How to Deal with Period Cramps

Every woman goes through menstrual cycles. Some are lucky and barely feel anything happening to their bodies, others feel every possible symptom from headaches to bloating; such as myself. Here’s a few tips and tricks that I’ve learned when dealing with menstrual cramps:

1) Advocate for yourself when at the doctors office. Ask for a prescription to Naproxen and no “it is not just in your head”. This pain is very real ask for a second opinion if your doctor is not willing to listen to you.

2) Eat lots of avocados leading up to your period. This includes avocado toast or guacamole. Why? They are high in antioxidants and calcium, which lessen the period cramps. I wish I knew this sooner. I feel that if I eat avocados leading up to my period it isn’t as painful as in I can come into work.

3) Eating dark chocolate. Dark chocolate has a lot of iron and this helps if you have heavy flows. It will keep you replenished and it kicks that sugar craving.

4) Take a bath. Baths help with loosening your muscles and makes your back less achy and it helps with soreness. I tend to get really bad leg cramps and it helps a lot.

5) Eating iron. I know how do you eat a sufficient amount of iron? My favorite is eating a steak spinach salad all those iron rich foods are right there in the title. However, if your lifestyle requires you to skip meat than there are iron pills that you can pop.

6) Pair iron with vitamin C. Vitamin C foods can help absorb the iron it’s recommended to eat lots of fruits such as oranges to help. Eating fruits are always a healthy way to avoid eating junk food.

7) Eating cinnamon can help a lot. I’m not talking about swallowing a spoonful but add it to your chai tea latte or hot chocolate. Cinnamon has proven to help women with Dysmenorrhea. It helps takes away the nausea, reduces pain and reduces the bleeding. This is probably the first thing I recommend to anyone who has horrible periods.

8) Raspberry tea is great to drink. The raspberry leaf contains something called fragrine which helps build and tone the muscles in your pelvic area so you feel the cramps a little less.

9) Heating pads and blankets, similarly to baths it helps loosen your muscles causing relaxation and can help decrease the pain. Plus you feel nice and cozy!

10) Excersize is the biggest benefit. I know this is the last thing you might want to do while on your period but if you are able to get out of bed go to the gym, go for walk, do some Pilates or take a spin class. You will be so distracted that it’ll keep your mind off things and you will avoid feeling like you’ve gained ten kilograms (bloating).

11) Find a man to have sex with… preferably your husband if you’re married. Having an orgasm can release tension in your body. Some men are not comfortable with this and that’s okay, don’t ever pressure your man to do it when he doesn’t want to. You don’t like being pressured either.

12) Avoid carbs. This one is very tricky because I want all the donoughts during this time of the month for me. I keep myself busy by drinking plenty of water and chewing on a granola bar instead. This is help avoid the bloating and feeling heavy.

13) Somedays is a company that helps with period cramps. I use their products all the time. I am not affiliated with them in anyway. I use their cramp cream and their oil, it has been life changing for me. I’d recommend looking into it for sure!

14) Eating cabbage can help with many issues including period pain, some recommend stuffing cabbage in your bra to reduce your breast tenderness. Eating it before your period comes will be beneficial thanks to the calcium, iron and magnesium that it contains.

Thanks for reading! Let me know if this was helpful at all and have a less painful period, be like the women in commercials! You can do it too!