12 natural ways to reduce menstrual cramps or period pain

“The menstruation cycle consists of a series of physiological change in the uterus, ovaries and endocrine system that take place from the beginning of one menstrual flow, to the start of the next.” – Eva Agee, Ph.D

Some of us experience pain, bloating, acne, headaches, cravings, weight gain, water retention, anxiety, irregular periods, heaviness and mood swings during this cyclical hormonal change. This can easily cause stress and create havoc during the time of menstruation. Debilitating menstruation pain sometimes may require that we rearrange our work schedule or call in sick to stay home during the first 1 or 2 days of the cycle. Some of us get painful acne on the face and back. Splitting headaches and exhaustion also can take over our lives! We all know how menstrual irregularities, PMS symptoms, and cramps can impair our daily activities during the cycle. They also pose health risks such as anemia (in case of heavy bleeding).

Modern medications rarely correct the underlying cause of this discomfort. If you chose medications such as NSAIDS, antidepressants, and hormonal contraceptives it can reduce the PMS symptoms but does not really take care of the root of cause of the pain or symptoms and may also have adverse side effects. However implementing holistic strategies to support the body’s natural healing can lead to long term positive effect on your health and you may rarely experience the painful PMS symptoms.

One thing I have learned from my journey towards health and healing is that pain and discomfort are not normal for your body. It is always an indication that something deep inside is not right. Your body is sending you messages through pain to get your attention. Therefore, when correct foods are given and when you build a strong mind-body connection your hormones will fall into equilibrium and cramps will be absent for good.

I am sharing with you some of my own secrets on how to correct PMS symptoms and get relief. However know that like anything else there is no magic pill to get rid of this pain and healing will not happen overnight. Be patient, be consistent and healing will follow through.

You guessed it right from the title that I will be discussing food, nutrition, exercise and herbs as well as some do’s and don’ts for your diet.

What can cause PMS symptoms and menstrual cramps?

1. Excessive estrogen: This is a necessary hormone for our reproductive health. However excessive estrogen can cause unpleasant and painful periods. Excessive estrogen can be due to stress in the body. Correcting dietary habits can also keep this hormone in balance.
2. Thyroid hormones: Thyroid hormone is required for many functions in the body including deactivating excessive estrogen hormone and speed up the metabolism.
3. Stress: Stress releases cortisol hormone in the body, produced by our adrenal glands. Higher production of this hormone due to stress can lower the levels of progesterone and thyroid hormones.  Both progesterone and  thyroid hormones are required to balance estrogen in our body.

The above hormonal imbalances can be easily caused by improper dietary habits, emotional stress, chemicals in our foods, chemicals in our body care products, tap water, carrying excessive weight in the body and an inactive lifestyle.

The don’ts: During or a week before the cycle

1. Don’t consume white sugar, processed white flours and artificial colours and additives through your foods.
2. Don’t choose a low fat diet. Yes you heard be right. You need the right (unprocessed and extra virgin) fats to absorb the fat soluble vitamins in your body such as vitamin A, D, E and K. Such as coconut oil, ghee, flax seed oil, evening primrose oil and hemp seeds.
3. Reduce eating too much soy or grain based foods. These foods can increase blood sugar imbalances, lower thyroid functions and reduce the liver’s ability to detox excess estrogen. Grain based foods are rice, pasta and bread.
4. Eliminate commercial diary and dairy based products from your diet completely. You can choose to consume organic unhomogenized milk or raw milk (grass fed and good husbandry practice) from a well-known farmer.
5. Eliminate table salt or refined salt intake. Replace it with Celtic sea salt or Himalayan Pink salt.
6. You must consider eliminating caffeine from your diet to get rid of painful menstruation.
7. Do not use sanitary pads that are not disposable. Organic disposable pads contains no harmful chemicals.

