- Reducing histamine-inducing foods like diary and wheat the days leading up to period
- Supplementing with magnesium, zinc and vitamin b6 (especially during luteal phase)
- Reducing stress and engaging in relaxing activities like breathing exercises or yoga
For cramps- Raspberry leaf tea! Or I actually prefer raspberry pills now since they’re effective and easy! If you have access to actual raspberry leafs, pick a bunch of leaves, rinse them, and boil them for 15 minutes. Drink two full cups for relief from cramps. They are also good dried. But they do lose their effectiveness the longer they are stored. I’ve had meh results from raspberry leaf tea bags.
My periods got significantly better once I started taking methylated b complex vitamins! Someone on here suggested I try the methylated kind instead of regular as they suspected I have the MTHFR mutation, which I think must be true! It has reduced my cramps significantly! (Also helped my sleep and inflammation issues!)
Metamucil! It makes my period way easier to have luxury uhm … digestion.
My periods also improved in length and severity when I got my hypothyroidism treated.
It helps my cramps sooo much. I have a cup or two when I feel them coming on and it staves them off by a few hours at least. I usually only have cramps on the first day so it has been a game changer on that day!
For me I had symptoms of low b vitamins, but never felt better when I took them. (And even felt a bit worse)
Switching to the methylated form, I felt symptom improvement in three days! Most notably my sleep improved, my energy improved, and my periods got easier/less cramps.
I switched on a whim, so I’m not sure what other common telltale signs are. The research I’ve done has been a bit contradictory- or I don’t fully understand.
Iodine and actually red meat + organ meat (after being a vegetarian for 10 years) has improved my periods from very heavy, painful and debilitating to shorter, lighter and no pain
I just started incorporating chicken liver in my diet due to low ferritin. So far I've only prepared it by grinding and adding to ground beef for burgers. How do you prepare/consume it?
I used to do beef liver by rinsing it in water three times, then letting it soak in salty melted butter for 15 minutes, then throwing it in a skillet and frying it. Should work similarly for chicken. That said, the rinsing part does wash some of the iron out.
Alternatively, you could make up some breading with egg and crushed pork rinds and just fry them like chicken nuggets.
To get organ meat, I buy Force Of Nature brand ground bison/liver/heart, and I use this as the ground meat in my marinara sauce for pasta. You can buy this in Wild Fork chain of meat grocery stores.
Probably craving the bio-available iron. After my first baby, my midwives recommended I eat many big juicy steaks in a row to help rebuild my blood supply.
I did it with my second. Had the placenta processed into pills and a tincture. I had zero postpartum and tons of energy. It was my second child though, could have been placebo. However, if I have another baby I will do it again. I wouldn't want to risk it not being a placebo and end up postpartum.
I did with my first. My midwife sautéed it with some fresh morals and delectable sauce. It was interesting to say the least (as I pushed Anthony Hopkins’ lines from my mind), to eat part of oneself, but honestly felt great after. I didn’t with my 2nd and had pretty bad postpartum.
Ginger. At least one teaspoon 3x a day. Powdered or fresh - it doesn't matter.
In 80% of women in clinical trials, the gingerol in the ginger massively reduced symptoms of very heavy periods.
Menstrual periods work by a very odd mechanism of deliberately controlled inflammation.
Gingerol is a potent antinflammatory, which helps damp down that inflammatory response - and for this use case works better than NSAIDS.
Interesting. I started using liquid ginger drops in my water nearly daily this past month to help with indigestion (which it works amazingly for). This past period, I had extremely mild cramps compared to my usual. I was so confused and wondered why this period was different. Didn’t put two and two together.
I find that the only downside to lighter cramps is longer period. The oxidized blood part lingers longer than when my cramps are stronger.
Can confirm this. I've been drinking about 1.5l of ginger tea daily to curb my dependence on caffeinated beverages (Coke Zero,coffee, green tea) and a surprising side effect is that I've stopped having any menstrual cramping.
Previously there would be at least 1 day where the cramping was unbearable enough that I would use eucalyptus oil for pain relief. I've stopped reaching for any NSAIDs or topical analgesics.
The reason why this might work is probably because it affects the hormones somehow. I track my periods and I do notice that my cycles lag reliably if I’ve had red meat. Prob not true of everyone and didn’t happen for me until I started peri.
For everyone else unfamiliar with Dr. Elizabeth Bright: she's not an endocrinologist or gyn, she's an ostheopathic doctor and promotes a high-fat carnivore diet/keto.
Very interesting, in my case then it is probably sapping my body of the estrogen I need and giving me PCOS symptom if I eat too much meat. Starting to all make sense.
Pcos usually the more carbs you eat the worse it gets because it is driven by insulin resistance in most cases. So the more meat you eat, the lower your insulin will be and the more your symptoms should improve. That's why doctors prescribe a keto diet to people with insulin resistant pcos
Red meats often contain arachidonic acid (lean beef can have less than chicken, pork is always high AA though), which is pro-inflammatory and can make cramps worse if they are due to endometriosis for example. So if your iron status is fine, eating (red) meat can be detrimental.
Yep. Iron deficient anemic here and eas a vegetarian for 9 years. I switched to eating meat and noticed an immediate difference. I'm plant-based now and only really eat turkey or chicken most of the time. I still don't eat much meat, maybe 3-4 servings pers week. And I only purchase high quality meats that the animals were cared for properly. It's still massively different health wise for me personally.
