Typically, when it’s our time of the month we automatically think of pain-relieving medication, heating pads, menstrual products, and likely some sweets. During our menstrual cycle, it’s important to ensure we’re eating good foods to eat on your period to ensure our body is being supplemented properly during this time.
Period Symptoms and Food
During our cycle, our iron levels, energy levels, and hormones are all over the place. Our body needs us to pay attention to what extra vitamins and minerals we need during this time that we are naturally losing through our cycle. One of the easiest ways to supplement our body is by eating foods that are rich in what we need to replenish our system.
Water retention sucks, same with those mood swings as well that happen during our cycle. Not to mention mensural cramps as well! Eating the proper foods to help with your cycle can help with reducing these symptoms and as well help with your hormone levels.
This post is not to be considered as medical advice. If you have questions about your body, your vitamin, and mineral levels, and how your period can be affecting your body please speak to a medical professional. This post is meant to offer suggestions of foods that can help with easing period symptoms.
Let’s dive into good foods to eat during your period!
Oats
In the winter months, I love a warm bowl of oatmeal to start my day. A couple of years back I even started making overnight oats in the summer months to still get all the benefits of oats, but they were chillier for the warmer weather. Some of my favourite ways to enjoy oats are oatmeal, overnight oats, oatmeal muffins, and granola/energy balls.
Oats are not only tasty but they’re packed with benefits for our health. One of the main attractions I have to oats is that they help keep you full longer and improve your digestion – they’re packed with fiber! Oats also contain zinc and magnesium which are both known to help with reducing period pain such as menstrual cramps. Magnesium is one of the most talked-about minerals we lose during our cycle. Therefore, it’s important to eat foods that help replenish that as our body is needing this to help with cramping through relaxing the muscles in our uterus.
Whole grains are great during your cycle! So, try switching your bread to a whole grain loaf to help with supporting your digestion, vitamins, and mineral levels.
Leafy Green Vegetables
Vegetables are not often something we think to grab when we’re on our period. Often, we think of junk food, chocolate, and sweets! Really, leafy green vegetables are one of the best good foods to eat during your period to help with replenishing your iron. Leafy green vegetables are iron-rich foods, that can help with reducing pms symptoms such as fatigue, pain, and dizziness.
Some examples of leafy green vegetables are kale and spinach. Not a fan of either? You can put a little in your morning smoothie and you’ll barely taste it but still get all the benefits! Or if you’re like me just pop that into a salad and have it with dinner or for lunch. Leafy green vegetables are food to help cramps so if you’re experiencing a more painful period try adding a salad to your meals that day.
Fruit
When thinking about what to eat during periods – I know I don’t often think of fruits. However, fruits are a period food you should be thinking about with your diet. Now what type of fruits to eat during periods is important to think about, because not all fruits will help equally.
You want to eat fruits that are water-rich, which will help hydrate you. Some examples of these fruits include watermelon and grapes. Fruits can also help with curbing those sugar cravings we sometimes get during our periods. Often our brains automatically go to the best junk food to eat on your period when your cycle starts such as chips, chocolate, or ice cream. Instead of reaching for those, reach for something sweet like some berries, an apple, orange, kiwi, passionfruit, pineapple, guava, or mango. These will help provide the sweetness you’re likely craving while providing your body with better nutrients than junk food.
Fruits such as berries can also help with reducing bloating which can be a pms symptom that some women experience.
Nuts and Seeds
Nuts and seeds are foods to eat during period cycles. They help support your hormones and provide essential fiber. During your cycle, your hormones and estrogen levels are fluctuating, and this is what is likely the cause of most pms symptoms you experience. Seeds, specifically pumpkin and flax seeds help to improve your estrogen levels and they help prevent an excess of estrogen. As well nuts such as Brazilian, macadamia, and walnuts are all high in Omega 3 which helps with balancing hormones.
During this time in your cycle, it’s helpful to keep some seeds and nuts near your desk during work hours to snack on, or later in the evening as a nighttime snack if you have those. If you’re not a fan of eating them plain you can bake them into treats such as muffins or cookies or can make energy balls that have these in them (as well as oats!). Eating nuts and seeds are great foods to help period cramps and balance your hormones so try some during your next cycle.
.
Dark Chocolate
Dark chocolate is a great food for period cramps. It can help satisfy your craving for sweets and is high in potassium which helps with reducing cramping. Most women, get excited when they hear this as they dream of chocolate when on their menstrual cycle. I wouldn’t go crazy with eating dark chocolate, but a small amount each day will help with reducing menstrual cramps and help with regulating your potassium. If you have too much it can not be helpful and can cause cramping. So, it’s recommended to have a small amount each day.
So next time your period cycle is approaching, when at the grocery store pick up a dark chocolate bar for food for period. It is also thought that dark chocolate can help with controlling your blood sugar levels.