The do’s: 12 natural ways to reduce menstrual cramps or period pain

1. Drink lemon water every morning after you wake up. This will have an alkalizing effect on the body and keep the body hydrated and mineralized. Stay hydrated throughout the day,
2. Must include vitamin D3 in your diet. Especially if you live is a colder climate where sunlight is reduced during the winter season.
3. Increase consumption of leafy greens to ensure enough B vitamins, fiber and mineral supply in the body. You will get a lot of calcium, magnesium, iron, B vitamins and other minerals through leafy greens. Swiss chard, collard greens, yogurt, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, spinach contains these minerals.
4. Eat fatty fish, fish or flax oil every day to get relief from hormonal imbalances.
5. My most favourite remedy to get relief from cramps is an Ayurvedic home remedy using cinnamon and ginger to make a tea. Just use ¼ tsp. of ground cinnamon and a pinch of ground ginger or couple of thin slices of half an inch of fresh ginger to a cup of hot water. Wait and let it steep for 5 minutes. Strain and drink the tea. I will also write a recipe for pain free period tea concoction.
6. Vitex or chaste berry is a herb that eases menstrual cramps,
7. Evening primrose oil or borage oil are rich in anti-inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids and are known to reduce breast pain and tenderness as well as PMS symptoms.
8. Dietary intake of calcium and magnesium is crucial for balancing the hormones.
9. Using heating pads or hot water bags around the area relaxes the stiff muscles and reduces pain by bringing oxygen in the area.
10. One of the most important things to address is relaxation through 7-8 hours of sound sleep and stress reduction. Meditation and breathing exercises (pranayama) also assists in reducing stress.
11. If you eat a lot of nuts, seeds and grains then increase aerobic exercises. Aerobic exercises releases endorphin hormones or “feel good” hormones in the body. The presence of this hormone works like a natural pain killer.
12. Apply natural progesterone cream or wild yam cream. Apply this cream on stomach, lower abdominal area, buttocks, things, breasts and upper arm area. Best time to apply this cream is a week before the start of your period.

Address sleep, stress and digestive imbalances and practice a balanced health protocol for 6-8 weeks in order to reduce any PMS symptoms including cramps. If you are someone who tends to stray away from your health routine, then make sure you apply as many of the above mentioned remedies as possible a week before your cycle. This I would say is still a band aid solution as oppose to destroying the root cause of pain completely.

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5 Worst Breakfast Foods To Start Your Day

Breakfast is the most important meal of your day. Thus, it should consist of healthy foods to keep you energized. Moreover, having a good breakfast helps minimize cravings of high-calorie foods throughout the day.

So, it is beneficial for those striving to lose weight. In addition, regularly having breakfast boosts your strength, improves concentrations, and helps lower cholesterol naturally.

Given below are 5 worst breakfast foods that you should avoid

Pastries

Pastries such as cinnamon rolls, toaster pastries, strudels, Danish pastries, and so on are loaded with calories and fats. Moreover, they have high sugar content due to frosting, glaze, etc.

Plus, most pastries are made with white flour because it is highly processed but lacks in nutrients as it contains less protein, iron, calcium, vitamin B, and dietary fiber than whole grain flour. Hence, they are just empty calories.

They affect the blood sugar levels, thereby causing an initial burst of energy that is likely to crash by mid-morning.

Muffins, even low-fat ones, should also be avoided for breakfast for the same reason. If you are craving for sugar in the morning, then you can have fruits. Again, avoid fruit juices, though.

Donuts

This is another common breakfast food because you can easily grab a donut on your way to work. However, it is not healthy at all.

Most donuts contain refined sugars, trans fats, processed white flour, and hydrogenated oil. Plus, even a simple doughnut is likely to have approximately 230-250 calories with no nutrient value. It is particularly not a good choice when trying to lose weight because donuts are deep-fried.

Furthermore, like pastries, they cause a spike in sugar levels that soon crashes down.Pancakes with high-fructose corn syrup, too, are not recommended.

This artificial syrup is linked with type 2 diabetes and is likely to cause abdominal obesity. Plus, pancakes are full of fats and simple carbohydrates.