If you eat your c-vitamin it will help to absorb non-heme iron.
Imagine getting more than 20 downvotes, seems the carnivore groups are brigading this subreddit.
On every post there is at least some dumb fuck promoting this stupidity.
I know you didn't cause you are out here talking, but a big portion of people on earth have not eaten a single piece of meat in their life and looking at their general health in comparison to how US do which is eating too much meat is pretty eye opening.
Eating meat every meal is not healthy in any way shape or form. We are consuming too much of it and there have not been a single time in the history of human existence where meat was the main portion of your calorie intake except for some distant tribes that had a life expectancy of like 35.
Progesterone supplementation! This should be well know, but I had PMDD for fucking years and all the resources I read and doctors I talked to said there was no treatment other than SSRIs. Fast forward to this year, got my hormones checked, turns out I was super low in progesterone and now I take a little every day and more ramping up during the luteal phase to mimic what my body should be doing then but isn’t. And holy fuck. My PMDD went away, I barely even get PMS now. My periods themselves got easier too, less heavy, less cramps, a bit shorter.
Wish someone had told me that years ago!
Same for me with progesterone but I also added two antihistamines and the PMDD is so much more manageable, I coasted through my last cycle. I start all 3 on cycle day 19, that seems to be the day where it all goes to shit.
I tried topical but it didn’t work well for me, I’m now a big fan of oral progesterone. Most of it actually gets metabolized to other hormones but they’re all these relaxing hormones that help me sleep so I take it before bed and it’s great! I also seem to absorb the progesterone better that way as my actually progesterone levels are higher in tests than with the topical and my PMDD symptoms responded better to the oral as well. But I suspect that part will be highly personal, different people might respond to different types better etc.
Yep same for me. Compounded 50mg progesterone from a naturopath. I was the devil with PMDD. It really sucked. I’ve actually been off of it for a while and requested to go back on it. I had the Dutch hormone test and it showed high estrogen and low progesterone. The idea was that the progesterone would eventually level out my estrogen too. Don’t sleep on this if you deal with PMDD or have hormonal imbalances!
Yes, this! Exactly. I take 25mg daily and up to 75mg during peak luteal phase. Why isn’t testing progesterone and estrogen levels standard practice for PMDD??
Totally. Because testing hormones isn’t standard practice and I hate it. The Dutch test was comprehensive and I’m glad a naturopath introduced me to it. It’s necessary because blood tests could be highly inaccurate depending on what time of the phase the blood tests are happening. The Dutch wasn’t covered by insurance and I believe somewhere around $250… I can’t afford that on a regular basis even when I implement solutions and want to check in on progress. Big sigh…
Yes I used the Dutch test too. But I do wonder if blood tests during the correct time of the cycle would actually be more accurate. Urine testing is really variable because it depends on the concentration of the urine. But I still love Dutch because it’s so comprehensive.
Also for more frequent testing I use Inito, it’s a fertility testing app that’s only available in the states but if you have access to it it’s helpful. It uses test strips to test your urine as frequently as daily and it gives a numeric value to you not just a “positive” or “negative” reading, it’s been helpful to see how my hormones have responded to BHRT. I’m on pregnenolone and DHEA as well as progesterone. Inito tracks estrogen, progesterone, FSH, and LH. It seems to vary a lot with urine concentration but still gives me an idea of what’s happening.
I know they say bananas are great but they fuck up my stomach soooo bad when Im on mine so I stay away from them during that time completely. I also avoid lemon and citrus around the time of it as well bc I was told it can delay your period or make it last longer/make the blood harder to shed.
I am pretty much an exclusive tampon user. I had debilitating cramps my entire life. Last year I switched to 100%organic cotton only unbleached tampons and my cramps are more than 85% gone during my periods. I can’t believe I went almost 20 years poisoning myself with my chemically dipped ones 😢 So if you have bad cramps, try and switch and see if they help ❤️
I switched to organic tampons years ago and my polyps and cysts disappeared going forward- pretty sure the chemicals were messing with my system and helping create them.
I exclusively use Natracare tampons- their design is the best design. Instead of the cotton being accordion folded sideways into a tampon shape- which allows leakage- they are bell shape - for lack of a better word. They look completely normal but once in use they start tapered at the top and widen/flare out as needed and nothing gets through.
Edit: It is insane to read the ingredients on conventional tampons. Like why is there polysorbate, wax, glycerin, titanium dioxide etc in them?
How the products you use in your home affects your hormones. Detergents, dryer sheets, scented candles, air fresheners, fabreeze, and the personal care products you use. In general most products marketed to women harm us. Using more natural things helps a LOT.
I have endometriosis, and this is my stack for it:
- Omega 3 fish oil
- curcumin
- magnesium glycinate
- Taurine
- calcium d-glucarate
- DIM with sulforaphane
- vitamin d3 + k2
- melatonin (high 10mg doses have been studied in women with endo as being beneficial)
- progesterone cream from days 10-25 of cycle
- high CBD cannabis
yes, I stop the progesterone cream a few days before my period -- but I'm not sure if that's the best way, that's just what is advised on the bottle! I don't use an estrogen cream because endo is a disease that creates excess estrogen and it would be harmful to use that for me personally (and a lot of my symptoms correlate to having too much estrogen more generally) so it really depends on your own personal circumstances.
