Menstruation is the time of the month when a woman is at her weakest. A proper diet can not only replenish the body from the blood loss but also regulate mood and relieve menstrual cramps. However, eating the wrong foods can not only worsen menstrual discomfort but may also lead to symptoms like bloating, headaches, and abdominal pain! If you don't want to be bothered by various premenstrual syndromes, you must avoid certain foods during your period!
1. Milk
Many women experience various physical and psychological discomforts during and before their period, largely due to a deficiency of magnesium in the body. Magnesium can stimulate the release of dopamine, a chemical in the brain related to mood, providing psychological regulation for the female body. It helps the body relax, reduce tension, and alleviate stress.
However, dairy products are a culprit for menstrual cramps. Foods like milk, cheese, cream, and yogurt can interfere with the absorption of magnesium, so they should be eaten less of, especially during your period.
2. Carbonated Drinks
Many women who enjoy carbonated beverages experience fatigue and listlessness during their period, which is a sign of iron deficiency.
This is because most carbonated drinks contain phosphates, which react chemically with iron in the body, making it difficult to absorb. Furthermore, drinking too much carbonated drink can neutralize stomach acid with its bicarbonate, reducing the digestive and bactericidal capabilities of the stomach and affecting appetite.
3. Salty Foods
If a woman consumes excessive salty food before her period, it will increase the storage of salt and water in the body, which can easily lead to irritability and anger. Combined with the increase in progesterone in the body during menstruation, it can also lead to bloating and headaches. If you start a low-salt diet 10 days before your period, you will not experience these symptoms.
During menstruation, you should eat light, bland, and nutrient-rich foods.
4. Green Tea
Green tea contains more than 30% tannic acid, which easily binds with iron ions in the intestines to form precipitates, hindering the intestinal mucosa's absorption of iron ions. It can also cause breast tenderness, anxiety, irritability, and mood instability, while also depleting the body's stored vitamin B and disrupting carbohydrate metabolism.
At the same time, strong tea has a high caffeine content, which stimulates the nerves and cardiovascular system, easily causing menstrual cramps, delayed periods, and excessive bleeding. The tannic acid in strong tea also impedes iron absorption, leading to iron-deficiency anemia.
5. Crabs
Crabs are considered very cooling in nature and can clear heat, cool the blood, and dispel stasis. Women should avoid raw, cold, and cooling foods during their period. This is especially true for those who suffer from cold-type menstrual cramps.
6. Chocolate
Eating too much chocolate can make mood more unstable. Besides causing weight gain, it also increases the body's demand for vitamin B. Sugar also depletes the body's vitamin B and minerals and makes a person crave more sugary foods.
7. Watermelon
Watermelon is a cooling fruit with a cold and slippery nature. Eating watermelon during menstruation can hinder digestion, easily damage the body's vital energy (yang), lead to internal cold, and worsen menstrual cramps.
8. Alcohol
Alcohol depletes the body's vitamin B and minerals. Excessive drinking can disrupt carbohydrate metabolism and produce excessive estrogen, which dilates blood vessels and causes an early period and heavy bleeding.
9. Sweets
Many people believe that eating sweets can alleviate menstrual discomfort, so brown sugar, sweet biscuits, or chocolate have almost become a "staple medicine" for women during their period. It is now believed that eating high-sugar sweets can cause a rapid rise in blood sugar, which does have a mood-stabilizing effect. However, when blood sugar drops, it can create a larger fluctuation, making mood more unstable.
According to reports, deliberately eating sweets during menstruation not only fails to alleviate discomfort but may also disrupt the balance of hormones due to unstable blood sugar, worsening the feeling of being unwell.
10. Cold Drinks
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, blood flows when it's warm and stagnates when it's cold. Drinking cold drinks during menstruation can hinder digestion and easily damage the body's vital energy (yang), leading to internal cold. Cold nature causes stagnation, which can impede the smooth flow of menstrual blood, resulting in scanty periods or even cramps. Even during the height of summer, it is not advisable to drink cold beverages during your period.
11. Persimmons
Persimmons contain tannic acid, which easily binds with iron and hinders the body's absorption of iron from food. Since women lose a significant amount of blood during their period and need to replenish iron, it is not advisable to eat persimmons.
Moreover, persimmons have a cold and stagnating nature, which can impede the smooth flow of menstrual blood, leading to scanty periods or even cramps.
12. Hawthorn
Hawthorn has the effect of invigorating blood and dispelling stasis. Eating a moderate amount of hawthorn or hawthorn products can relieve menstrual cramps and irregular periods caused by blood stasis.
However, hawthorn is also rich in tannic acid. Excessive consumption can lead to iron deficiency and worsen menstrual discomfort. Except for women with blood stasis-type cramps, consuming hawthorn during menstruation can lead to excessive bleeding.