Hot Dogs

This is yet another worst food to start your day with. It is made of white flour which, as mentioned earlier, just adds empty calories without any nutrition. Plus, hot dogs include bacon, ham, and sausage.

These processed meats are bad for you because they tend to increase the risk of developing colorectal cancer, heart disease, high HDL, and diabetes because they have nitrates and high saturated fat content. In addition, they contribute in causing weight gain and obesity.

Sugar Laden Cereals

The combination of cereal and milk is extremely popular as a breakfast meal. Most cereals available in the market, however, contain highly refined flours and sugar.

They are full of carbohydrates and are likely to cause a temporary spike in your blood sugar level. Thus, they are not as healthy as they seem to you.

So, it is recommended to read the labels carefully and choose cereals with high protein and fiber content. Besides, you can consider having oatmeal with cinnamon, walnuts, flaxseeds, blueberries and other healthy items.

Bagels and Cream Cheese

Bagel is a good choice for breakfast unless you combine it with fattening cream cheese. So, when taking bagel, you need to opt for a low-fat topping like Greek yogurt or hummus.

Furthermore, you can serve bagels with peanut butter, almond butter, or fruits. Needless to say, go for whole-grain bagel packed with essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber instead of bagels made with refined grains.

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BENEFITS OF PAPAYA

Fruit of the angels, that is, papaya benefits in the natural treatment of dyspepsia, constipation, burns, rashes, ringworm, bleeding piles, osteoarthritis, and it helps prevent atherosclerosis, heart disease, diabetes, and so on.

Apart from the fruit, the leaves, seeds, and latex of this herbaceous plant also have therapeutic properties. Papaya fruit is usually yellow, greenish yellow or orange in color. It is sweet, musky, juicy and contains many black seeds that are also edible but bitter in taste.

Scientific Name: Carica papaya
Other Names: Papaw, Pawpaw, Tree Melon, Mugua, Lechosa, Malako, Papaia, Papaye, Mamón, Papita, Parisha, Penpe, Pappali

Native Region

Papaya is indigenous to eastern Central America. Now, however, it is grown in all the tropical regions of the world. It is a pear-shaped fruit that belongs to the Caricaceae family.

Healing Properties

Papaya has antibiotic, antifungal, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, abortifacient, pugative, and diuretic properties. It protects against macular degeneration, colon, cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and other similar conditions as it is rich in antioxidants and compounds like isothiocyanate.

This fruit promotes digestion and relieves digestive problems like indigestion, bloating,constipation, and upset stomach. Papaya seeds help inhibit the growth of intestinal worms and parasites. They can be used for liver detoxification, too.

Moreover, papaya benefits in improving the metabolism, boosting immunity and treating anemia. Being rich in fiber, it aids in weight loss when taken regularly for at least two to three months.

It serves as a natural cure for inflammation of liver and spleen. Plus, papaya is useful in getting rid of urinary problems as well.

In addition, regular consumption of papaya is valuable in preventing issues like diabetic heart disease, atherosclerosis, heart attack, etc. as it prevents cholesterol oxidation.

Benefits of papaya leaves can be derived by heating them over fire and applying on the affected areas to heal muscle pain.

It is believed that the leaf’s extract removes dead skin cells without causing any damage to the living cells. Consumption of papaya juice helps remove toxins from the body.

Besides, papaya is helpful in providing relief from inflammation related to rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, asthma and gout.

Coming to papaya home remedies for beauty care, this fruit is used in various face packs to make the skin soft and smooth. Furthermore, it reduces freckles and promotes skin lightening. It works as a great conditioner for hair as well.

In terms of nutrition, papaya contains antioxidants, flavanoids, carotenoids, folic acid, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, iron, calcium, potassium, dietary fiber, and so on. It is low in sugar and sodium.

It has high levels of lutein and zeaxanthin that help delay the development of cataracts and protect against chronic eye diseases.

Besides, papaya has a powerful protein-digesting enzyme called papain. Scientists are studying the benefits of this enzyme for reducing side-effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy like oral lesions.