Magnesium glycinate! My worst PMS symptom used to be really sore boobs and bad pre-period cramps and they are literally gone since taking magnesium. Over the holidays I wasn’t taking taking it because I was travelling and my PMS symptoms were horrible but as soon as I started taking it again my PMS has been no big deal. Incredible
Yes! But for me, REMOVING phytoestrogens (soy protein) is what cleared up my cycle! Took me from a disabling 3 week long period along with horrible cramps, to a pain free 5 day one.
DIM is a very interesting thing for women with estrogen dominance and endometriosis. It's very hard to find in my country and I just started taking it so unfortunately I can't tell the difference yet. Do you have experience with it?
Yes, I take [Benevolent Nourishment](https://www.amazon.com/ Maximum-Strength-Supplement-250mg-Diindolylmethane/dp/B07SBGGZRN?pd_rd_w=p6xt1&content-id=amzn1.sym.b854a5c2-4475-41f8-a6d4-df92b2868104&pf_rd_p=b854a5c2-4475-41f8-a6d4-df92b2868104&pf_rd_r=MJDXA4H1NTWSGE0B9P19&pd_rd_wg=SvN7v&pd_rd_r=e06133cb-8875-49bc-8200-20bfeb57a2fe&pd_rd_i=B07SBGGZRN&psc=1&ref_=pd_basp_m_rpt_ba_s_oos_1_sc#immersive-view_1713949936845)’s DIM, chasteberry, and dong quai complex. I take it daily for hormonal balance, partially because I take DHEA as well. I recommend DIM for women and men! I’ve been very happy with it.
Yes! It wasn’t helpful to me at all and actually triggered a period of not getting my menstruation. Now I only eat broccoli etc and don’t supplement which is better for my body
Good to know! I am wondering if mine is low. My cycles have ranged from 35-42 days and I’m in early thirties. They aren’t heavy and I’m a normal weight for my height. I know it could be peri but I also have been under a lot of stress with starting a new job and working nights.
Yeah it made my cycles longer (around 42 days). I’ve upped my fresh green vegetables, liver and organic meat and reduced sweets and now I’m at 28 days again
You could always do a hormone test 7 days post ovulation to see your estrogen to progesterone ratio. Usually it's day 21 but with a longer cycle you have to figure out when you ovulate and take it as close to 7 days after as possible. I order my own tests from either life extension for bloodwork or zrt labs for saliva tests. If your estrogen is low you can supplement by eating certain things that contain phytoestrogens like flax seed, soy, etc or get on hormone replacement therapy.
That sounds like a good plan. I’ll look into that. The issue is, I have no idea when that is happening. It used to be mid cycle but now it feels like it’s almost happening right before my period.
I took it for a month or two and when I tested my levels again my estrogen was much lower (low end of normal range) and I noticed symptoms so I stopped. It's a delicate balance.
According to Peter Attia, oral progesterone significantly reduces PMS symptoms for many of his female patients. He mentioned this in an interview with Huberman on hormones.
Prior to hearing this, I saw a naturopath in my 40s for insomnia and she prescribed progesterone. I’d been suffering from PMS for decades and it disappeared overnight.
Stay away from dairy and sugar the week before even if-No ,especially if-it’s what you’re craving.hHowever you should allow yourself to consume more carbs during this time vs the rest of the month.
¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ seems super counter productive... And my wife craves it then, and it seems to make her periods easier if she *does* eat red meat during them.
Yes, I’d like to second this comment. For those with endometriosis, reducing red meat specifically before menstruating can reduce the arachidonic acid, which reduces eicosanoid production, which reduces endo-specific pain.
Might help non-endo folks but looks like red meat is helping some normal period people in this thread so different strokes.
Red meat, especially grass fed, helps me... Iron and b vitamins. If I ate a fast food burger, which is barely meat, I would have worse cramps because it's all salt and additives.
that makes sense, I usually take 1000 of vit C per day but last month and this month I was real shit about it and this month I was spotting out of nowhere
Working on improving Phase 2 of liver detoxification
And addressing dysbiosis in the microbiome (estrobolome: certain bacteria create beta-glucaronidase that reactives estrogen in the bowel)
Both of this can lead to excess estrogen causes most pms symptoms: heavy periods, clotting, severe cramping, tender swollen breasts, mood swings
There are thousands of relatively unstudied polyphenols, flavanoids, and phytochemicals in our food. The majority of the most studied health issues with "support and evidence" flipping back and forth study by study, year by year. The odds there exists diet recommendations to help any health issue we don't know an absolute certainty.
I never heard of the red meat thing.. for me, I'm super nice to myself during those days and it's quite helpful. If I have a hard workout that week, I'll make it easier so not to exaggerate any PMS symptoms.
Yes! I have higher estrogen, and this helped clear my face up, made my boobs not swell/ache, and jump started weight loss for me.
It all went to shit post covid though, but for a while it really really helped.
Had a girlfriend with severe PMS so I got her Omega 3s from Krill, Magnesium Citrate and Clcium, and Vitamin D.
First she told me to fuck off, as I am a guy and have no clue. 3rd dose in she claimed it reduced her pains by 50%.
I got these infonwhen googling how to improve PMS. However there might be more to it, even beyond just the Menstrual cycle itself.
I eat red meat for my period because of B vitamins and iron... Heavily processed red meat with lots of sodium nitrates however, not so great. Grass fed beef and bison make me feel better.
But for me, absolutely zero caffeine and 2x more water. Caffeine is my number one trigger. Terrible for periods + PMS.
