I have to be “tortured” every month. What can I eat to relieve dysmenorrhea?

Regardless of the country, the prevalence of dysmenorrhea in women is very common and high. Dysmenorrhea once a month is like torture.

According to statistics, approximately 71% of young women in the world suffer from dysmenorrhea. The "Research Report on Reproductive Health of Women of Childbearing Age in China 2022" points out: Among women of childbearing age in my country, more than half of them have menstrual symptoms such as irregular menstrual cycles, dysmenorrhea, and abnormally increased menstrual volume.

This has seriously affected the normal lives of our female friends. Students cannot attend classes peacefully, and office workers have to endure the pain and face work pressure.

For women who have dysmenorrhea, most of them just endure it during special periods, and few people take it seriously. In fact, dysmenorrhea is not a trivial matter, so it is best not to take it lightly. How can we relieve dysmenorrhea in daily life?

This article provides some tips for female friends. Female friends who suffer from dysmenorrhea can try them.

Why does dysmenorrhea occur?

When dysmenorrhea occurs, some people only experience severe lower abdominal pain and cold sweats, while others experience nausea, vomiting, and even diarrhea. There are many reasons why dysmenorrhea occurs.

A study conducted a questionnaire survey on 2,559 female high school students in four regions of China from May to December 2020 to explore the influencing factors of primary dysmenorrhea. The main factors included their dysmenorrhea status, menstrual conditions, and lifestyle habits. The data showed that 83.8% of these people had experienced dysmenorrhea, and 45.5% of the students with dysmenorrhea had severe dysmenorrhea.

After analysis, it was found that girls whose menarche age was less than 13 years old were 2.5 times more likely to experience dysmenorrhea than those who were more than 15 years old; girls whose menstrual blood contained blood clots had a 1.6 times higher risk of dysmenorrhea than those without blood clots; girls whose mothers had a history of dysmenorrhea had a 2-fold higher risk of dysmenorrhea than those whose mothers did not have a history of dysmenorrhea; catching a cold during menstruation increased the risk of dysmenorrhea by 1.8 times; girls who were easily nervous during menstruation had a 2.7-fold higher risk of dysmenorrhea than those who were not nervous; and fear of menstruation also increased the risk of dysmenorrhea. [1]

Lifestyle habits can also affect dysmenorrhea, such as skipping meals, eating less, and sitting for long periods of time. Skipping meals and eating less can lead to insufficient calorie intake, making it impossible to maintain a stable body weight and normal immune function. Poor dietary quality can increase the incidence of dysmenorrhea. Appropriate exercise can relieve uterine ischemia during menstruation, reduce psychological stress, and relieve uterine spasms, thereby alleviating dysmenorrhea. [1]

In addition, endometriosis is also a major cause of dysmenorrhea, which is a type of secondary dysmenorrhea. However, not all women with endometriosis will experience dysmenorrhea, and a small number of people do not have any symptoms. [2]

"The basic way to relieve dysmenorrhea is to drink more hot water" is true! :

Women often feel bad when they have dysmenorrhea. Don't underestimate a cup of hot water or a hot water bag at this time. Drinking more hot water or using a hot water bag to apply heat to the lower abdomen can help relieve dysmenorrhea and relieve emotions.

This may be because drinking too much hot water can directly stimulate the gastrointestinal tract and nerves, which in turn affects the activity of the pelvic uterus. [3] Hot compresses improve local muscle spasms and blood circulation, [3] dilating local uterine blood vessels, promoting blood flow, relieving symptoms such as uterine spasms, ischemia, and hypoxia, and thus reducing pain. Randomized trial results show that hot compresses on the lower abdomen are as effective as ibuprofen in relieving dysmenorrhea, and more effective than acetaminophen. [4]

Exercising more can also relieve dysmenorrhea. There is evidence that appropriate exercise can reduce dysmenorrhea symptoms, duration and pain severity. A preliminary study suggests that exercise-mediated increases in progesterone and decreases in pain mediators may be the mechanism of its therapeutic effect, especially for sedentary women. [4]

Therefore, the most basic way to relieve general dysmenorrhea is to drink more hot water (don’t drink scalding water). You can also prepare a hot water bottle to apply hot compress on your lower abdomen, and don’t neglect appropriate exercise.

Other methods you can try: Dysmenorrhea can be improved by eating!

As for other methods to relieve dysmenorrhea, you can also try making some dietary adjustments or taking some dietary supplements, which may also have the effect of relieving dysmenorrhea. [4]

- Low-fat vegetarian diet: A small crossover trial involving 33 women showed that a low-fat vegetarian diet was associated with increased serum sex hormone-binding globulin concentrations, weight loss, duration and intensity of dysmenorrhea, and duration of premenstrual symptoms, and could reduce dysmenorrhea symptoms.

