What to Eat on Your Period

When you’re on your period, you’re not at your 100% most of the time. It is important to eat foods that are replenishing and will keep you at your peak.

Dark Chocolate

When on your period, you may find yourself with a moody attitude, low spirits, or a lack of energy. This is because of high levels of hormones, estrogen and progesterone, circulating throughout the body. In addition, you also have higher levels of insulin, a hormone that regulates the amount of glucose in the blood. This correlates to a low amount of blood sugar, leading to the craving of calcium, carbs, and sugar. Chocolate contains all three, which is why you may you might find yourself in desperate need of chocolate when menstruating.

Eating chocolate with higher concentrations of sugar can actually be detrimental to the body during the menstrual cycle, because it leads to individuals being more emotional, instead of less so. On the other hand, dark chocolate usually does not contain as much sugar, caffeine, and theobromine as milk chocolate. Theobromine being a bitter alkaloid of the cacao plant. Instead, it contains magnesium, omega-3, and omega-6 fatty acids which all help boost your mood.

Leafy Greens

When on your period, your body has a reduced amount of iron. Low levels of iron are detrimental to the body because they are needed to produce hemoglobin, a protein within red blood cells that enables them to carry oxygen throughout the body. As a result, the number of red blood cells decrease as well. Leafy greens including kale, spinach, collard greens, and swiss chard contain iron. Eating these greens during your period can replenish the body’s supply of iron.

Fruit

Because of the reduced amount of insulin in your while menstruating, you crave sweet foods. Instead of eating sweet foods like milk chocolate which can actually make you feel worse on your period, it’s best to eat sweet fruits like watermelons or plums that have natural sugars. The nutrients in these fruits combat fatigue and weakness, which are common symptoms of periods. During the menstrual cycle, there is an influx of blood flow that rushes to the uterus, often resulting in uterine swelling. The natural sugars contained in fruits help ease bloating.

Whole Grains

One effect the menstrual cycle has on the body is unstable blood sugar levels. Whole grains contain magnesium, which helps maintain blood glucose levels. The more glucose that cells receive, the steadier the body’s blood sugar levels are. Whole grains also contain Vitamins B and E, which have been proven to fight fatigue and depression. Some whole grains that are healthy to eat during your period include whole wheat bread, popcorn, oatmeal, brown rice, etc.