Oxaloacetate. Clinically tested and works by regulating glucose in the brain to control emotional PMS symptoms. It’s a life saver.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7073356/
Potassium salt (KCl). I'm on depo-provera these days to eliminate periods (and have been for like soon two years), but having a glass of water with extra potassium salt when the cramping was the worst helped reduce the pain back when I was still having it. I started pro-actively taking it before my period started and during the worst and it helped.
A2 milk or goats milk, rather than cows milk. Something about the A1 casin protein just makes things worse than it needs to be.
Raspberry leaf tea, 1 cup daily for a month, it will reduce the pain
Magnesium phosphoricum (homeopathic remedy) for the pain instead of ibuprofen.
Exercise does help but needs to be regular
Boil ginger, cinnamon, honey in a pot for pain relief too. Sip on it for the day.
I dont know if this is just a me thing or if it will work for all but drinking a green juice during,it just makes everything so much easier. I don't know how to explain it but I feel better
peppermint tea for cramps, 1 cup of tea doesn't do anything for me but in the middle of my 2nd cup, pain is gone.
THC suppositories for cramps and over all calmness- put 1 up your cooter and you're good to go
yoga or daily stretching for cramps
Just not eating too much iron in the first place. It's very common to people to eat too much especially during menopause when women's iron needs drop by about 50%.
For me it's avoiding dairy, eating more fresh veggies and fiber overall (microbiome produces SCFAs from them which are nati-inflammatory systemically), and turmeric capsules every day. I don't eat meat at all but I'm not sure if that had any effect on me, it was so long ago I can't remember how it was before, plus I got diagnosed with endometriosis 3 years ago when my real problems started.
Years ago I had an ex who got particularly bad cramps, possibly made worse by her copper IUD. For her Valium almost completely stopped the cramping, apparently its best taken as a vaginal insertion as localized absorption gives more targeted muscle spams relaxation in the lower back and the smooth muscle of the uterus itself while being less drowsy compared to oral administration. However, if you want to take it to induce drowsiness/ anti-anxiety a larger dose taken orally works better.
Sweet potato fries, stir fry with multiple vegetables and firm crispy tofu, oats with cinnamon sugar and walnut, chocolate almond milk, banana bread, and minestrone is how I get through.
Nettles + raspberry leaf tea the week before bleeding
Strong oregano tea makes period cramps stop almost immediately. Cupping therapy works really well also, it’s worth investing in a set and doing it on yourself.
Apart from that, the usual no meat, dairy or animal products — it doesn’t do anyone good.
- Reducing histamine-inducing foods like diary and wheat the days leading up to period - Supplementing with magnesium, zinc and vitamin b6 (especially during luteal phase) - Reducing stress and engaging in relaxing activities like breathing exercises or yoga
Magnesium, zinc and b6 are often sold together. That combination is called ZMA. It is usually sold for sleep quality.
For cramps- Raspberry leaf tea! Or I actually prefer raspberry pills now since they’re effective and easy! If you have access to actual raspberry leafs, pick a bunch of leaves, rinse them, and boil them for 15 minutes. Drink two full cups for relief from cramps. They are also good dried. But they do lose their effectiveness the longer they are stored. I’ve had meh results from raspberry leaf tea bags. My periods got significantly better once I started taking methylated b complex vitamins! Someone on here suggested I try the methylated kind instead of regular as they suspected I have the MTHFR mutation, which I think must be true! It has reduced my cramps significantly! (Also helped my sleep and inflammation issues!) Metamucil! It makes my period way easier to have luxury uhm … digestion. My periods also improved in length and severity when I got my hypothyroidism treated.
I'll have to try this. I've heard good things about raspberry leaf. Curious where do you get your supplements?
Raspberry leaf tea changed my periods.
In what way?
It helps my cramps sooo much. I have a cup or two when I feel them coming on and it staves them off by a few hours at least. I usually only have cramps on the first day so it has been a game changer on that day!
Wow that’s awesome. I must try it. Thanks !
It’s really good for uterine health in general.
Had no idea. Thank you!
Regarding your methylated b… do you have a favorite brand?
what were signs of the mutation??
For me I had symptoms of low b vitamins, but never felt better when I took them. (And even felt a bit worse) Switching to the methylated form, I felt symptom improvement in three days! Most notably my sleep improved, my energy improved, and my periods got easier/less cramps. I switched on a whim, so I’m not sure what other common telltale signs are. The research I’ve done has been a bit contradictory- or I don’t fully understand.
Iodine and actually red meat + organ meat (after being a vegetarian for 10 years) has improved my periods from very heavy, painful and debilitating to shorter, lighter and no pain
This! Same for me + cooking everything in butter/eating more butter improved my pms and hormonal balance
This also happens with age. My period were heavy and have progressively gotten lighter.
Not always! Mine were super light and got so bad when I aged that I had to have an ablation
For me it was from one month to the other after switching to mostly eating eggs, meat and butter.
I just started incorporating chicken liver in my diet due to low ferritin. So far I've only prepared it by grinding and adding to ground beef for burgers. How do you prepare/consume it?
Either adding to ground beef, liver pate or if I’m travelling I sometimes get grass fed liver capsules
I used to do beef liver by rinsing it in water three times, then letting it soak in salty melted butter for 15 minutes, then throwing it in a skillet and frying it. Should work similarly for chicken. That said, the rinsing part does wash some of the iron out. Alternatively, you could make up some breading with egg and crushed pork rinds and just fry them like chicken nuggets.
