What to eat/avoid on your period.

In general when on your period:

• Try and eat less large meals (and chew more mindfully),

• Avoid heavy foods (dense protein like beef/tofu), foods high in saturated fats (eg cream, cheese, eggs), poor quality fats (margarine, refined oils e.g. sunflower oil), excess nuts/seeds, and any highly processed or refined foods (including white pastas and rice).

• Avoid alcohol + smoking

• In TCM they believe that you shouldn't have baths (or have sex) when on your period (especially swimming in cold water).

Foods that help depend on your constitution in relation to cramps -

If you are someone who gets very cold on your period, crave hot drinks and your cramps are eased by say a hot water bottle, then you want to:

• Avoid raw, cold temp foods, and cooling fruits (especially citrus).

• Oats, dill, basil, black beans and butter are helpful.

• Small amounts of animal products like chicken may help too.

• In general you want to try stay out of the cold or it might worsen your cramps.

If you get hot with your periods (thirsty, desire for cold, aversion to heat, and you get painful swollen breasts then you are better off:

• Avoiding red meat, dairy products, eggs, sweet foods and all heating foods (energetically) so things like chilli, cayenne pepper etc.

• Cooling vegetables will be helpful (spinach, lettuce, celery, parsley, carrots, mung beans, millet) and flax seeds might be good too.

For PMS the recommendations differ slightly. If you are someone who gets really bad PMS/PMT then for the entire of your cycle (life) you want to try avoid:

• Refined sugars (white pastas, bread, rice),

• Refined oils (again with the sunflower oil),

• Toxins (smoking, alcohol, recreational drugs,

• Painkillers like ibuprofen and paracetamol)

• Too much animal products

• Also, something which ill speak more about in the future is to look at your omega 3:6 balance, which if off can exaggerate PMS symptoms