Foods To Avoid When You’re On Your Period

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“Yey! I can’t wait for my period…”. Said no one ever.

The days leading up to your period are usually hungry. Insatiable and sugary. You get hangry all the time, and have a cinema-sized pack of Cadbury’s Buttons in your bag for eventualities. Mood swings, cramps, and that’s all before it’s even started. But by avoiding certain foods, these symptoms can actually be alleviated. Yep, because it’s all about making canny food choices…

Caffeine

That means easing off the coffee, chocolate and fizzy drinks. Yes, this is hard, a) because you’re probably feeling lethargic and you think caffeine is your only answer and b) chocolate is just THE best. But caffeine actually exacerbates feelings of anxiety and depression, so instead, just drink as much water as you can and lay off the sugary drinks.

Salty food

Before and during your period, you need to keep your salt intake balanced, or your bloating and puffiness could get even worse, damn you sodium! So that’s a no to the Maccers you’ve been craving as well as ‘diet foods’ which often have a stupidly high salt count and in with lean meats like chicken and turkey and lots of fish, nuts and whole grains.

Sausages (and general fatty foods)

Fatty cuts of meat, sausages, whole milk… yep, fatty foods can actually have a mojor effect on your hormones, but switching to foods that are low in saturated fat (turkey, grains, vegetables, lean cuts of meat) can help reduce excess estrogen levels and can help balance out your hormones.

Cheese

You may think you need a nice rare steak when you’re on your period, spouting something about “iron deficiency”, but red meat and dairy products (cheese, noooo) actually contain arachadonic acids, which are responsible for the cramps you get before, during, and weirdly after your period. Instead try eating one to two teaspoons of ground flaxseed a day. Either knock it back, or sprinkle them over your cereal in the morning, or throw into a smoothie.