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Herbs, foods, and daily practices to support regular periods
Part 2 of a series on healthy menstrual cycles
Women often talk about experiencing intense cramps, painful headaches, and uncomfortable bloating before or during their period.
From a Chinese medicine perspective, these symptoms are all signs of imbalance.
They may be common among women, but they are not normal - it’s important to note this difference between what is common and what is normal, as these are not always the same. Women do not have to continue to live with the story that all of these symptoms are “just part of being a woman” or “just a normal part of PMS”. Chinese medicine shows us how the menstrual cycle can be seen as a reflection of a woman’s health and lifestyle over the past month.
There are several contributors to painful, difficult, or irregular menstrual cycles. Last week I wrote about qi stagnation, which can arise from a lack of movement, stress, and unexpressed emotion and can ultimately lead to painful and irregular periods. Some other contributors include blood deficiency, blood stasis, an accumulation of cold in the body, and deficiency taxation.
Blood stasis can arise from qi stagnation, as the qi is responsible for moving the blood, so when the qi isn’t moving freely, neither is the blood. When there is blood stasis, periods can be painful and involve dark clots.
An excess of raw, cold foods in the diet or a lack of physical activity can lead to an accumulation of cold in the body. Chinese medicine recommends warmth as a key part of dietary therapy at almost every turn. Raw foods introduce cold into the body
Deficiency taxation can occur from overworking the body, undereating, or a combination. This often results in a loss of body fat and the individual may stop getting their period. Deficiency taxation often involves blood deficiency.
Chinese medicine is very individualized and it is important to keep in mind that each person will have a different path forward when it comes to herbal, dietary, and lifestyle support, so I am not going to suggest any specific formulas. However, there are a few general recommendations that can support menstrual cycles across a diverse group of people.
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More warm, less cold
Include more warming herbs and spices. Every food and substance in Chinese medicine has thermostatic properties, which in short means that foods are categorized as cold, cool, warm, or hot. In Chinese medicine, the organs responsible for your body’s digestive capacity (the stomach and spleen-pancreas) prefer warm foods. Cold is damaging to the uterus and can lead to a reduced blood supply. Warm foods and spices aid in blood circulation; cool and cold foods can lead to painful periods and clots during menstruation.
Make a ginger decoction: slice raw ginger root and cover with water, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and allow to simmer for 10-20 minutes. Drink in the morning and evening.
Add slivered ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, star anise, and fennel to your foods throughout the day. These spices are nice additions to rice dishes, porridge, soups, and stews.
*Note that warm is different from hot. Warming herbs and spices are helpful; hot herbs and spices - like cayenne pepper and coffee - can be overly drying and detrimental.
Decrease the amount of cold, raw food and cold drinks in your diet, especially during menstruation. Raw foods are cold. A raw apple - even one that has been sitting out on your counter and is room temperature - is considered cold through this framework. Raw foods bring cold into the body. They are harder to digest and slow the movement of blood. During the period, it is important to keep the lower abdomen, lower back, feet, and legs warm to aid with the movement of blood (you may have experienced comfort from a heating pad or warm water bottle, which similarly acts to warm the body and move the blood).
Make warm, wet-cooked foods a regular part of your daily diet. Soups, stews, congees, and other types of porridges contribute to deep hydration of the body, as hydration is released over the time course of digestion. (Water is also good, but it is more effective for flushing out the body rather than deeply hydrating.) Andrew Sterman’s article on wet-cooked foods includes a congee recipe - I reference his writing often.
Don’t skip meals. The body gets used to the patterns you show it. When you eat at regular times, your body learns to expect nutrients and prepares for digestion. Regular mealtimes also help you avoid blood sugar spikes and drops, as well as the deficiency and fatigue that can occur when you are running on fumes. Chinese medicine has been a champion of regular meals for many years, and many recent studies on circadian rhythms also suggest the importance of this regularity.
Movement and stillness
Engage in regular movement. Regular exercise of moderate intensity (not high intensity all the time) keeps the qi and blood moving. Stagnation of blood and qi can lead to symptoms of PMS, painful periods, and clots. Qi gong, yoga, and walking are flowing forms of movement that also support the movement of qi.
And also remember to rest. In Chinese medicine, a deficiency is exactly what it sounds like - you do not have enough of something you need. Too much intense exercise or work and long-term sleep loss can contribute to deficiencies. Long stretches of vigorous physical activity (often common among serious athletes) can lead to deficiency taxation and missed periods. Blood deficiency often co-occurs because overworking depletes the blood. The liver, which stores the blood, holds on to the blood because there is a shortage. The period does not occur because the body does not have sufficient resources to let go of any blood.
Menstrual cycles provide an important window into women’s health. Chinese medicine has a long history of looking at the menstrual cycle for critical information about women’s health. More recently, as noted by Aviva Romm, the menstrual cycle has been acknowledged as a sixth vital sign by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), which shows the increasing importance of menstrual cycles across western biomedical contexts.
There are many ways that Chinese herbal medicine and dietary therapy can support a healthy, regular cycle, but the first step is to tune in and take note of the patterns you notice in your own body.
Warmly,
Artemisia
Clinical Herbalist | Chinese Medicine
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