Foods to Nourish Your Body During Your Period
I know that “time of the month” can bring up its own set of challenges - typically you might feel a bit more bloated, emotional, and just uncomfortable in your body. I know for me, personally, whenever my period comes around I want to immediately change into my comfiest pair of sweatpants, grab my heating pad, and cozy up with some tea, a bar of dark chocolate, and my latest Netflix tv show.
A few days before I get my period, I’ll tend to feel a bit scattered, sensitive, and definitely crave my favorite carb-y, comforting snacks. For me, this typically looks like buying a bag of plantain or potato chips, coconut milk ice cream, and/or a bar of dark chocolate (of course). I definitely allow myself these comfort foods, because BALANCE and JOY are big values of mine when it comes to food..
AND I also love to add in some nourishing, hormone-balancing foods into the mix that I know will help me feel better in my body, ease any PMS symptoms, and truly provide my body with the nutrients - vitamins, minerals, macronutrients, she needs to thrive.
What to Focus On with Food During Menstruation (aka: Your Period):
Think: Warmth & Replenishment
Your body needs nourishment to replenish all that's being released as you bleed and let go of your uterine lining. Your body is exerting excess energy to do this and releasing nutrients so thinking about replenishing your micronutrients (aka: vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes) is important.
Prioritize replenishing iron is also key since your body releases iron as it releases blood. You can do this via an iron supplement and also adding in iron-rich foods such as high-quality red meat and leafy greens.
Insulin sensitivity is low which means your body is slightly less optimal at digesting carbs and doesn't want an excess of carbs/sugar so make sure to balance your macronutrients (proteins, fats, and carbs) with each meal. You can also favor protein/fats a bit more than the carbs.
Feed your body healing, grounding, warming foods: Specific examples are listed below!
Use warming spices: cinnamon, cumin, turmeric, and ginger are all great!
Drink warming drinks such as hot herbal teas and/or cacao.
Minimize caffeine and alcohol as much as possible. If you desire to drink caffeine, prioritize a green tea drink like a matcha over an espresso drink!
For seed cycling, sprinkle in flax & pumpkin seeds!
Seed cycling is a method where you eat flax/pumpkin during one half of your cycle and sesame/sunflower during the other half of your cycle to optimize your hormone balance as one set of seeds fuels estrogen production (flax/pumpkin) and one set fuels progesterone production (sesame/sunflower)!
List of Specific Foods That Will Nourish Your Body & Ease Period Discomfort:
Bone Broth - there are loads of minerals inside of authentically made bone broth!
Warm Soups - prioritize easy-to-digest, simple soups like a broth soup with rice noodles or creamy butternut squash soup!
Slow Cooked Meats - think crockpot chicken or braised beef/lamp
Salmon, Sardines, or Mackerel - fattier fish with plenty of omega 3’s is an excellent choice! Have on top of some sautéed greens for extra rich/minerals
Seaweed - also filled with minerals; you can enjoy sushi, seaweed snacks, or even put a little seaweed into a homemade broth or soup!
Root Veggies - like sweet potato, beets, or squash
Lentils and Legumes - great for their iron-content and other nutrients
High Quality Dark Chocolate - think 70% cacao or more, with minimal additives!
Herbal Teas - Dandelion Root, Peppermint, Ginger, or a “Golden Milk” Latte would all be wonderful!
Berries - an ideal fruit for your period as they’re super rich in antioxidants and lower in sugar
Sample Menu For Menstruation:
Breakfast: Avocado toast on sourdough bread + berries + herbal tea
Lunch - Salmon + avocado sushi with a few squares of dark chocolate
Snack - Dark chocolate Aloha protein bar
Dinner - Pho-style soup with beef and rice noodles
Moving Forward:
What I recommend, is that you start tracking your period in an app (I like Period Tracker) so that you know when your next period is coming up. Start planning your food/meal options 1-2 weeks prior to when you get your period so that you have some of these nourishing foods/snacks in your pantry or freezer for very easy access. Sometimes the last thing you want to do is go grocery shopping and prep a bunch of things when you’re experiencing any PMS!
Plan a head a bit, stock up, and take it one period at a time. Be in an EXPERIMENT with all of this. Try some of my suggestions out and see how your body responds. Notice: What makes you feel good? What does YOUR body enjoy? Your body will tell you. Make sure to listen!
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