The Path to Pain-Free Periods—Food and Lifestyle Changes For Happier Flow Days
You’re going to want to save this post! This is part two in a series with everything you need to know about working out on your period.
One of the little known secrets about pain-free periods is the tremendous impact that food and fitness have on the health your menstrual cycle. You might be surprised to learn how a few small changes can go a long way to soothe PMS and period pain.
In this post, I’m excited to share practical tips for tailoring your workouts, supplements, and food choices to mirror what’s happening with your hormones.
In case you missed it, check out the first post in this series for a primer on period workouts ➞
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The guidance included in this post is intended for active women participating in some form of regular resistance training and exercise.
Information in this post and on this web site is provided for informational purposes only. The information is a result of practice experience and research by the author. This information is not intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare professional or any information contained on or in any product label or packaging. Do not use the information on this web site for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing medication or other treatment. Information and statements regarding dietary supplements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always speak with your physician or another healthcare professional before taking any medication or nutritional, herbal, or homeopathic supplement, or using any treatment for a health problem. Description text goes here
Pain-Free Periods Are Made In The Luteal Phase
As you learned in part one of this series, a healthy period requires that you rest before you get tired. Adequate recovery is a non-negotiable particularly during the high-hormone luteal phase when we shift into resource-sparing mode.
This means that your pain-free and healthy period starts the week before.
The late luteal phase is perhaps the most important time to lay low. Rotate more rest and gentle movement days into your schedule in the week leading up to your period and give yourself more time between sweat sessions. Favor a longer slow burn over short bursts of high intensity and use this as an opportunity for a deload day.
The investment you make in rest and recovery during premenstrual days will pay dividends when your period arrives.
Feed Your Flow
Workout Fuel
Please do NOT skip pre- and post-workout fuel during your period. While you can expect a decrease in baseline metabolism to arrive during the low-hormone phase, this is not a time to introduce additional stress in the form of fasted training. Aim for a high-protein (15–30g) snack or meal no more than 2 hours before and within 30 minutes after your workouts to promote muscle adaptations and recovery1. Support healthy flow and pain-free periods with foods that are high in the following: magnesium—dark chocolate, spinach; zinc—pumpkin, flax seeds; iron—meat proteins, quinoa.
A Nutrient Boost For Better Periods
To help shift toward productive and less painful period cramps, consider rotating in the following nutrition during the late luteal and menstrual phases. You can also find a list of anti-inflammatory foods and other natural alternatives for pain relief in this blog post about ditching NSAIDs for period pain.
Omega 3s
With anti-inflammatory properties and support for the production of prostaglandins that facilitate relaxation of the uterus, omega 3 fatty acids can be a helpful alternative to NSAIDs during flow days1. Supplement with fish oils or add oily fish to your diet during the luteal and menstrual phases. My favortie high-quality fish oil supplement is from Kion—highly concentrated and sustainably sourced.Red Raspberry Leaf Tea
A simple tonic for toning the uterine wall, red raspberry leaf tea can help cramps be more productive and less painful. Find this healing herb and other support in the flow blend from Soulful Tea Blends.Ginger
Cook with fresh ginger as your cycle comes to a close and your period starts. This warming spice has pain-relieving properties that rival OTC painkillers2. If you need a concentrated dose of relief, consider a tincture like Ginger-Aid from elix. You can get 15% off with code BYTHEMOON15.
Magnesium
Magnesium is deficient in modern soils and as a result, it's also lacking in many modern diets. Supplementing with magnesium can help soothe menstrual cramps by promoting uterine relaxation3 and can assist in more restful sleep/recovery. Consider using magnesium in the evenings during your flow days or whenever you need additional recovery support. Get my favorite full-spectrum magnesium supplement from BiOptimizers and enter code MOVEBYTHEMOON for 10% off at checkout.
Hydration With An Upgrade
As hormone levels drop, more water is retained by the body and can leave you feeling bloated during your period. During your heaviest flow days, you’re also losing water through blood loss. While drinking more water alone can help stave off period symptoms associated with dehydration such as headache, fatigue, and cramping4, there are a few ways to upgrade your hydration to help the water you drink go to work for you.
A Morning Cocktail
Overnight as you sleep, your body uses water to recover and expels water vapor through your breath which can leave you a bit on the dehydrated side upon waking. Refresh your morning with at least 12 oz of water, a pinch of sea salt, and squeeze of lemon to support hydrating and replenish minerals lost during sleep. Think of this as a kick-start to your day that turns on your metabolism and signals the body to rise and shine.
Liquid Nutrition
Upgrade your water intake during menstruation by adding essential minerals and nutrients that contribute to hormonal health. I love using Marea’s PMS Elixir throughout my cycle for an easily absorbed super charge that leaves me feeling well-resourced all month long. When I experience premenstrual cravings or period fatigue, I can usually connect the dots back to hydration. Despite years of practice, I often still mistake dehydration for hunger and lethargy. Not only does the elixir provide quality hydration, but it satiates my cravings while upleveling my nutrient intake. Marea’s team has poured over hundreds of studies to identify 15 essential ingredients that contribute to better periods and it’s no surprise that modern women are often deficient in many of those listed—particularly menstruators with PMS and painful periods.