This requires us to reduce the consumption of greasy food in our lives and control the amount of cooking oil used. Eat less fried foods, processed cakes, meat and other foods. It is best to control the amount of cooking oil to 25-30 grams per day, and 1 tablespoon is about 10 grams of oil.

-Eat more milk and dairy products: Studies have shown that female students who consume three to four servings of dairy products a day have significantly fewer dysmenorrhea and related symptoms than those who do not eat dairy products.

This suggests that everyone should pay attention to the intake of milk and dairy products. According to the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022)", you should drink 300-500 ml of milk every day, or choose sugar-free yogurt or low-salt cheese. According to the same amount of protein, 100 grams of fresh milk is equivalent to 100 grams of yogurt or 10 grams of cheese, and 300 grams of milk is equivalent to 300 grams of yogurt or 30 grams of cheese.

-Supplement B vitamins: especially vitamin B1 and vitamin B6, which studies have shown can effectively relieve dysmenorrhea. You can choose to eat more whole grains and nuts, such as pasta, oatmeal, quinoa, brown rice, sunflower seeds, black sesame, peanuts, etc.

The dosage used in the study was relatively large, with vitamin B1 and vitamin B6 dosages of 100 mg/day and 200 mg/day respectively. Supplements can also be used to supplement daily. However, according to the "Chinese Dietary Nutrient Reference Intake (2013)", the maximum tolerable intake of vitamin B6 for adults is 60 mg/day. For safety reasons, it is not recommended to supplement vitamin B6 excessively in order to relieve dysmenorrhea.

-Supplement vitamin E: Studies have shown that women who take 200 units of vitamin E twice a day starting 2 days before menstruation and continuing until three days before bleeding for 4 menstrual cycles have significantly reduced the severity and duration of dysmenorrhea. Appropriate supplementation of vitamin E can relieve the pain of primary dysmenorrhea and reduce blood loss.

-Supplement fish oil: Studies have found that supplementing with 1080 mg EPA, 720 mg DHA and 1.5 mg vitamin E can relieve dysmenorrhea.

Salmon and mackerel can be included in your daily diet. 60 grams of salmon can provide more than 500 mg of DHA, and 50 grams of mackerel can provide more than 700 mg of DHA. [5]

-Eat some ginger powder: Taking 0.75-2 grams of ginger powder on the 1st to 3rd day of the menstrual cycle can relieve primary dysmenorrhea.

- Don’t lose weight too much: Too little abdominal fat may aggravate dysmenorrhea symptoms. Maintaining a normal amount of abdominal fat reserves can help reduce abdominal heat loss, maintain a relatively high abdominal temperature, and promote abdominal blood circulation, thereby relieving dysmenorrhea. [6]

Therefore, female friends, please don’t lose weight excessively in order to “lose weight like lightning”.

Summarize:

Regarding relieving dysmenorrhea, you can try all of the above methods. The most recommended ones are drinking more hot water, hot compresses, appropriate exercise, and taking painkillers when necessary. It should be reminded that if the dysmenorrhea is severe, frequent, and lasts for a long time, you should not take it lightly. You must see a doctor in time and take medicine according to the doctor's orders.

References:

[1] Zhu Yuanting, Yang Chaoqun, Xu Wei, et al. Analysis of the current status and influencing factors of primary dysmenorrhea in 2559 female high school students[J]. Chinese School Doctor, 2023, 37(03): 190-193+214.

[2] Zhao Tingyu, Yang Xinchun, Bao Meiru, et al. Clinical characteristics and related factors of dysmenorrhea caused by endometriosis[J]. World Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2023, 18(08): 1192-1197.

[3] Qin Weimeng, Qin Ying, Yang Jun. Preliminary study on the western medicine mechanism of hot water relieving dysmenorrhea[J]. Electronic Journal of Practical Gynecological Endocrinology, 2019, 6(33): 5. DOI: 10.16484/j.cnki.issn2095-8803.2019.33.003.

[5] U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Center.

[6] Lei Guicheng. Research on the relationship between primary dysmenorrhea and abdominal fat content in female sports college students [C]//Chinese Society of Sports Science. Collection of abstracts of the 11th National Sports Science Conference. [Publisher unknown], 2019: 4903-4904. DOI: 10.26914/c.cnkihy.2019.031090.

The article is produced by Science Popularization China-Creation Cultivation Program. Please indicate the source when reprinting.

Author: Xue Qingxin, member of Chinese Nutrition Society, registered dietitian, health manager, public nutritionist

Reviewer: Ruan Guangfeng, Deputy Director of Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center

Source: Starry Sky Project