To function at its best, your body needs to have enough nutrients or macronutrients to fulfill all the different requirements and energy needs of its different systems. Your period is no different; a good period requires good nutrition.
You need to make sure you meet the nutritional needs of your body for your period to occur normally.
Three Main Macronutrients
There are three main macronutrients and these are carbohydrates, fat, and protein.
For a healthy period, you need to make sure you consume an adequate amount of each every day. If you don’t have enough of all three macronutrients your body won’t necessarily ovulate.
Protein
Protein is essential for your period health as it provides amino acids. These are needed to repair and maintain your body. They are needed for your hormones, muscles, organs, nervous system and immune system.
Aim to eat at least 1 gram of protein for each kilogram you weigh. So, if you weigh 65kg you should aim to consume at least 65g of protein per day.
It can be more difficult to get enough amino acids on a vegetarian diet so be careful to combine different sources of protein.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are a good source of energy and help to support immune function.
They are also involved in the action of your thyroid hormone and help calm your nervous system, helping prevent excess cortisol. Click here to learn more ways in helping preventing excess cortisol.
Just as there are good things, there are also bad things about carbohydrates.
Wheat can be a proinflammatory food for some women and if you’re one of them, then it might have a negative impact on your period.
A Western diet often contains too many carbs, typically over 400g of carbohydrates per day. You want to aim for 100-150g of carbs per day.
Try to eat gentle carbs, or carbs that are unlikely to cause inflammation. This includes rice, oats, potato, sweet potato, and whole fruit. Try to avoid sugar and highly processed foods.
Fats as Macronutrients
As the main building block for your steroid hormones, estrogen and progesterone, it is important to make sure you eat enough fat and cholesterol.
If you eat certain types of fats, such as the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish, you get the additional benefits of those fats being anti-inflammatory.