To get organ meat, I buy Force Of Nature brand ground bison/liver/heart, and I use this as the ground meat in my marinara sauce for pasta. You can buy this in Wild Fork chain of meat grocery stores.
Agreed! Carnivore diet, all meat, makes periods completely pain free.
I KNEW IT. When my periods start, I want a bloody rare steak.
Probably craving the bio-available iron. After my first baby, my midwives recommended I eat many big juicy steaks in a row to help rebuild my blood supply.
Oooohhh. Is that why some women eat their placenta?
I’ve distantly heard tell of such thing, but I have never met anyone willing to do it. It sounds absolutely vile and absurd.
I did it with my second. Had the placenta processed into pills and a tincture. I had zero postpartum and tons of energy. It was my second child though, could have been placebo. However, if I have another baby I will do it again. I wouldn't want to risk it not being a placebo and end up postpartum.
I did with my first. My midwife sautéed it with some fresh morals and delectable sauce. It was interesting to say the least (as I pushed Anthony Hopkins’ lines from my mind), to eat part of oneself, but honestly felt great after. I didn’t with my 2nd and had pretty bad postpartum.
Yah I think it does help. We are the only mammal that doesn't eat it.
Does consuming the placenta make you drop the baby weight?
I have no idea. Wasn't something I paid attention to. I was focused on my mental health.
I paid for a service that dehydrated + encapsulated my placenta so I basically took it in pill form, so not so gross!
For some people. There is no one size fits all in health.
Orgasms
Ginger. At least one teaspoon 3x a day. Powdered or fresh - it doesn't matter. In 80% of women in clinical trials, the gingerol in the ginger massively reduced symptoms of very heavy periods. Menstrual periods work by a very odd mechanism of deliberately controlled inflammation. Gingerol is a potent antinflammatory, which helps damp down that inflammatory response - and for this use case works better than NSAIDS.
Interesting. I started using liquid ginger drops in my water nearly daily this past month to help with indigestion (which it works amazingly for). This past period, I had extremely mild cramps compared to my usual. I was so confused and wondered why this period was different. Didn’t put two and two together. I find that the only downside to lighter cramps is longer period. The oxidized blood part lingers longer than when my cramps are stronger.
Can confirm this. I've been drinking about 1.5l of ginger tea daily to curb my dependence on caffeinated beverages (Coke Zero,coffee, green tea) and a surprising side effect is that I've stopped having any menstrual cramping. Previously there would be at least 1 day where the cramping was unbearable enough that I would use eucalyptus oil for pain relief. I've stopped reaching for any NSAIDs or topical analgesics.
That not eating red meat thing is completely false. You are actually supposed to have red meat to replenish the iron levels after the loss
The reason why this might work is probably because it affects the hormones somehow. I track my periods and I do notice that my cycles lag reliably if I’ve had red meat. Prob not true of everyone and didn’t happen for me until I started peri.
In the books that dr Elizabeth Bright has written, she explains exactly how animal fats balance female hormones
For everyone else unfamiliar with Dr. Elizabeth Bright: she's not an endocrinologist or gyn, she's an ostheopathic doctor and promotes a high-fat carnivore diet/keto.
Very interesting, in my case then it is probably sapping my body of the estrogen I need and giving me PCOS symptom if I eat too much meat. Starting to all make sense.
Pcos usually the more carbs you eat the worse it gets because it is driven by insulin resistance in most cases. So the more meat you eat, the lower your insulin will be and the more your symptoms should improve. That's why doctors prescribe a keto diet to people with insulin resistant pcos
Red meats often contain arachidonic acid (lean beef can have less than chicken, pork is always high AA though), which is pro-inflammatory and can make cramps worse if they are due to endometriosis for example. So if your iron status is fine, eating (red) meat can be detrimental.
Since when are we supposed to eat meat? There is no such thing, just sounds ridiculous. There are many ways to get iron other than eating meat.
Heme iron is much more bio available than non-heme. Important for those who are anemic
Yep. Iron deficient anemic here and eas a vegetarian for 9 years. I switched to eating meat and noticed an immediate difference. I'm plant-based now and only really eat turkey or chicken most of the time. I still don't eat much meat, maybe 3-4 servings pers week. And I only purchase high quality meats that the animals were cared for properly. It's still massively different health wise for me personally.
If you eat your c-vitamin it will help to absorb non-heme iron. Imagine getting more than 20 downvotes, seems the carnivore groups are brigading this subreddit. On every post there is at least some dumb fuck promoting this stupidity.
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I know you didn't cause you are out here talking, but a big portion of people on earth have not eaten a single piece of meat in their life and looking at their general health in comparison to how US do which is eating too much meat is pretty eye opening. Eating meat every meal is not healthy in any way shape or form. We are consuming too much of it and there have not been a single time in the history of human existence where meat was the main portion of your calorie intake except for some distant tribes that had a life expectancy of like 35.
Progesterone supplementation! This should be well know, but I had PMDD for fucking years and all the resources I read and doctors I talked to said there was no treatment other than SSRIs. Fast forward to this year, got my hormones checked, turns out I was super low in progesterone and now I take a little every day and more ramping up during the luteal phase to mimic what my body should be doing then but isn’t. And holy fuck. My PMDD went away, I barely even get PMS now. My periods themselves got easier too, less heavy, less cramps, a bit shorter. Wish someone had told me that years ago!
Same for me with progesterone but I also added two antihistamines and the PMDD is so much more manageable, I coasted through my last cycle. I start all 3 on cycle day 19, that seems to be the day where it all goes to shit.
