Have you ever noticed that you crave a particular type of food during your period? Or perhaps you find yourself eating more than normal in the days leading up to it? It isn’t uncommon for this to happen. Women sometimes experience either compulsive eating and/or cravings around their period. This happens for a few reasons.
Let us learn from a Ballarat homeopath what causes period cravings and how can we healthily support our nutrition in these seasons.
Period Cravings: What And Why
There are a few different food groups that you might find yourself craving around your period. The type of food you go looking for can tell you a lot about what is going on in your body. Here are a few of the most common cravings – and why you want those foods:
- Carb cravings: foods like pizza are high in carbs which help to increase serotonin in your brain, which improves your mood.
- Salt cravings: wanting something like chips or pretzels is a sign that you are looking for salt. One of the reasons for craving salt is if you are thirsty – if you want salt, you may be dehydrated.
- Orange juice craving: this craving is linked to the vitamin C content of the orange juice, which helps you absorb calcium. Calcium helps balance hormones and reduce the severity of symptoms around your period.
- Sugar craving: it is different to the carb craving, here you want sweets or soft drink. This is a sign that your hormones are out of balance. You may have higher levels of progesterone or estrogen.
Nutritional Support
If you want to get on top of your cravings – or want support for managing other period symptoms – you can try incorporating some of these things into your diet:
- Foods high in calcium to help with fatigue, cravings, and mood support, such as: milk, cheese, yoghurt, fortified foods, or cereal.
- Foods high in B6 to help with irritability, moodiness, and forgetfulness, like fish, poultry, potatoes, whole grains, and cereal.
- Magnesium rich foods to help manage cramps and migraines, such as: leafy vegetables, fish, nuts, and whole grains.
- Foods rich in omega-3 and omega-6 to help manage cramps, such as: fish, nuts, and flax seeds.
- Include more carbohydrate rich foods to help support your mood, try like brown rice, potatoes, whole grains, lentils, barley, beans, sweet potatoes, and corn.
Naturopathic Advice When Experiencing Period Cravings
If these steps still haven’t been enough to settle your cravings, there are more things to try. There are a wide range of herbs that can help support your menstrual health. Additionally, supplements that provide a higher level of nutritional support may be more helpful to you. Having an appointment with a Naturopath can help determine which approach is best for your holistic health. Just click the button below to easily book an appointment.
You can also check out these articles about several women’s health issues.