Salmon
Finally, on our list of good foods to eat on your period is salmon! Salmon is packed with Omega 3 fatty acids which can help with reducing period cramping. Fish are also known to have anti-inflammatory properties which are also a helpful food to help cramps. I am not a fan of fish, so this isn’t included in my personal list of foods I consume when on my period. If you enjoy salmon make sure to have it for dinner on your meal plan for the week of your period. Salmon is also a food known to help with weight loss, as it helps you feel fuller longer. So, if you’re finding during your cycle, you’re constantly reaching for food out of hunger, try salmon for dinner to help you feel full longer.
Bonus: Foods to avoid
Now when thinking about foods to avoid during your period or not good foods to eat on your period there are quite a few. A couple at the top of the list are foods that are heavy in salt, high in sugar, and spicy foods. It’s also good to avoid caffeine and alcohol during your cycle. Lastly, red meat and dairy products can also hinder and cause your pms symptoms to become aggravated. A good number of the foods listed above can cause water retention and bloat. As well, as they will provide you with spikes and crashes in your energy levels. These are things we likely already experience with our periods and don’t need more of this! So, try to avoid these foods when possible when on your cycle.
I hope this post has been helpful for you and that you’ll add a couple of these to your next grocery shop to try during your next cycle. Are there any foods I haven’t listed here that you find helpful during your menstrual cycle? Let me know in the comments below.
Talk Soon!
I’ve always struggled with horrible period pains and definitely found my diet impacted that. This is a great post 😊
A period staple for me is raspberry leaf tea. It’s great for cramps and bloating!
Ooo I love some of these foods so this works perfectly for me when I’m on my monthly! I had no idea these helped so much so I really appreciate you sharing this Xo
Elle – ellegracedeveson.com
These are some great suggestions and it is interesting to hear about why these foods are good for when you are on your period. Thank you for sharing.
Lauren – http://www.bournemouthgirl.com
Love this guide as most of the foods here are foods I enjoy.
I have been taking some herbal medicines to help regulate my period cramps because I get them pretty bad on an irregular basis, but I think it is a great idea to eat more of the foods on this list when approaching and on my cycle. Fruits and oats combine well too. 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
Love this here!!! This is so helpful you don’t even know THANK YOU!!!
This is an important bible for me. Now I know what to eat and avoid during my periods. Thank you for sharing.
I already love most of the food mentioned in this post. Definitely going to add them to my diet during my periods. Thank you so much for sharing
This was such an interesting read! Must admit that I go a lot for salty and spicy food when on my period, so will try to switch more my diet, also I have seen that heavy gluten products tend to give me far more cramps during my period, thanks for sharing x
This is such great information! I will have to keep this in mind for next time! Thanks so much for sharing!
The food we eat when on our period can have good or bad impact on us actually. I must admit that I don’t have a specific diet for when I am on my period but I try to eat even healthier when on my period. Oats and fruits are perfect for that time of the month. I am not a huge fan of veggies lol I might try them out tho. Thank you for sharing.
Fantastic post! I eat oats most days and I agree, its pretty much the only thing that keeps me full until lunch time. You’ve just reminded me to take some frozen berries out of the freezer so I can make a smoothie with them tomorrow.
Coralle x
Dark chocolate really helps me with my cramps and it’s a natural mood booster! I suffer terribly when it’s my time of the month so I will have to take a look at whether the foods I’m eating are helping or hindering … thanks for this information!
Raspberry Leaf Tea is so lovely – I’m glad to hear it helps with easing PMS symptoms for you. Diet can be such a game-changer for some people and I hope these ideas give some good suggestions to try!
Fantastic to hear you already love these foods – I hope infusing them on your monthly will help with easing any pms symptoms your experience. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Awesome to hear you enjoyed reading this and reviewing the suggestions – I hope if you give any of these a try they help with reducing pain.
Wonderful to hear you already enjoy these foods Jaya! I hope this combined with your other medicines will help to ease and reduce your pain with your period cramps. Berries and oats are a great combo – my favourite is raspberries/ cranberries and blackberries!
I’m so glad to hear this was a helpful post for you. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Wonderful to hear this was helpful for your Fadima – I hope these foods help!
It’s great to hear you already love these foods – I hope they help ease your PMS symptoms.
It’s totally natural, we crave those most of the time so I hear you as I’ve been guilty of reaching for those! I hope you can try a couple of these suggestions in place of those to see if it helps with easing your period pain.
Fantastic to hear you found this helpful – I do hope these foods can help with easing any period pain you have.
Yes definitely, it’s great to hear you try to eat healthier as that’s likely helping provide you the minerals and vitamins you’re needing during your cycle. I’m glad you enjoyed this post and I hope the oats help 🙂
Wonderful to hear you enjoyed this post – oats are fantastic to fill you up for the morning! I hope the berries in your smoothie tomorrow taste delicious! Thanks for reading.
