There are a lot of unpleasant symptoms that come along with your monthly cycle. Menstruation can cause cramps, headaches and mood swings, for example. However, one of the most annoying problems that many people have is that they gain weight during that time. If you’d like to know why you gain weight during menstruation and how to stop it, you’re in luck. Here are some answers to help you.
Initial Weight Gain:
Initial weight gain during your period is normal. It occurs because hormone levels change in your body and tell it to retain a little water. However, that amount of water shouldn’t be too large. So, if you feel extremely bloated and can’t even seem to zip up your jeans when you get dressed, you may have some additional problems.
Too Many Hormones:
One of those problems is that you may have too many hormones flooding through your body at once. If that’s the case, you may have some great success with controlling hormone levels through the use of natural herbs, vitamins and minerals.
For example, magnesium is a mineral that can keep you from having junk food cravings. When your magnesium levels drop, it causes the release of a hormone that causes those junk food cravings. The sad thing is that the more junk food you eat, especially salty junk food, the more you will crave and the more water your body will retain. So, it’s a vicious cycle that can only be broken by eating foods that contain magnesium or taking a magnesium supplement pill.
Too Much Blood:
Another reason that you may be gaining an excessive amount of weight during your period is that there may be too much blood collecting in your body. What you probably don’t realize is that you can actually control your blood flow to a degree. Zinc and vitamin B-6 are both known for reducing fluid retention and controlling the flow of blood a bit. They also work best when you take them together. Additionally, you might find it helpful to take a supplement pill that contains iron because you can lose a lot of iron during your menstrual cycle and it’s important to replace what is lost.
Herbs For Menstrual Symptom Control:
There are also a lot of herbs that can offer you some menstrual symptom control. For example, black cohosh and wild yam can both help to reduce bloating, cramping and fluid retention. Meanwhile, you can take comfort in natural pain relief herbs, such as white willow bark. Native Americans have always relied upon it to relieve their aches and pains, as well as mild fevers.
Stay Healthy:
If you always gain weight during menstruation, you may need to just reexamine your lifestyle. Things like caffeine, sugar and alcohol can make period symptoms worse. So can simply not getting enough exercise or enough sleep at night. So, it’s important to stay healthy, in general. Stay hydrated, eat the right foods and avoid taking up bad habits. That will help any vitamin, mineral or herbal supplements you take to do their jobs much better and keep period symptoms like weight gain at bay.
