You can fight menstrual cramps with food, studies say

About 85% of women experience painful bloating, cramping and abdominal pain during menstruation – and for some the problems can last for years.

“As menstrual pain is the leading cause of school absenteeism for teenage girls, it’s important to explore options that can minimize pain,” said Stephanie Faubion, director of the Mayo Clinic Women’s Health Center in Jacksonville, Florida, in a statement.

There are behavioral adjustments young women can make to reduce pain, according to a new analysis of studies. “Diet modification may be a relatively simple solution that can provide substantial relief for them,” Faubion, who is also medical director for The North American Menopausal Society, said of the research findings.

The study explored the connection between diet and dysmenorrhea, the medical term for painful periods. Lead author Serah Sannoh told CNN who became interested in the subject due to her own menstrual pain, which has plagued her since adolescence.

“I have found that diets high in inflammatory foods such as animal meats, oil, sugars, salts and coffee contribute to an increased risk of pain during a woman’s menstrual period,” said Sannoh, who led the research as an intern at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical. School in New Jersey. She is currently a medical student at Temple University’s Lewis Katz School of Medicine in Philadelphia.

“Many of the things young people like to eat are highly inflammatory… lunch meats, foods full of sugars and trans fats. But if you go on an anti-inflammatory diet — fruits, vegetables, olive oil, like the Mediterranean diet — you’ll have less cramping,” said Monica Christmas, NAMS board member, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Chicago, who did not participate in the study.

Scientific evidence has shown that eating a healthy diet, sleeping well and exercising are effective measures to reduce the duration and severity of cramps, Christmas said. But she noted that it is important for women to see a healthcare professional: “Make sure there is no other medical condition that could also be contributing to the symptoms.”

As your body prepares to menstruate, the endometrial cells that have built a lining in the uterus to receive a fertilized egg begin to break down. In doing so, these cells release large amounts of fatty acids called prostaglandins to make the uterine lining contract and expel unused tissue. The body also naturally releases prostaglandins during labor to open the cervix for birth.

What causes the pain?

Prostaglandins act like hormones, causing blood vessels and smooth muscles to constrict, resulting in cramping and pain.

Researchers have found that prostaglandin levels are higher and uterine contractions are stronger and more frequent in women with menstrual pain than women who have little or no pain, according to the American Association of Family Physicians.

Eating inflammatory foods only increases discomfort, studies have found. Highly processed, high-sugar foods and fatty, fatty foods are common culprits — a 2018 study found that college students who ate more snacks had more pain during their periods.

Another 2018 study of Spanish university students found that women who drank coca cola and ate meat were more likely to experience pain during their cycle than women who ate more vegetables and fruits. In fact, a 2020 study found that women who ate less than two servings of fruit a day were more likely to experience pain during their menstrual cycle.

Part of the problem is an imbalance between omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, Sannoh found. Omega-3 fatty acids — found in foods like salmon, tuna, sardines, oysters, walnuts, chia and flaxseeds — are anti-inflammatory. Studies have linked them to a reduced risk of many chronic diseases triggered by inflammation.

Omega-6 fatty acids keep skin, hair and bones healthy and help regulate metabolism, in addition to their role in the reproductive system. But many of these fatty acids can cause inflammation when the body breaks them down into arachidonic acid, which lowers the body’s pain threshold.

“From my research, I have found that people on diets rich in omega-6 fatty acids, specifically those derived from animal products, have a greater presence of arachidonic acid in the body, which increases the amount of pro-inflammatory prostaglandins that help the uterus to contract,” Sannoh said. “When you have a diet that balances omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and decreases the amount of inflammatory foods you eat, it lessens the painful menstrual experience,” he added.

Two separate studies from 2011 and 2012 revealed that women who took omega-3 fatty acid supplements reduced the intensity of menstrual discomfort enough to decrease the use of ibuprofen for pain relief. And a 1996 study found a highly significant relationship between omega-3 fatty acids and lighter menstrual symptoms in teenagers.

other solutions

Changing your diet isn’t the only way to combat menstrual pain. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, reduce the production of prostaglandins, which is why they are the mainstay of treatment for cramps, Christmas said. However, these pain medications also have side effects.

According to a 2015 Cochrane Library review of evidence, NSAIDs are linked to bloating, diarrhea, dizziness, indigestion, headaches, heartburn, high blood pressure, nausea, vomiting, and, on rare occasions, increased liver enzymes.

Certain oral contraceptive pills also reduce the production of prostaglandins in the uterine lining, which reduces blood flow and cramping. Doses of less than 35 micrograms were “effective and should be the preparation of choice,” according to a 2009 Cochrane Library review.

But if you’re not interested in using these methods — or want some extra relief — try an anti-inflammatory diet. Sannoh has put her research into practice by decreasing her intake of red meat and other inflammatory foods like sugar and coffee, and told CNN that it lessened her menstrual pain.

There’s an added benefit to adopting an anti-inflammatory lifestyle, Christmas said. “These diets are also associated with less high blood pressure, less cardiovascular disease, less diabetes, fewer arthritis problems, decreased morbidity and mortality, especially after menopause,” said Christmas. “So if you can get young people to eat better, exercise and have a healthier lifestyle, they will do better as they get older.”

Source: CNN Brasil

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