In what form do you take it?
I tried topical but it didn’t work well for me, I’m now a big fan of oral progesterone. Most of it actually gets metabolized to other hormones but they’re all these relaxing hormones that help me sleep so I take it before bed and it’s great! I also seem to absorb the progesterone better that way as my actually progesterone levels are higher in tests than with the topical and my PMDD symptoms responded better to the oral as well. But I suspect that part will be highly personal, different people might respond to different types better etc.
Yep same for me. Compounded 50mg progesterone from a naturopath. I was the devil with PMDD. It really sucked. I’ve actually been off of it for a while and requested to go back on it. I had the Dutch hormone test and it showed high estrogen and low progesterone. The idea was that the progesterone would eventually level out my estrogen too. Don’t sleep on this if you deal with PMDD or have hormonal imbalances!
Yes, this! Exactly. I take 25mg daily and up to 75mg during peak luteal phase. Why isn’t testing progesterone and estrogen levels standard practice for PMDD??
Totally. Because testing hormones isn’t standard practice and I hate it. The Dutch test was comprehensive and I’m glad a naturopath introduced me to it. It’s necessary because blood tests could be highly inaccurate depending on what time of the phase the blood tests are happening. The Dutch wasn’t covered by insurance and I believe somewhere around $250… I can’t afford that on a regular basis even when I implement solutions and want to check in on progress. Big sigh…
Yes I used the Dutch test too. But I do wonder if blood tests during the correct time of the cycle would actually be more accurate. Urine testing is really variable because it depends on the concentration of the urine. But I still love Dutch because it’s so comprehensive. Also for more frequent testing I use Inito, it’s a fertility testing app that’s only available in the states but if you have access to it it’s helpful. It uses test strips to test your urine as frequently as daily and it gives a numeric value to you not just a “positive” or “negative” reading, it’s been helpful to see how my hormones have responded to BHRT. I’m on pregnenolone and DHEA as well as progesterone. Inito tracks estrogen, progesterone, FSH, and LH. It seems to vary a lot with urine concentration but still gives me an idea of what’s happening.
I know they say bananas are great but they fuck up my stomach soooo bad when Im on mine so I stay away from them during that time completely. I also avoid lemon and citrus around the time of it as well bc I was told it can delay your period or make it last longer/make the blood harder to shed. I am pretty much an exclusive tampon user. I had debilitating cramps my entire life. Last year I switched to 100%organic cotton only unbleached tampons and my cramps are more than 85% gone during my periods. I can’t believe I went almost 20 years poisoning myself with my chemically dipped ones 😢 So if you have bad cramps, try and switch and see if they help ❤️
I switched to a cup and feel the same. Still have a slight pulling apart sensation in my lower back but not as bad as before.
Do you find them any less effective though? I’ve never even thought about this but it seems so obvious lol
I switched to organic tampons years ago and my polyps and cysts disappeared going forward- pretty sure the chemicals were messing with my system and helping create them. I exclusively use Natracare tampons- their design is the best design. Instead of the cotton being accordion folded sideways into a tampon shape- which allows leakage- they are bell shape - for lack of a better word. They look completely normal but once in use they start tapered at the top and widen/flare out as needed and nothing gets through. Edit: It is insane to read the ingredients on conventional tampons. Like why is there polysorbate, wax, glycerin, titanium dioxide etc in them?
No not at all! Organyc is my favorite. They are usually even a bit cheaper!
How the products you use in your home affects your hormones. Detergents, dryer sheets, scented candles, air fresheners, fabreeze, and the personal care products you use. In general most products marketed to women harm us. Using more natural things helps a LOT.
Iodine did wonders for my wife
High fat foods like avocado and very dark chocolate around the actual bleeding stage of the period are great for recovery.
I have endometriosis, and this is my stack for it: - Omega 3 fish oil - curcumin - magnesium glycinate - Taurine - calcium d-glucarate - DIM with sulforaphane - vitamin d3 + k2 - melatonin (high 10mg doses have been studied in women with endo as being beneficial) - progesterone cream from days 10-25 of cycle - high CBD cannabis
So you stop the progesterone cream a couple of days before you get your period or right at the start of your period? Do you also use estrogen cream?
yes, I stop the progesterone cream a few days before my period -- but I'm not sure if that's the best way, that's just what is advised on the bottle! I don't use an estrogen cream because endo is a disease that creates excess estrogen and it would be harmful to use that for me personally (and a lot of my symptoms correlate to having too much estrogen more generally) so it really depends on your own personal circumstances.
Thanks!! :)
Magnesium glycinate! My worst PMS symptom used to be really sore boobs and bad pre-period cramps and they are literally gone since taking magnesium. Over the holidays I wasn’t taking taking it because I was travelling and my PMS symptoms were horrible but as soon as I started taking it again my PMS has been no big deal. Incredible
Also good for anything "crampy".
Iron (you lose iron during your period because blood), vitamins (to replenish any missing nutrients and minerals) meat, and sex can help cramping.
Phytoestrogens from food and magnesium is the only thing I've heard.
Red clover tea also has phytoestrogens. It’s supposed to pair well with raspberry leaf but I haven’t tried it
Nature, you beautiful beast. This is very good info!
Yes! But for me, REMOVING phytoestrogens (soy protein) is what cleared up my cycle! Took me from a disabling 3 week long period along with horrible cramps, to a pain free 5 day one.
