You start each month determined to watch what you eat, follow a healthy diet, maintain sleep hygiene, and give out “health goals”, only to suddenly find yourself raiding the refrigerator and gorging on anything and everything that you can lay your hand on. Well, you are not alone!
A large-scale survey by Statista, conducted across India in 2020, showed that a staggering 65.7% of women respondents till the age of 59 years suffered from menstrual problems like dysmenorrhea.
While mitigating the problems associated with menstruation might not be a cakewalk, tweaking your lifestyle according to the advice from science and health experts may provide precise answers on why you experience dynamic eating patterns during your period and how to manage them.
Causes of Period Cravings
While some experts believe food cravings to be normal before and during periods, others point to underlying or untreated issues as the cause of these extreme cravings.
The Serotonin and Cortisol Imbalance: The menstrual cycle accompanies a rise of cortisol (stress hormone/emergency hormone) and a fall of serotonin (happy hormone). And when you are sad (because of serotonin fall), you turn to food for comfort.
PMS and PMDD: Nearly 14.3%–74.4% of women in India have PMS issues. PMS occurs when progesterone level falls and estrogen increases and is associated with emotional and physical upheavals and compulsive eating. Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), is a severe form of (PMS).
PCOS/Irregular Periods: Irregular periods or PCOS, have also been shown to be causes leading to intake of high-calorie food and food cravings, related to high levels of insulin.
Nutrient Deficiency: Cravings around ovulation (14th day) show an estrogen imbalance, while cravings that start just before menstruation, might indicate a deficiency of vitamin D, C, or B-vitamin.
Insulin Sensitivity: Research published in Nature Metabolism has revealed that the hormone insulin varies throughout the menstrual cycle, and reaches a low before periods leading to increased hunger pangs and craving sweets during period.
So, is there any way to get rid of pre-period food cravings? Absolutely! Periods shouldn’t get in the way of healthy living and you don’t have to turn a healthy ninja one day and a sweet craving machine the other. Here are some scientific and health expert-endorsed tried and tested methods that could help you stay consistent with your eating habits and help you tread easily through menstruation every month. So if you get PMS food cravings, here’s how to deal with it.
10 Ways to Control Craving During Periods
While occasional indulging can act as a reward for the body, the irresistible urge to eat every month can lead to health issues, weight gain, and further complications in hormonal health. Scientific research and experts in the field of medicine have time and again explained the influence of lifestyle and food habit changes as an antidote for cravings during periods.
Based on this scientific evidence, here are the top 10 techniques to inculcate a happy period.
1. Add Protein Power to Your Diet
Try replacing your sugar-rich morning tea with some nuts and eggs, and analyze how you feel. Processed sugar causes mood fluctuations and leads to anxious eating, whereas having protein as a first meal is the best way to beat those sugar cravings during periods and maintain blood sugar levels while leaving you energized throughout the day.
Protein-rich food like eggs, almonds, chicken breast, milk, beans, legumes, paneers, sprouts, and soya satiates the body for longer hours.
2. Start Cycle Syncing
If you want to feel your best throughout the month start cycle syncing. Cycle syncing involves changing your diet and exercise regime as per your menstrual cycle. It involves being mindful of the body and what signals it sends and how you feel in general about your appetite, moods, energy levels, etc., and tailoring diet and exercise accordingly.
This helps to pre-plan diets, and grocery with nutrient-rich food before you start feeling low. It also helps to modify exercise routines and match intensity according to the body’s needs.
3. Add Food High in Essential Fatty Acids
Small changes like including walnuts and flaxseeds in your salads or as a snack can add Omega-3 fatty acids to your diet, this can slow the absorption of carbs and limit insulin spikes. Your body can’t produce these and it’s essential to get it from these vegetarian sources or through fish and eggs. These sources are rich in antioxidants and have anti-inflammatory properties, which relax your body and fight hunger pangs.
4. Eat Complex Carbs
Though you may have seen calorie-deficit fad diets that leave carbohydrates out of nutrition plans, in reality, they are necessary for the body to stay energized. Not only do the pros of complex carbs far outweigh the anxious eating of sugar-loaded stuff during cravings, but they also fill your stomach. Take advantage of the multitude of options available like whole grains which are rich in complex carbs and dietary fiber, sweet potatoes, citrus fruits, watermelon, apple, etc. for a happy period.
5. Workout to Beat Cravings
If you find yourself saying, “I can’t find time to work out”, consider stepping away from social media and investing that time in healthy exercise routines. Start small and get moving. The human body is made for movement and physical activities releases endorphins (feel-good hormones) and reduces cravings.
Contrary to popular belief, light exercises, waking, and some form of strength training can aid in the alleviation of menstrual issues and add respite to the emotional upheavals that lead to cravings.
6. Monitor and Optimize Water Intake
You might not be hungry, but thirsty! Confused? Well, the hunger centers and thirst centers lie very close to each other, so when you feel thirsty you might confuse it for being hungry. When in confusion sip a glass of water and see the difference.
To make it a routine and keep track of water intake, keep a filled water bottle handy near your working space.
7. Practice Stress Management
Data from WebMed says that 70% of women who go through PMS have intense cravings, bloating, sleep disturbances, stress, and mood swings.
Menstruation brings with it hormonal fluctuations that are hard to comprehend. Anxious eating or having “comfort food” is a way of ignoring what your body is trying to say. Including holistic routines like seven to eight hours of deep sleep, meditation, pranayamas, and mindfulness activities through art have shown immense value in reducing compulsive eating and craving.
8. Include Magnesium Rich Food
Your gut and brain are more connected than you think with our diets being less diverse than 50-75 years ago, deficiencies are not new. If you badly crave chocolates during your period it could be an indication of magnesium deficiency.
Magnesium is related to energy, mood, and muscle performance and the deficiency of magnesium might be the little reason making you move towards that bar of chocolate. Add a dash of pumpkin seeds, nuts, and legumes to your leafy vegetable soup and you have magnesium-rich nutrients in a bowl!
9. Get Your Dose of Vitamin D
This might be a loop that you are stuck in: When you are nearing your period the serotonin levels drop (happy hormones, remember?), and you binge on carbs because carbs make serotonin! While experts recommend complex carbs, that pack of chips (simple carbs) is going to add calories and an extra layer of midriff fat!
A better option? Start a new loop where each morning you bask in the morning sunlight for 5-10 minutes and get your daily dose of free, no-guilt happy hormones as sunlight is an ultimate source of Vitamin D which ultimately boosts the production of serotonin! Not a morning person? Add fatty fish, seafood, fortified dairy, and egg yolk to your diet to meet your daily Vit D dose.
10. Adopt Period-Tech
An average Indian woman spends about 35-40 years of her life menstruating, but this natural process should never hold her back from living life to the fullest. It’s observed that women turn to food to get respite from period cramps and pains. With a lack of support and limited pain relief options for intense period pains, food acts as an ally and savior for women.
Women can navigate this by chucking chemically ridden pills and adopting modern aids like Welme’s clinically tested, scientifically proven, and safe period pain relief device.
It blocks the pain signals reaching the brain while relaxing muscles and relieving pain so that you don’t have to postpone your travel plans, and social interactions, or lose out on important career opportunities because of the discomfort of period pains.
Shift Perspectives for a Holistic Life
The world we live in isn’t the same as it was a decade ago, grow and adopt better alternatives to navigate the challenges of the 21st century. Taking small consistent steps can make your period journey holistic.
Choose better and smarter food habits, and lifestyle changes, and adopt radical innovation, because you deserve better! If you have painful or stressful periods, use a period pain relief device like Welme that mitigates pain in no time.
