The idea behind these posts will be for you to follow your cycle and give your body the exact nutrients the body needs at the precise time. Follow the posts and look for insights into how your hormonal system changes and the nutrients requirements to adjust and regulate your cycle.
We count day 1 as your first day of bleed. The last day of this phase will be marked by the last day of bleed. Usually is between 3-7 days. As an average, most women bleed for about 5 days.
During this phase, you will be losing some blood and nutrients. You usually retain water easier, lose some of your energy, feel sleepy and tend to be more prone to inflammation. You want to support this phase by minimising the discomfort. While some discomfort is normal, pain and severe PMS or pain as intense as to be prescribed anti-inflammatories (ibuprofen) are not normal and should be understood as abnormal.
You want to get iron, B12, B9, aid blood regeneration, increase vitamin C intake and help your body reduce inflammation. This is why vegetables and frozen options are not really the best right now – you want to support blood flow instead.
Heavy flows together with clots usually mean excess of oestrogen in the body. A watery pink flow means low oestrogen and imbalanced hormones. Orange flow might indicate an infection or a mix of menstruation and cervical mucus (nonetheless, it should not happen), dark brown maroon in the first period day might mean low progesterone or old blood. And dark brown might mean menstruation flow exposed to oxygen, flow that is too thick.
Ideally, a rich red colour starting in the first day already means a healthy menstruation. It is normal that this becomes less and less in flow and remains as a spotting in the last day(s) and turns more brownish (that’s because the flow becomes old as it comes to an end).
This phase, menstruation, is usually thought to be represented as ‘’the winter of the female body’’. You are slow, inward, you tend to be more sensitive, you need warmth, you prefer to listen more, you want to rest and release stress and energy.
How to support the beginning & end of this phase?
Eat grass-fed beef, red meats, beetroot, lentils, kiwis, red bell pepper, turmeric, ginger, organ meats and Sauerkraut.
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