The menstrual period is a few days every month that every woman has to endure, with particularly noticeable physical discomfort. How can one take better care of oneself to suffer less pain? First, we can start with diet.
Foods Women Should Absolutely Avoid During Their Menstrual Period
1. Raw and Cold Foods
These are the "cold-natured" foods in Traditional Chinese Medicine, such as: pears, bananas, water chestnuts, rock ear, stone flower, and earth ear. These foods mostly have the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, nourishing yin and reducing fire. While they are beneficial to the body when consumed normally, they should be avoided or eaten as little as possible during the menstrual period, as they can easily cause symptoms like dysmenorrhea and irregular menstruation.
2. Spicy Foods
Such as cassia bark, Sichuan pepper, cloves, and black pepper. These foods are all condiments. Normally, adding some chili to a dish can enhance its flavor. However, women during their menstrual period should not consume these spicy and irritating foods, as they can easily lead to dysmenorrhea, excessive menstrual bleeding, and other issues.
For some women, the symptoms of dysmenorrhea are beyond a tolerable range. If medication provides no relief, it is crucial to seek medical attention promptly. It is very important for the doctor to understand the severity of your dysmenorrhea, as they may then perform diagnostic tests for endometriosis based on your condition.
3. Foods That Affect Sexual Function
Water caltrop, wild rice stem, winter melon, kale, bracken, rabbit meat, black fungus, and hemp seed.
4. Fried Foods
Fried foods are also a major taboo for women during their period. Influenced by the progesterone secreted by the body, women experience increased sebum secretion and oily skin during their period. At the same time, capillaries dilate, making the skin more sensitive. Consuming fried foods at this time increases the burden on the skin, easily leading to acne, pimples, folliculitis, and dark circles. Additionally, due to the slowed metabolism of fat and water during menstruation, eating fried foods can easily lead to fat accumulation in the body.
5. Strong Tea
Strong tea contains a high amount of caffeine, which stimulates the nervous system and cardiovascular system, and can easily cause dysmenorrhea, a prolonged period, and excessive menstrual bleeding. At the same time, the tannic acid in strong tea can interfere with iron absorption, leading to iron-deficiency anemia.
Foods Women Should Eat Less of During Their Period
1. Salt
Consuming too much salt can increase the body's retention of salt and water, leading to symptoms like headaches, irritability, and agitation just before the menstrual period begins. You should start eating a low-salt diet 10 days before your period is due.
2. Alcohol
Doctors tell us: the amount of menstrual secreted is at most 50-120g, and alcohol is not enough to have any significant impact on this.
Additionally, many women particularly want to drink wine or warm alcohol during their period. This is because body temperature drops by 0.3-0.4 degrees during menstruation, and there is a subconscious desire to warm the body. Therefore, during this time, drinking 1-2 glasses of wine is an appropriate amount; no more than that. As a woman, no matter how much you enjoy drinking, you should still take concrete steps to protect yourself during your period.
Dietary Therapy for Menstrual Discomfort
Pain in the lower abdomen or radiating pain in the waist and legs during or before and after menstruation is called dysmenorrhea. The causes of dysmenorrhea may be due to consuming raw and cold foods, exposure to cold, or an imbalance of qi and blood, leading to obstructed qi flow and blood circulation. It can also be caused by damp-heat accumulation and liver qi stagnation, often accompanied by loss of appetite, irritability, fatigue, and a pale complexion. When an attack occurs, it is advisable to treat the symptoms to stop the pain first. Once the pain is alleviated, focusing on prevention can achieve better therapeutic and cosmetic effects. Here are several dietary therapy methods. 1. Ginger, Jujube, and Brown Sugar Water
Ingredients: 30 grams each of dried ginger, large jujube, and brown sugar.
Method: Wash the first two ingredients. Chop the dried ginger and remove the pits from the jujubes. Add brown sugar and decoct. Drink the soup and eat the jujubes.
Effects: Has the effect of warming the meridians and dispelling cold. Suitable for cold-type dysmenorrhea and chloasma.
2. Hawthorn and Cinnamon Brown Sugar Soup
Ingredients: 15 grams of hawthorn pulp, 5 grams of cinnamon, and 30 grams of brown sugar.
Method: Put the hawthorn pulp and cinnamon into a clay pot, add 2 bowls of water, and simmer over low heat until it reduces to 1 bowl. Add brown sugar, mix well, and bring to a boil.
Effects: Has the effects of warming the meridians, activating blood circulation, removing stasis, and relieving pain. Suitable for women with cold-type dysmenorrhea and a sallow complexion.
3. Leek Juice and Brown Sugar Drink
Ingredients: 300 grams of fresh leeks, 100 grams of brown sugar.
Method: Wash the fresh leeks, drain the water, chop, and mash to extract the juice. Place brown sugar in an aluminum pot, add a small amount of water and bring to a boil until the sugar dissolves. Mix in the leek juice and serve.
Effects: Has the effects of warming the meridians and tonifying qi. Suitable for qi and blood deficiency-type dysmenorrhea, and can also make the skin ruddy and smooth.
4. Chinese Rose Tea
Ingredients and Method: Use Chinese rose flowers picked in summer or autumn, preferably purple-red, semi-open buds that do not scatter and have a delicate fragrance. Steep them as a tea substitute.
Effects: Has the effects of promoting qi, activating blood circulation, and moisturizing the skin. Suitable for irregular menstruation, dysmenorrhea, etc.
5. Ginger Juice and Coix Seed Porridge
Ingredients: 10 grams of dried ginger, 10 grams of mugwort leaf, 30 grams of coix seed.
Method: Decoct the first two ingredients to extract the juice. Cook the coix seed until nearly done, then add the ginger and mugwort juice and cook until fully done.
Effects: Has the effects of warming the meridians, removing stasis, dispelling cold, eliminating dampness, and moisturizing the skin. Suitable for cold-dampness stagnation-type dysmenorrhea.
6. Dark Plum and Brown Sugar Drink
Ingredients: 15 grams of dark plum, 30 grams of brown sugar.
Method: Put the dark plum and brown sugar together in a pot, add 1.5 bowls of water, and decoct until it reduces to a little more than half a bowl. Remove the dregs and serve warm.
Effects: Has the effects of nourishing blood to stop bleeding, beautifying the skin, and improving complexion. Suitable for excessive menstrual bleeding in young girls or functional uterine bleeding.
7. Black Fungus and Jujube Drink
Ingredients: 30 grams of black fungus, 20 jujubes.
Method: Wash the black fungus and jujubes. Remove the pits from the jujubes. Boil the two ingredients in water, remove the dregs, and consume the liquid.
Effects: Has the effects of tonifying the middle and qi, nourishing blood to stop bleeding, and beautifying the skin. Suitable for excessive menstrual bleeding, anemia, and those with a weak constitution.
8. Lotus Root Drink
Ingredients: 500 grams each of fresh lotus root nodes, fresh white radish, and fresh eclipta alba.
Method: Wash the above ingredients, mash them, extract the juice, and add an appropriate amount of rock sugar to drink.
Effects: Has the effects of clearing heat and cooling the blood, stopping bleeding, and stabilizing the menstrual flow.