Go Easy On Coffee and Alcohol
While this isn’t always the most popular Rx, you may find that dialing back your happy hour indulgences and shrinking the size of your morning brew can significantly impact your experience during the menstrual phase. Here’s why…
Caffeine and Stress
Your morning cup of coffee might give you a quick hit of energy, but it has undesirable consequences. For starters, the energy it provides is something like a high interest loan with a balloon payment due around 4 p.m. In other words, it gives you access to borrowed resources that your body has to make up for later.
Coffee can also disrupt your body’s ability to wake on its own. The nervous system sees a natural spike in stress hormones when you first expose your eyes to bright light in the morning. This is part of a healthy circadian rhythm that signals the ignition sequence for metabolism and other functions when the day begins. When you add a stimulant first thing in the morning, you amplify the hormonal spike and as a result, you may experience a disruption in the natural rhythm of stress hormones. For example, when coffee performs the heavy lift of waking a sleepy system, the natural cortisol curve may shift causing it to spike during unfavorable times of day. At night, for instance, when you’re trying to wind down.
Additionally, with a coffee-induced rise in cortisol5—which can level out over time with regular consumption—nervous system activity increases and the body enters a state of stress. In the short-term, this allows you to perform, stay alert, and perhaps get through a series of morning meetings, but it fades quickly and the residual stress can worsen period cramps.
Caffeine and Cramps
When you consume caffeine, blood vessels become constricted and you excrete more water and salt thanks to its diuretic prowess. In the immediate, you may feel relief from headaches and bloating. However, this relief disappears as quickly as it arrives and may even worsen PMS because caffeine can dehydrate your body and contribute to more painful cramps4.
If the idea of cutting out caffeine altogether during your period brings you a wave of anxiety in itself, consider tapering off in the late luteal phase—7 to 10 days before your period—and swapping coffee for green and black teas that pack less of a crash with a more gentle activation curve. Balanced Beyars Health lovingly refer to this cyclical tapering approach as “crowding out coffee.” You might also consider getting your energy boost from dark chocolate and other naturally energizing foods—cashews, avocados, sweet potatoes—that boast greater nutritional value.
Stay “Dry” During Your Period
While a glass of wine with dinner or a nightcap before bed may seem harmless, even a single serving of alcohol can impact your period symptoms. Similar to caffeine, alcohol is a diuretic and can leave your body dehydrated which worsens period pain. Dehydration can also lead to thicker blood which is more difficult for your uterus to shed. Combined with an increase in the production of prostaglandins, alcohol can make cramping more intense.
Alcohol can also disrupt sleep patterns6. For instance, you may fall asleep more quickly after a glass or two of wine, but the quality of your sleep suffers. Alcohol deteriorates the recovery functions that happen during deep sleep and suppresses or delays restorative REM cycles. You may also experience more frequent wake-ups later in the night as a result of alcohol consumption.
Start Small and Stay Steady
It can be overwhelming to modify your diet, cut caffeine, and consume less alcohol all at once during your period. Especially if comfort foods and libations have been your go-to for managing menstrual symptoms in the presence of life stressors and social commitments. The world doesn’t stop when your period starts. However, fueling your body with adequate nutrition to promote balance and reduce inflammation is the first step. And while you need not cut alcohol and caffeine completely at first, you might find that the reduction of PMS and period pain provides added incentive.
Forming new habits takes time and cycle-aligned living is not a quick fix. With each passing month, my hope is that you’ll start feeling a little better and the changes become more intuitive. When it starts to feel less like effort and more like flow, your pain-free period is soon to follow.
Stick with it and you may actually start to look forward to your period!
Not sure where to start with working out on your period?
Join lunae on YouTube to get access to a growing catalog with hundreds of phasic workouts and practices to support your cycle all month long.
Rahbar, N., Asgharzadeh, N., & Ghorbani, R. (2012). Effect of omega-3 fatty acids on intensity of primary dysmenorrhea. International journal of gynecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 117(1), 45–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijgo.2011.11.019
Rahnama, P., Montazeri, A., Huseini, H.F. et al. Effect of Zingiber officinale R. rhizomes (ginger) on pain relief in primary dysmenorrhea: a placebo randomized trial. BMC Complement Altern Med 12, 92 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6882-12-92
Parazzini, F., Di Martino, M., & Pellegrino, P. (2017). Magnesium in the gynecological practice: a literature review. Magnesium in the gynecological practice: a literature review. Magnesium research, 30(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1684/mrh.2017.0419
Torkan, B., Mousavi, M., Dehghani, S. et al. The role of water intake in the severity of pain and menstrual distress among females suffering from primary dysmenorrhea: a semi-experimental study. BMC Women's Health 21, 40 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-021-01184-w
Lovallo, W. R., Whitsett, T. L., al'Absi, M., Sung, B. H., Vincent, A. S., & Wilson, M. F. (2005). Caffeine stimulation of cortisol secretion across the waking hours in relation to caffeine intake levels. Psychosomatic medicine, 67(5), 734–739. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.psy.0000181270.20036.06
Ebrahim, I. O., Shapiro, C. M., Williams, A. J., & Fenwick, P. B. (2013). Alcohol and sleep I: effects on normal sleep. Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research, 37(4), 539–549. https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.12006
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