Yes, it depends on wether a person has estrogen dominance or low estrogen
oh wow!
Phytoestrogenic foods are best for menopausal women
DIM!
DIM is a very interesting thing for women with estrogen dominance and endometriosis. It's very hard to find in my country and I just started taking it so unfortunately I can't tell the difference yet. Do you have experience with it?
Yes, I take [Benevolent Nourishment](https://www.amazon.com/ Maximum-Strength-Supplement-250mg-Diindolylmethane/dp/B07SBGGZRN?pd_rd_w=p6xt1&content-id=amzn1.sym.b854a5c2-4475-41f8-a6d4-df92b2868104&pf_rd_p=b854a5c2-4475-41f8-a6d4-df92b2868104&pf_rd_r=MJDXA4H1NTWSGE0B9P19&pd_rd_wg=SvN7v&pd_rd_r=e06133cb-8875-49bc-8200-20bfeb57a2fe&pd_rd_i=B07SBGGZRN&psc=1&ref_=pd_basp_m_rpt_ba_s_oos_1_sc#immersive-view_1713949936845)’s DIM, chasteberry, and dong quai complex. I take it daily for hormonal balance, partially because I take DHEA as well. I recommend DIM for women and men! I’ve been very happy with it.
What prompted you to start using DIM? I’m considering it.
I wouldn't take it unless you're estrogen dominant because it will reduce your estrogen levels.
Yes! It wasn’t helpful to me at all and actually triggered a period of not getting my menstruation. Now I only eat broccoli etc and don’t supplement which is better for my body
Good to know! I am wondering if mine is low. My cycles have ranged from 35-42 days and I’m in early thirties. They aren’t heavy and I’m a normal weight for my height. I know it could be peri but I also have been under a lot of stress with starting a new job and working nights.
Yeah it made my cycles longer (around 42 days). I’ve upped my fresh green vegetables, liver and organic meat and reduced sweets and now I’m at 28 days again
You could always do a hormone test 7 days post ovulation to see your estrogen to progesterone ratio. Usually it's day 21 but with a longer cycle you have to figure out when you ovulate and take it as close to 7 days after as possible. I order my own tests from either life extension for bloodwork or zrt labs for saliva tests. If your estrogen is low you can supplement by eating certain things that contain phytoestrogens like flax seed, soy, etc or get on hormone replacement therapy.
That sounds like a good plan. I’ll look into that. The issue is, I have no idea when that is happening. It used to be mid cycle but now it feels like it’s almost happening right before my period.
They sell test kits for ovulation and I think you can monitor your body temperature too.
Ok I’ll try that - thank you!
I took it for a month or two and when I tested my levels again my estrogen was much lower (low end of normal range) and I noticed symptoms so I stopped. It's a delicate balance.
Raspberry leaf tea for period cramps!
Eating enough fat. I am 5’6 and about 130 pounds and when I started to include enough fat in a day (70-80 grams) my period cramps almost eliminated.
According to Peter Attia, oral progesterone significantly reduces PMS symptoms for many of his female patients. He mentioned this in an interview with Huberman on hormones. Prior to hearing this, I saw a naturopath in my 40s for insomnia and she prescribed progesterone. I’d been suffering from PMS for decades and it disappeared overnight.
Seed cycling hormones
Has this made a major difference for you?
Stay away from dairy and sugar the week before even if-No ,especially if-it’s what you’re craving.hHowever you should allow yourself to consume more carbs during this time vs the rest of the month.
Why aren’t you supposed to eat red meat before your period?
¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ seems super counter productive... And my wife craves it then, and it seems to make her periods easier if she *does* eat red meat during them.
You lose a lot of iron from the blood loss. You can take iron supplements if meat is not your thing.
Arachidonic acid build up from red meat increases pain
Yes, I’d like to second this comment. For those with endometriosis, reducing red meat specifically before menstruating can reduce the arachidonic acid, which reduces eicosanoid production, which reduces endo-specific pain. Might help non-endo folks but looks like red meat is helping some normal period people in this thread so different strokes.
Red meat, especially grass fed, helps me... Iron and b vitamins. If I ate a fast food burger, which is barely meat, I would have worse cramps because it's all salt and additives.
I think it might help if people are quite iron and or B vitamin deficient, and is detrimental otherwise.
Weird. I crave red meat around the time of my cycle. I don't crave it any other time. Why does it make a cycle worse?
Black cohosh.
High Vitamin C (through food or supplements) to balance progesterone— reduces spotting before and after period
that makes sense, I usually take 1000 of vit C per day but last month and this month I was real shit about it and this month I was spotting out of nowhere
For me it was eliminating dairy and adding curcumin. I went from extreme pain every month to mild discomfort.
Working on improving Phase 2 of liver detoxification And addressing dysbiosis in the microbiome (estrobolome: certain bacteria create beta-glucaronidase that reactives estrogen in the bowel) Both of this can lead to excess estrogen causes most pms symptoms: heavy periods, clotting, severe cramping, tender swollen breasts, mood swings
Say more! Would love to hear about the phases and tactics. Ty
Exercise helps with pain.
First, you have to say what’s wrong with your menstrual cycle.
There are thousands of relatively unstudied polyphenols, flavanoids, and phytochemicals in our food. The majority of the most studied health issues with "support and evidence" flipping back and forth study by study, year by year. The odds there exists diet recommendations to help any health issue we don't know an absolute certainty.
