How much can you eat during your period without getting fat? 5 common misconceptions about menstruation that many people have fallen into

When it comes to health knowledge that women must know, "menstruation" must be an area that accounts for a very large proportion.

However, although every girl has to go through menstruation, not everyone knows about it. Many people's understanding of menstruation comes from word of mouth from their elders, which leads to many misunderstandings.

for example:

Can you eat more during your period without gaining weight?

You can’t wash your hair/take a bath during your period

Taking painkillers for dysmenorrhea can be addictive

Menstruation is detoxification. The more blood clots there are, the more toxins there are.

You can't exercise during your period, otherwise it will cause irregularities

How many of these do you fall into? In this article, we will talk about the five common misconceptions about menstruation.

If you are a boy, don't slide away. Learn more about the relationship between the sexes so that you won't become the straight man who only knows how to comfort people by saying "drink more hot water", hehe~

1. Can you eat more during your period without gaining weight? The full explanation is this: Girls' metabolism speeds up during their period, so you can eat more at this time, and your body will metabolize the food, so you won't gain weight.

Some girls also said that they become thinner every time they have their period, which proves that this statement is correct.

I'm going to pour a bucket of cold water on you all.

Before menstruation, the estrogen level in women's bodies will drop, while the progesterone level will rise, which will cause women's metabolism to slow down and water to be retained in the body (that is, we call edema), so the weight before menstruation will increase slightly. During menstruation, hormone levels return to normal, and the previously retained water is excreted from the body, giving you the illusion of losing weight.

You lose weight during your period, but it’s actually just because you gained weight before your period.

In addition, estrogen can suppress appetite appropriately, and when its level drops, it will increase appetite. This also explains why girls have a particularly strong appetite when their period is about to begin.

The so-called "you can eat more during your period without gaining weight" is probably a beautiful lie that girls make up for their sudden strong appetite.

A moderate amount of delicious food can keep you in a good mood and help you get through your period smoothly. However, I also want to remind you: you are eating and the scale is watching. If you eat too much, you will gain weight anyway.

2. Can’t wash your hair/take a bath during menstruation? The complete explanation is this: If you wash your hair/take a bath during menstruation, the cold air will enter your body and cause uterine coldness, thus causing dysmenorrhea.

Dysmenorrhea can be divided into two categories: primary dysmenorrhea and secondary dysmenorrhea.

Primary dysmenorrhea is mainly caused by the increase of prostaglandin levels during menstruation, which causes strong contraction of uterine smooth muscle, leading to uterine ischemia and hypoxia, resulting in pain symptoms. This symptom usually occurs shortly after a girl's menarche.

Secondary dysmenorrhea is mainly caused by organic lesions in the reproductive system, such as uterine fibroids, pelvic inflammatory disease, endometriosis, etc.

If you did not have dysmenorrhea before, but developed frequent dysmenorrhea symptoms over time, you may have secondary dysmenorrhea and it is best to go to the hospital for a check-up.

According to statistics, most girls’ dysmenorrhea is primary dysmenorrhea, accounting for as high as 90% in clinical practice.

But no matter what kind of dysmenorrhea it is, it has no direct relationship with washing your hair or taking a bath.

What's more, there is no such thing as uterine cold in medicine. The so-called uterine cold is mostly a term made up by some health care institutions. If you don't believe it, think back and see if this term is always tied to the "uterine warming package"?

If you feel discomfort after washing your hair/showering, it is most likely because you did not blow-dry your hair/caught a cold while showering.

If you don’t feel any discomfort when washing your hair/taking a bath during your period, you can do so with confidence. Just dry/blow dry your hair in time after washing.

After all, not taking a shower for several days is not very hygienic; and not being able to wash your hair for several days can also affect your mood.

3. Will taking painkillers for dysmenorrhea be addictive? As we said above, most girls suffer from primary dysmenorrhea caused by excessive secretion of prostaglandins.

There are many painkillers (such as ibuprofen, acetaminophen, aspirin, indomethacin, etc.) that can inhibit the synthesis of prostaglandins in the body, thereby relieving the symptoms of dysmenorrhea.

There is currently no clinical evidence that this drug is addictive. If your dysmenorrhea symptoms are very severe and have affected your daily life and work, then taking 1-2 tablets each time to relieve the symptoms is completely fine.

Some friends said that after taking it for several years, the dosage required has increased. Are they addicted?

This may be due to a change in the number of receptors in the body, which is often referred to as "drug resistance."

If this happens, you can just switch to a different medicine. If you are really worried, you can also prepare two painkillers and take them alternately each time.

In addition, girls who have frequent dysmenorrhea can go to the hospital to check the cause. If the conditions are met, short-acting contraceptive pills can be used under the guidance of a doctor to relieve dysmenorrhea, which will have additional benefits~

4. Menstruation is a process of detoxification. The more blood clots there are, the more toxins there are. Menstruation is a very normal physiological phenomenon for girls and has nothing to do with detoxification.

The reason why you have the illusion of detoxification may be that its color is special, darker than the blood we usually see. This is because the color of menstrual blood becomes darker due to the gradual coagulation during the outflow process, just like the darker color of blood scabs on wounds after we are injured.

Blood is the part we depend on for survival, so how can it be considered a toxin?

As for blood clots, they have nothing to do with toxins. Blood clots are formed when the amount of menstrual blood is too large and the anticoagulants do not have time to work. Blood clots coagulate during the discharge process. Black and dark blood clots are also a normal phenomenon in the blood coagulation process, so there is no need to worry about it.

If you are really concerned about these blood clots, you can stand up and walk around more during your period to help the blood flow out smoothly.

5. Do not exercise during menstruation, otherwise it will lead to irregularities. Appropriate aerobic exercise, such as walking, jogging, yoga, etc., will not only not lead to irregularities, but also be beneficial to blood circulation and help discharge of menstrual blood. For some girls, it can also help relieve dysmenorrhea symptoms.

However, it is recommended that you wait until your period is over before performing strenuous exercise (such as jogging, basketball) or exercise that requires exertion of the waist and abdomen (such as sit-ups), otherwise it may cause dysmenorrhea or increased bleeding.

Menstruation is a very normal physiological phenomenon, just like metabolism. As long as you don't feel uncomfortable, you can eat and drink as usual, wash your hair as usual, and take a bath as usual, and treat it with a normal mind.

The most important thing is to keep your body and mind happy during your period.

Sincerely welcome everyone to forward this answer to the sisters group to help more sisters understand aunt correctly~