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Health

17th Sep 2019

Got your period? Try to avoid these foods as much as possible

This should come in handy.

Cathy Donohue

Anything to help with the stomach cramps, PMS and general ill-feeling.

A minor irritation on a normal day is enough to push you over the edge but when you have your period, the little things can make you BALL – people talking too loud, the bus pulling off after you ran to catch it, a glass breaks into a thousand teeny tiny fragments and there’s no sweeping brush.

You know exactly what we mean.

The foods you eat during your period can have an impact on how you’re feeling: both physically and mentally.

Here are a list of the foods to steer away from, or at least cut back on, during that time of the month.

Dairy

Banishing it completely might be a tough call but easing off is recommended.

If you’ve ever experienced a dodgy crampy tummy after a latte, then you’ll know how dairy has the power to irritate your stomach, which is already in a world of pain thanks to the cramps that usually accompany your period.

cheese_opt

Sugar

To be honest, cutting chocolate entirely during your period is a big ask.

However, there’s a reason for it. When your period rocks up, your hormones run amok.

This leads to sugar cravings and indulging in these cravings can lead to spikes in blood sugar.

Hello mood swings, tension and the worst tiredness ever. Oh and sugar can prove inflammatory, which is likely to worsen cramps.

There’s no way on this earth I can cut Reese’s out entirely but I’ll try.

Caffeine

This is a tough one because if your sleep patterns are affected during your period, it’s very tempting to succumb to caffeine.

However, restricting it is advised and there’s a science behind it as Dr. Lori Shemek explained to Bustle.

“Caffeine is a vasoconstrictor,” says Dr. Lori Shemek.

“It makes blood vessels constrict and may cause the vessels that feed the uterus to tighten.”

Not ideal.

Wedding gifts with notebook and coffee

Salty foods

You might not do so on a regular day but as mentioned above, your period can make you do things you wouldn’t usually, like ordering chips and literally dousing them with salt.

Bad BAD idea as salt worsens water retention and bloating is already bad enough during that time of the month.