Medicinal Uses of Papaya

• • Having half a papaya in breakfast relieves constipation. Regular consumption of this fruit can help cure piles.
  
  
• • Papaya benefits in relieving heartburn during pregnancy by eating a few pieces of papaya an hour before meals. You can take papaya tablets, too.
  
• • When dealing with diarrhea, prepare a concoction by boiling grated papaya in water for about 10 minutes. Stain and drink a cup this solution three times in a day.
  
  
• • Peel a ripe papaya and cut it into pieces. Soak these pieces in vinegar for about a week. Consume two tablespoons of this home medicine two times in a day as a natural treatment for spleen enlargement.
  
  
• • Unripe papaya is helpful in getting rid of urinary problems. Besides, you can drink aninfusion prepared from papaya leaves.
  
  
• • Dry some papaya seeds in the sun for a few days. Grind them and add a teaspoon of this powder in a cup of warm milk or water. You can also add some honey. Drink this solution in the morning to get rid of intestinal worms.
  
  
• • Application of papaya pulp as a poultice is useful in healing burns. Applying fresh papaya leaves poultice on sores and ulcers removes the offensive odor produced by the wounds.
  
  
• • Grind a few papaya leaves and add a tablespoon of honey in the paste. Taking half a teaspoon of this mixture along with water helps in the treatment of Jaundice.
  
  
• • Regular consumption of papaya juice helps reduce lung inflammation associated with smoking, whether active or passive.
  
• • When dealing with throat disorders like inflamed tonsils, drink the juice of unripe papaya mixed with honey. It is considered good for lymphatic system.
  
  
• • You can use papaya for hair care and conditioning. For this, you need to prepare a mixture by adding a teaspoon of honey and some olive oil in pureed half papaya. Blend this mixture and apply it on damp hair for some time. Finally, rinse it out and shampoo your hair.
  
  
• Besides, you can crush tender papaya leaves in water and use this solution as an effective hair conditioner.
  
  
• • Benefits of papaya can also be derived by eating about 250 g of ripe papaya daily in the morning on an empty stomach. Follow this therapy for at least one month to lower blood pressure.
  
  
• • Simply applying mashed papaya on skin for 15-20 minutes makes the skin soft. Moreover, the milky juice of an unripe papaya can help cure acne naturally over a period of time.
  
  
• • Another papaya home remedy for skin care to remove flaky skin involves using a combination of three tablespoon of mashed papaya, a tablespoon of honey and one-third cup of oatmeal. Apply this homemade face mask for about 10 minutes and then wash it off with warm water.
  
  
• • Take a quarter part of a papaya, blend the pulp in a blender, and add four teaspoons ofgreen clay and one and a half teaspoons of aloe vera gel in it. Apply this mixture on face and rinse it off after 15-20 minutes to get clear skin. This papaya face pack for skin lightening is suitable for normal to oily skin.
  
  
• • In case you have dry and sensitive skin, prepare a face mask by mixing half a teaspoon each of raw milk, rose water and honey in half a cup of mashed papaya. Leave the mixture on skin for about 15 minutes and then rinse it off with warm water.
  
  
• • Another benefit of papaya is that it induces menstruation. Basically, unripe papaya helps in contraction of uterine walls.
  
  
• • Application of papaya leaf juice heals ringworm. Leaving the fresh milky juice of papaya on skin for about half an hour reduces freckles and blemishes.

Papaya can be eaten as a fruit, and added in salads, smoothies, and breakfast cereals as well. Moreover, you can add unripe papaya in stews and soups. In certain areas, papaya seeds are grinded and used as a substitute for black pepper as they have a peppery taste.

Precautions

Individuals suffering from latex allergies may be allergic to papaya because it includes a substance called chitinase. Pregnant women should avoid consuming unripe papaya as the latex substance may trigger uterus contractions.

Although papaya benefits in preventing and healing several diseases, avoid eating this fruit in excess as it can cause stomach pain, diarrhea, and ulcers in the esophagus. Moreover, excessive consumption of papaya may cause yellowing of skin and palms, temporarily.

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