A guide to healthy eating during menstruation

There is no absolute "taboo list" for eating during menstruation. The core principle is Ensure adequate energy and iron intake, avoid foods that you know will make you uncomfortable, and don’t be too harsh on yourself for the rest.。

Let’s talk about the taboo issue that everyone is most anxious about. For example, “Can I eat ice during menstruation?” I have been asked 800 times. There is really no unified conclusion at present: there is no evidence-based medical evidence in the Western medicine system to prove that raw and cold food can directly cause dysmenorrhea. Most people feel uncomfortable after eating ice, either because their gastrointestinal tract is sensitive to low temperature, or because of psychological suggestion.； However, the traditional Chinese medicine system has always believed that raw and cold food will cause cold coagulation and blood stasis, aggravating the problem of poor qi and blood during menstruation. I myself believed in the idea of ​​avoiding ice altogether. When I visited my aunt last summer, I was really irritated by the heat. I ate a mung bean popsicle just taken out of the refrigerator. I didn’t feel any discomfort at all. Instead, I felt much smoother after holding it in for a long time. Later, I met many girls who came for consultation and found that some people are so painful that they break into cold sweats when they touch a cold apple in winter, and some people drink iced milk tea every day in summer with no problem. There is really no need to judge yourself by other people's standards. If you feel comfortable, eat it, and if it hurts, don't touch it. It's as simple as that.

Instead of worrying about whether you can eat a certain food, it is more practical to get enough iron first. I have seen too many girls dare to only eat boiled vegetables and salads during menstruation. During menstruation, 20-60ml of blood is lost, and the usual iron intake is not enough. This directly makes things worse. Dizziness, fatigue, and pale face are all mild, and severe cases can even induce iron deficiency anemia. Don’t believe the claims that red dates and spinach can supplement iron. The absorption rate of non-heme iron in plants is less than 3%. If you really want to supplement iron, you have to eat animal foods: order takeout and add braised beef at noon, cook spinach and pork liver porridge when you have time in the morning, and occasionally eat a meal of Maoxue. The absorption rate of heme iron in these foods can reach about 20%, which is more effective than eating ten pounds of red dates. A reader once said that she had strictly avoided ice and spicy food for half a year, but the pain still made her vomit every time she came to visit. When she went to the hospital for a checkup, she found out that she was suffering from long-term iron deficiency and excessive prostaglandin secretion. Later, she ate pork liver twice a week and took an ibuprofen when she was in pain, which made her feel much better.

Oh, and there is also the controversial brown sugar water. People who say it is an IQ tax think it is 90% sucrose and have little effect in supplementing iron. People who say it is useful feel that drinking it makes it warm and relieves half of the pain. In fact, both statements are correct. It is not used to supplement iron. It relies on temperature and sugar to replenish energy to the body and relieve anxiety. If you are not afraid of getting fat, just drink it if you feel comfortable. If you are afraid of getting fat, drink warm water from a hot water bottle. The effect is actually not much different.

There are also many people asking whether they can eat spicy food and drink coffee. Essentially, it is the same logic: people who usually eat spicy food every day, as long as they don’t have diarrhea when they eat hot pot skewers during menstruation, it is completely fine. People who usually get angry and get acne after eating a little spicy food should not join in the fun.； Office workers who usually drink two cups of coffee a day to stay alive can just switch to a hot latte or decaf coffee during menstruation. There is no need to go to work with a headache because of the so-called taboo. If you rarely drink coffee and feel flustered and insomniac after drinking it, then of course don't touch it. Oh, by the way, if you are prone to edema during menstruation, avoid high-salt foods such as processed braised food and instant noodles. Intake of too much sodium will only make swelling worse. If your face is swollen like a steamed bun in the morning, just boil some warm corn silk water and drink it. There is no need to buy those expensive dehumidification health products.

To be honest, menstruation is a normal physiological stage. There is no need to make it look like it is a period of hard work. You don’t dare to eat this or touch that. You may even feel anxious for a long time after taking a bite of something that does not meet the “standard”. Rather than focusing on the taboos of a certain food, ensuring regular meals, not starving yourself to lose weight, and eating what you feel comfortable with are more effective than any health guide.