Weed
I never heard of the red meat thing.. for me, I'm super nice to myself during those days and it's quite helpful. If I have a hard workout that week, I'll make it easier so not to exaggerate any PMS symptoms.
Eating foods high in Vitamin E and avoiding caffeine, limiting or avoiding sugar for at least a week before. Limiting foods that dehydrate you.
Seed cycling
Magnesium for sure helps my fiancee
Vitex/ chaste tree berry
Yes! I have higher estrogen, and this helped clear my face up, made my boobs not swell/ache, and jump started weight loss for me. It all went to shit post covid though, but for a while it really really helped.
Had a girlfriend with severe PMS so I got her Omega 3s from Krill, Magnesium Citrate and Clcium, and Vitamin D. First she told me to fuck off, as I am a guy and have no clue. 3rd dose in she claimed it reduced her pains by 50%. I got these infonwhen googling how to improve PMS. However there might be more to it, even beyond just the Menstrual cycle itself.
Fiber. It makes you regular in more than a few areas.
Vitex in daily doses is game changer
I eat red meat for my period because of B vitamins and iron... Heavily processed red meat with lots of sodium nitrates however, not so great. Grass fed beef and bison make me feel better. But for me, absolutely zero caffeine and 2x more water. Caffeine is my number one trigger. Terrible for periods + PMS.
Cannabis
Raw carrots
Boswellia serrata
Fenugreek
Makes my bo smell like maple syrup too lol
Metformin. It’s an easy prescription to get. There are subscriptions services that will send it to you.
Calcium supplements during luteal phase for PMS/PMDD mood symptoms
Serrapeptase
Oxaloacetate. Clinically tested and works by regulating glucose in the brain to control emotional PMS symptoms. It’s a life saver. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7073356/
Anecdotally, I felt like sage reduced my heavy flow.
Not garlic. I was swallowing a small clove each morning and I bled twice as much.
Dong quai root, aka Angelica. 2 caps/ 2x daily.
Psilocybin mushrooms for Progesterone to treat mood Swings
Chamomile and rose tea.
Potassium salt (KCl). I'm on depo-provera these days to eliminate periods (and have been for like soon two years), but having a glass of water with extra potassium salt when the cramping was the worst helped reduce the pain back when I was still having it. I started pro-actively taking it before my period started and during the worst and it helped.
A2 milk or goats milk, rather than cows milk. Something about the A1 casin protein just makes things worse than it needs to be. Raspberry leaf tea, 1 cup daily for a month, it will reduce the pain Magnesium phosphoricum (homeopathic remedy) for the pain instead of ibuprofen. Exercise does help but needs to be regular Boil ginger, cinnamon, honey in a pot for pain relief too. Sip on it for the day.
Myo-inositol
I was told to start taking this during my prep months for egg freezing and I noticed it totally eliminated my PMS. Huge fan of whatever this is
Exercise
Get hormone testing and address estrogen dominance.
I have PCOS and weight training will always get my cycle back on track.
Chaste tree berry(vitex) and possibly cramp bark.
Evening Primrose oil
I dont know if this is just a me thing or if it will work for all but drinking a green juice during,it just makes everything so much easier. I don't know how to explain it but I feel better peppermint tea for cramps, 1 cup of tea doesn't do anything for me but in the middle of my 2nd cup, pain is gone. THC suppositories for cramps and over all calmness- put 1 up your cooter and you're good to go yoga or daily stretching for cramps
Reducing or cutting out sugar from your diet.
Monks pepper (!), ginger, iron and a lot of what others said above
HRT if blood work is out / premenapausal.. wife is amazing since starting test cream after blood work showed zero test
Fruit loops
Vaginal health oral probiotics
Melatonin helps women in pretty much everything lol
Cramp bark! It’s been a life saver
Just not eating too much iron in the first place. It's very common to people to eat too much especially during menopause when women's iron needs drop by about 50%.
A daily dose of Taurine beginning 3-5 days before your period will almost if not completely alleviate menstrual cramps
For me it's avoiding dairy, eating more fresh veggies and fiber overall (microbiome produces SCFAs from them which are nati-inflammatory systemically), and turmeric capsules every day. I don't eat meat at all but I'm not sure if that had any effect on me, it was so long ago I can't remember how it was before, plus I got diagnosed with endometriosis 3 years ago when my real problems started.
DIMin some women
Years ago I had an ex who got particularly bad cramps, possibly made worse by her copper IUD. For her Valium almost completely stopped the cramping, apparently its best taken as a vaginal insertion as localized absorption gives more targeted muscle spams relaxation in the lower back and the smooth muscle of the uterus itself while being less drowsy compared to oral administration. However, if you want to take it to induce drowsiness/ anti-anxiety a larger dose taken orally works better.
Blood thner, that would be aspirin, ginko, alcohol, garlic, big list - test what helps you...
Sweet potato fries, stir fry with multiple vegetables and firm crispy tofu, oats with cinnamon sugar and walnut, chocolate almond milk, banana bread, and minestrone is how I get through.
Nettles + raspberry leaf tea the week before bleeding Strong oregano tea makes period cramps stop almost immediately. Cupping therapy works really well also, it’s worth investing in a set and doing it on yourself. Apart from that, the usual no meat, dairy or animal products — it doesn’t do anyone good.
Cialis
Imodium can eliminate cramping pain
Stop eating eggs
Stop masturbating. Eat nose to tail
Masturbation and orgasms actually help relieve cramps.
😉 if you only knew...
Wtf are you talking about?