Menstrual Issues
Covers pain, cramps, irregularity, PMS, etc.
FOODS TO EAT MORE OF
FOODS TO AVOID OR MINIMIZE
ESSENTIAL OILS
HERBAL
NATURAL
YOGA / MEDITATION THERAPY
SUPPLEMENTS
HOMEOPATHIC
MIND-BODY CONNECTION
FOOD MEDICINE
Not all recipes are nutritionally perfect, but the options below are a great way to start incorporating beneficial foods into your diet in delicious ways. Always try to buy organic, and feel free to make substitutions to accommodate gluten-free, vegan, etc diets.
FOODS TO EAT MORE OF
- Fruits: apricots, blueberries, blackberries, clementines, grapefruit, grapes, lemons, limes, mangoes, oranges, strawberries, tangerines
- Vegetables: arugula, asparagus, beets (including greens), broccoli, cabbage, carrots, collard greens, kale, onions, romaine lettuce, spinach, watercress
- Almonds, dulse, fish, seeds (especially flax, pumpkin, sesame & sunflower), kelp, beans, nuts, soy products, whole grains, yogurt, Reishi mushrooms, quinoa
- Cinnamon, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, aloe vera juice
FOODS TO AVOID OR MINIMIZE
- Caffeine: chocolate, coffee, tea.
- Alcohol & excessive salt/sugar
- Non-organic meat & dairy products
ESSENTIAL OILS
- To regulate menstruation: Rosemary, basil, Roman chamomile, clary sage, marjoram, lavender (bottom of feet, ankles down to arch of foot, lower abdomen, lower back)
- To promote menstruation: Sage (bottom of feet, ankles down to arch of foot, lower abdomen, lower back)
- Hormonal Imbalance: Myrrh, ylang ylang, clary sage, nutmeg (ankles every night, bottom of feet, lower back, thyroid, liver, kidneys, gland areas, center of body, along sides of spine, clavicle area, diffuse)
- PMS: Anise, Lavender, marjoram, (lower back, bottom of feet, compress on abdomen, full massage)
HERBAL
- Alfalfa, Black Cohosh, catnip, chasteberry, comfrey, dandelion root & leaf, evening primrose oil, fenugreek, garlic, gentian, ginger, golden seal, hyssop, lavender, lemon balm, licorice, marjoram, motherwort, parsley, red sage/dan shen, rosemary, skullcap, stinging nettle, thyme, turmeric, yarrow
- Good herbal combination: Comfrey root, plantain leaves, raspberry leaves, shepherd's purse
- Good herbal combination: 1 part crampbark, 2 parts uva ursi and 3 parts raspberry leaf
- Good herbal combination: Alfalfa, comfrey, parsley
- For cramps: Chamomile or Cramp Bark Tea (1 teaspoon of herb for each cup of hot water, steep for 10-15 minutes, strain).
- For cramps: Make a tea with 4 Tablespoons cramp bark, 1 Tablespoon pennyroyal, 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger in a pot and add 4 cups of cold water. Slowly bring to a simmer. Cover and let simmer for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and let steep for 30 minutes. Strain and drink 1/4 cup every 15 minutes until cramping stops.
- For cramps: Passionflower, marjoram, skullcap, feverfew, valerian, black haw, basil
- For cramps and/or excessive bleeding: Yarrow Tea: Cover 1/4 cup fresh (or 1/2-1 Tablespoon dried) herb with boiling water. Let steep for 5-15 minutes. Strain & drink. Sweeten with honey if desired.
- For excessive Bleeding: Cinnamon, Chaste Tree/Vitex
- For excessive Bleeding: Shepherd's Purse, Red Raspberry or Lady's Mantle Tea (1 teaspoon of herb for each cup of hot water, steep for 10-15 minutes, strain).
- For PMS: Evening primrose; Motherwort or 1-2 ounces of aloe vera juice daily.
- For PMS, try this homemade tea: Mix 1 teaspoon of Chasteberry, wild yam root and cramp bark with 1/2 teaspoon of burdock root, dandelion root, 1 orange peel and 1 cinnamon stick. Combine herbs with 1 quart water. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and let steep for 20 minutes. Strain out herbs, add a touch of honey if desired and drink as needed.
- For Missed Periods: Squawvine tea (1 teaspoon of herb for each cup of hot water, steep for 10-15 minutes, strain).
- To Regulate Periods: Calendula/Marigold, spikenard
- For discomfort pre-period: white deadnettle, raspberry leaf, rosemary, passionflower, Dang Gui, skullcap or Chaste-Tree.
- For discomfort during period: chamomile, St. John's wort, passionflower, raspberry, nutmeg (externally).
- For Heavy Periods: Shepherd's Purse, hawthorn, marigold, herb Robert, plantain, and white deadnettle.
NATURAL
- A daily teaspoon of good-quality walnut or safflower oil.
- Yeast
- Light exercise
YOGA / MEDITATION THERAPY
- Yoga for During Your Period (15 minutes - SarahBethYoga)
- Yoga For Cramps and PMS (34 minutes - Yoga with Adriene)
SUPPLEMENTS
- Alfalfa
- Black Cohosh: 40 mg twice daily
- Calcium (increase dosage the week before your period)
- Chasteberry: 225 mg extract daily (also called vitex, should contain 0.5% agnuside). Take when NOT menstruating
- Dong Quai: 200 mg, or 30 drops tincture, 3 times daily (should contain 0.8-1.1% ligustilide)
- Essential Fatty Acids: 1,000 mg evening primrose oil 3 times daily; 1 Tablespoon (14 grams) flaxseed oil daily (or use 1,000 mg borage oil once a day for primrose oil)
- Iron: 100 mg daily for 6 weeks (have blood iron measured by doctor after 6 weeks to determine how long iron supplements are needed)
- Kelp
- Magnesium: 250 mg twice daily (take with food)
- Reishi: As directed
- Shepherd's Purse: 3 ml tincture (about 60 drops) 3 times daily (good for heavy periods and spotting between periods)
- St. John's Wort: 300 mg 3 times daily (should contain 0.3% hypericin)
- Vitamin A: 25,000 IU daily for 3 weeks, then 10,000 IU daily (pregnant women should not exceed 5,000 IU a day)
- Vitamin B6: 50 mg twice daily (200 mg daily over long term can cause nerve damage)
- Vitamin C/ Flavonoids: 1,000 mg vitamin C and 500 mg flavonoids twice daily (reduce vitamin C if it causes diarrhea)
HOMEOPATHIC
- Painful cramps: Magnesia phosphorica (phosphate of magnesia)
- PMS: Cimicifuga 6c
- PMS: DL-phenylalanine: take right before period starts
- PMS: Pulsatilla 30c
- PMS: Sepia 30c
MIND-BODY CONNECTION
- PMS can represent feelings of rejection of one's femininity or feeling "dirty".
- PMS can also represent feelings of handing your power off to others.
FOOD MEDICINE
Not all recipes are nutritionally perfect, but the options below are a great way to start incorporating beneficial foods into your diet in delicious ways. Always try to buy organic, and feel free to make substitutions to accommodate gluten-free, vegan, etc diets.
Abbreviation Definitions:
LC = Low Calorie (under 400 for breakfast, 600 for lunch/dinner, and 200 for beverages/sides/snacks)
GF = Gluten Free
KT = Keto / Low Carb
VG = Vegan
VT = Vegetarian
LC = Low Calorie (under 400 for breakfast, 600 for lunch/dinner, and 200 for beverages/sides/snacks)
GF = Gluten Free
KT = Keto / Low Carb
VG = Vegan
VT = Vegetarian