Your right, it is a natural mood booster and I’m glad it helps with easing cramps. I’m sorry to hear you get bad cramps and I hope these foods can ease a bit of the pain. Thanks for reading and wishing you well with your cycles.
Thank you for sharing, I really needed this! The last few times I’ve been on my period I’ve noticed that I felt really out of it and dizzy, and I think it’s due to my iron levels being low so I will definitely try some of the foods you’re recommending!!
Em x – https://www.earthlyem.co.uk
Oats, dark chocolate & dark leafy greens are my staples during my period! Well, oats & leafy greens are always a staple haha. I find that oats are so good for IBS which is always a bonus 🙂
Passed this on to a friend. it’s nice to have all the good advice in one place.
Ok, so here’s a super-period-busting recipe (ish) concocted out of your advice!
overnight oats made with chia and sliced almond and frozen fruit (can be served hot or cold), dark chocolate chips optional. That’s a summary of what I eat 8/10 mornings anyway, and a great way to efficiently consume several of those items all together. Plus, if you’re single and ahve trouble keeping fresh fruit around, using the frozen fruit means it’ll never go bad but still retains the water and nutrients.
Of course, someone commenting on here recommended raspberry leaf tea, so despite having four bookshelves full of different teas, I’m hopping on Amazon in search of that, now, too… 🙂
I always feel like eating crap on my period, but this is so much better! I do love overnight oats or freshly baked bread with oats so that should be doable and fruit is always nice (and chocolate of course).
Spicy foods are one of my favorite things to eat, but period cramps are not a favorite! I often snack on nuts and raisins during my period or some crackers. But I often binge on some chocolate, so this is a great list to keep handy. Thank you for this list!
Sejal | http://www.thelazygal.com
As a guy, I’ll have to take your word for it but these are great foods to eat anytime!
Chocolate and leafy greens are my go to’s when I’m on my monthly cycle. Great post!
Oh nice! This is really great post 😀 I don’t eat dark choco but I always have fruit and leafy greens when I’m on my period x
I’m so glad to hear this post could be helpful. Sorry to hear your iron levels have been low and that’s causing some less than pleasant symptoms – apricots and leafy greens would be two great foods to try to help with your iron. Take care!
Awesome to hear they’re already staples within your diets and I hope they help with easing PMS symptoms. Leafy greens can be dicey with IBS and yes oats are definitely one of my IBS go-to foods as well!
So lovely to hear – thank you! Oh, that sounds absolutely lovely and I’ll definitely be adding that to my list to try – frozen fruit is definitely a must-have as I can never seem to eat it fast enough when it’s fresh for recipes! Thank you for sharing and I’m glad you enjoyed this post – hope the Raspberry Leaf Tea helps you too!
I totally hear ya – it’s easy to reach for those super sweet or salty foods when you’re cramping up! I hope these foods help with your next cycle 🙂
It’s fantastic to hear you already snack on nuts during your cycle – chocolate is great just has to be in moderation or else it can actually trigger more cramping which I can’t imagine any of us want more of! Glad you enjoyed this post 🙂
Thank you Mark – I’m glad you enjoy these foods and they’re still loaded with great benefits even if you don’t have a cycle!
Yes – great to hear they’re your go-to foods for your cycle – I hope they help with easing your PMS symptoms.
Wonderful to hear fruits and leafy greens are fantastic and so helpful with helping with cramping! Thanks for reading and commenting.
This is a very interesting post, there are a few foods that I don’t know could help with periods. My go to food items are green leafy vegetables and dark chocolate. Thank you for sharing.
That’s great to hear you already have some great go-to foods with your period and I hope this list gave you some additional ideas to try out during your next cycle.
These days are behind me now but the importance of diet at all stages of our lives can never be underestimated.
I needed this reminder as all I do is eat crap during my period. But fruit is always a bit of a craving of mine when I’m ‘werewolfing’ as I call it.
Really nice suggestions. I’m on my period while reading this and I’ve always had and still have horrible cramps so this is helpful. Thanks
These are really important food suggestions to include during your period. I totally agree it will help with your period and I appreciate the foods you included that should be minimized and even eliminated if possible. Thank you for sharing.
Pastor Natalie
Letstakeamoment.com
Yes, 100% Rosie – it’s important for all aspects of health to be mindful of the impacts of our diet.
I’ve definitely been there as the cravings can be so strong sometimes! I’m glad you enjoy fruit and I hope that you can find a couple that can help ease PMS symptoms for you – love the title of werewolfing, so creative!
I really hope infusing a couple of these foods will help with reducing your cramping – thanks for taking the time to read this.
Thanks, Natalie – I’m glad you enjoyed reading this post, and food is such a great way to help our bodies naturally with balancing our hormones for PMS which can be better long-term than potential medication overuse.