problems, or if you are taking blood thinning medications. Magnesium for Menstrual Health. Dietary Sources of Magnesium The best sources of magnesium include: whole grainsnuts and seeds, including almonds, peanuts, cashews,and pumpkin seeds leafy greens such as spinach, kale, and swiss chardbeans and legumes, such as black beans sea vegetables, such as kelpherbs, such as basilbananascertain types of fish, especially halibut "hard" water Soy products contain high levels of magnesium.
However, phytic acids in some actually block magnesium absorption, so consume soy in limited or moderate quantities, and use primarily traditional, fermented varieties such as miso, which have lower lovels of phytic acids. Avoiding Magnesium Deficiency Magnesium is absorbed through the intestines. Magnesium levels are highest in foods grown in soils rich in organic matter. A balanced and varied diet of healthful foods, low in processed foods, is the best way to ensure sufficient dietary magnesium intake.
Another interesting interaction is calcium. What About Supplements? Home Remedies for Painful Periods. The Medical Approach to Treating Cramps Once upon a time, if you complained of menstrual pain, you were told it was all in your head and sent on your merry way, with no help, or even sympathy. Those bad old days are gone, one hopes for good, but the medical profession is still mostly at a loss about how to relieve the pain of menstrual cramps. The approach of the vast majority of doctors to treating cramps is simply to put you on the Pill. There is nothing necessarily wrong with that. If the Pill helps you, by all means, take it.
I am personally wary of messing with body chemistry, but the Pill has been around long enough and has been tested enough that we have good reason to consider it relatively safe, even for prolonged use. However, if, like me, you have primary dysmennorhea and find that the Pill doesn't help, or if you can't or don't want to go on it, then the medical profession has very little else to offer except sympathy. The Natural Way to Relieve Painful Periods. The Causes of Menstrual Cramps and What You Can Do About Them. Natural Menorrhagia Treatment: Home Remedies for Heavy Periods. Menorrhagia, or heavy menstrual bleeding, affects many women at some point during their lives. For some, it may be a temporary problem; others will experience heavy periods every month for many years. Menstrual bleeding is generally considered heavy if you: soak one or more sanitary pads or tampons every houroften need to use double protectionoften need to change sanitary protection during the nighthave menstrual periods that last longer than 7 dayshave large blood clots in your menstrual flowbleed so heavily that it interferes with your normal daily activities The causes of menorrhagia are poorly understood, but this hub will discuss some of the issues that are believed to cause unusually heavy or long-lasting periods, as well as what you can do to reduce your menstrual flow.
The PCOS Diet: Natural Treatment for PCOS. Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is a growing epidemic among American women, and women around the world. Fortunately, it is possible to ease the symptoms of PCOS, and perhaps even cure the condition, with dietary changes. PCOS is closely related to two related conditions: obesity and insulin resistance. About 50-60% of women diagnosed with PCOS are seriously overweight and nearly all display some degree of insulin resistance. Insulin resistance can trap women in a vicious cycle: weight gain causes insulin resistance causes additional weight gain causes greater insulin resistance... If left unbroken, this cycle can eventually result in the development of type 2 diabetes and many other serious health problems. Insulin resistance is also closely tied to PCOS. PCOS is caused by a hormone imbalance that causes an excess of androgens (male hormones) such as testosterone.
Vitamin E for Menstrual Health. Vitamin E is best known as an antioxidant, but it also offers health benefits to women who suffer from menstrual cramps and other problems. Several studies have shown that girls and young women who take vitamin e supplements in the days leading up to their periods report lower levels and shorter duration of menstrual pain. It is believed that vitamin E inhibits production of prostaglandins, natural hormones that cause the uterus to contract in order to expel the menstrual lining during menstruation.
Excess levels of prostaglandins are believed to be one of the most common causes of primary dysmenorrhea, the medical form for the most common type of menstrual cramps. (Secondary dysmenorrhea, the other kind, is caused by another condition, such as endometriosis.) As mentioned above, vitamin E is a well known antioxidant. Antioxidants are substances that neutralize free radicals within the body and promote general health and well being. Natural Treatments for Endometriosis. There are a number of natural and alternative treatments for endometriosis than can help relieve its symptoms. Consult with your doctor to determine if they should best be used by themselves or in combination with conventional therapies such as NSAIDs, hormonal treatments, or surgery.
Maintain Healthy Hormone Balance The most important thing you can do is strive to maintain a healthy hormone balance. The best way to do this is to practice regular, healthy exercise, eat a balanced diet high in vitamins, minerals, and Omega-3 fatty acids, and drink plenty of plain water. The hormone regulating qualities of regular, healthy exercise are well established and it also offers a number of side benefits for women suffering from endometriosis. A healthy, balanced diet also plays an important role in maintaining proper hormone balance.
Vitamin D for Menstrual Health. Despite the fact that it is one of the few nutrients the human body can manufacture (with a little help from the sun) more than 70% of American adults are estimated to be vitamin D deficient. This is bad news, because vitamin D is an extraordinarily important nutrient, involved in over 200 known interactions within the human body. Vitamin D's most famous function is acting as a conduit, or delivery mechanism, for calcium. Vitamin D takes calcium from the intestines and carries it to the bloodstream, where it can be absorbed by your bones and teeth. For this reason, vitamin D is extremely important for building a strong skeletal system and preventing osteoporosis. In fact, it is so important that vitamin D deficiencies in utero and during the critical years of early puberty have been tied to an increased risk of developing osteoporosis decades in the future. Bone health is not the only function of vitamin D, however.
Relieving Menstrual Symptoms with Vitamin D Vitamin D and PCOS. Natural Cures for Menstrual Migraines. The Role of Estrogen Dominance in Menstrual Migraines In either case, menstrual migraines are often exacerbated by hormone imbalances, particularly a type of imbalance known as estrogen dominance. Estrogen dominance occurs when levels of the hormone estrogen are too high in relation to levels of progesterone. Estrogen dominance can be caused either by too little progesterone in relation to a normal level of estrogen or, more commonly, too much estrogen in relation to a normal level of progesterone. Estrogen dominance can affect both major types of menstrual migraine. If your migraines are related to the rise in estrogen levels at the time of ovulation, estrogen dominance can cause estrogen levels to rise too high, worsening menstrual migraines associated with the change.
Maintaining healthy hormone balance and preventing estrogen dominance can relieve and even cure your menstrual migraines. Natural Treatment and Prevention of Menstrual Migraines Maintain a healthy weight. Symptoms of Excessive Estrogen. Excessive Estrogen Cures: Preventing and Treating Estrogen Dominance Naturally. Excessive levels of the hormone estrogen, also known as estrogen dominance, are tied to many health problems in both women and men, including PMS, menstrual cramps, impotency, endometriosis, PCOS, uterine fibroids, and breast cancer. Estrogen dominance is caused by an imbalance in the levels of hormones within the body. In some cases, levels of estrogen are normal and levels of other hormones, such as progesterone and testosterone, are too low.
More commonly, levels of other hormones are normal and estrogen levels are simply too high. Fortunately, in most case, estrogen dominance can be successfully reduced, or even cured, providing relief for many of its side effects. There are medications that can help restore or maintain healthy hormone balance, but in most cases, diet and lifestyle changes work just as well without causing side effects or dependencies. Here are tips for preventing or curing estrogen dominance naturally: Weight gain is both a cause and a symptom of estrogen dominance.
The Phytoestrogen Controversy. Early Puberty in Girls. Inflammatory Breast Cancer.