Women have many dietary taboos during their menstrual period. If you are not careful with your diet, it may lead to irregular menstruation, dysmenorrhea, increased or decreased menstrual flow, etc. The following lists several foods that women should avoid during their menstrual period, and hope that everyone can pay more attention to them.
Sichuan peppercorns, cloves, and pepper: During menstruation, one should eat light, bland, and nutritious foods. It is not advisable to eat strongly irritating spicy foods to avoid stimulating blood vessel dilation, which can cause an early period and excessive menstrual flow. Foods like Sichuan peppercorns, cloves, and pepper are seasonings that can make dishes taste better when used in normal cooking. However, women during their menstrual period should not eat these spicy and irritating foods, as it can easily lead to dysmenorrhea, excessive menstrual bleeding, and other symptoms.
Watermelon: Women should avoid eating watermelon during their menstrual period. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, watermelon is considered a cold-natured food, and eating it during menstruation can be harmful to the body.
Persimmon: Persimmons contain tannic acid, which can easily bind with iron and hinder the body's absorption of iron from food. Since women lose a large amount of blood during their period and need to supplement with iron, it is not advisable to eat persimmons.
Pear: Women should avoid eating raw pears in large quantities during their period. Pears are cold-natured and can easily cause dysmenorrhea or prolong the menstrual period.
Crab: Crab is very cold in nature and can clear heat, cool the blood, and dispel stasis. Women should avoid eating raw, cold, and cooling foods during their period, especially those who suffer from cold-type dysmenorrhea, who should especially avoid it.
River snail: Very cold in nature, it can clear heat. It is advisable to avoid eating river snails and other cold-natured foods during menstruation.
Bamboo shoots: Bamboo shoots are cold in nature and contain a relatively high amount of crude fiber and insoluble calcium oxalate. Women should avoid eating them during their menstrual period.
Salt: It is harmful for women to eat salty food before the onset of their menstrual period. Salty food can increase the body's storage of salt and water, which can lead to headaches, irritability, and agitation before the period begins.
In summary, for diet during the menstrual period, one should avoid raw and cold foods. Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that blood flows when it is warm and stagnates when it is cold. If one eats raw and cold foods during menstruation, it can first hinder digestion and secondly damage the body's yang energy, leading to internal cold. This cold stagnation can impede the smooth flow of menstrual blood, causing scanty menstrual flow or even dysmenorrhea. Even during the height of summer, it is not advisable to eat cold drinks during the menstrual period. It is best to eat well-cooked and warm foods during menstruation. In winter, one can also appropriately eat some warming and nourishing foods such as lamb, chicken, and longan.