Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) — 85 percent of girls experience painful bloating, cramps, and abdominal pain during their periods, and for some, these problems can last for years.
“With period pain being the leading cause of teenage girls missing school, it’s important to explore options that can reduce their pain,” Dr. Stephanie Faubion, director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Women’s Health in Jacksonville, Florida, said in a statement.
However, there are behavioral adjustments girls and young women can make to reduce pain, according to a new analysis of studies.
Faubion explained, that did not participate in the study, that “Adjusting the diet may be a relatively simple solution that can provide significant relief for them.”
He reviewed the summary presented at the annual meeting ofNorth American Menopause SocietyThe relationship between diet and dysmenorrhea, which is the medical term for painful periods.
The study’s lead author, Sera Sanoh, told CNN she became interested in the topic because of period pain she had experienced since her teens.
“I have found that diets that are high in inflammatory foods, such as animal meats, oils, sugars, salt, and coffee contribute to an increased risk of pain during a woman’s period,” Sanoh said.
“Many foods that young people like to eat are inflammatory, such as meat, foods rich in sugars and fats,” said Dr. Monica Christmas, a board member of the North American Menopause Society, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Chicago.
Christmas, who was not involved in the study, noted that an anti-inflammatory diet, such as the Mediterranean diet, which includes fruits, vegetables and olive oil, reduces cramps.
Christmas said scientific evidence has shown that eating a healthy diet, getting a good night’s sleep and exercising are all effective in reducing the duration and severity of cramps.
However, Christmas emphasized that it is important for women to see a health care provider, to make sure there is no other medical condition that may also contribute to these symptoms.
As the body prepares for menstruation, the endometrial cells, which receive the fertilized egg, begin to break down.
During collapse, these cells release large amounts of fatty acids, called prostaglandins, to make the uterine layer contract and expel unused tissue.
The body also naturally produces prostaglandins during labour, to open the cervix for delivery (labour).
Prostaglandins act like hormones, causing blood vessels and smooth muscle to constrict, causing cramps and pain.
Researchers have found that prostaglandin levels are higher and uterine contractions are stronger and more frequent in women with period pain, compared to women with little or no pain, according to the American Association of Family Physicians.
Another study conducted in 2018, including Spanish university students, found that women who consumed the soft drink “Cola” and ate meat were more likely to suffer from pain during their menstrual cycle compared to women who ate more vegetables and fruits.
And in 2020, a study found that women who ate fewer than two servings of fruit per day were more likely to experience menstrual pain.
Similarly, Sanoh has found that part of the problem is an imbalance between omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.
Omega-3 fatty acids — found in foods like salmon, tuna, sardines, oysters, walnuts, chia and flaxseeds — are anti-inflammatory.
Studies have linked omega-3 fatty acids to a reduced risk of many chronic diseases caused by inflammation.
Omega-6 fatty acids maintain healthy skin, hair, and bones, and help regulate metabolism, in addition to their role in the reproductive system.
But too many of these fatty acids may cause inflammation when the body eventually breaks them down into arachidonic acid, lowering the body’s pain threshold.
“Through my research, I discovered that people who eat a diet rich in omega-6 fatty acids, especially those derived from animal products, have a higher proportion of arachidonic acid in the body, which increases the amount of prostaglandins that help the uterus contract,” Sannoh said.
“A diet that balances omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, and reducing the amount of inflammatory foods (foods that increase inflammation), reduces period pain,” Sanoh added.
Two separate studies, from 2011 and 2012, found that women who took omega-3 fatty acid supplements had fewer menstrual discomfort enough to reduce their use of the pain-relieving medication ibuprofen.
A 1996 study found a very significant relationship between omega-3 fatty acids and mild PMS symptoms in teenage girls.
Other solutions
And changing your diet isn’t the only way to combat period pain.
Christmas noted that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs reduce the production of “prostaglandins”, which is why they are a mainstay in treating menstrual cramps.
However, these pain relief medications also come with side effects.
According to a 2015 Cochrane Library review of evidence, NSAIDs are associated with bloating, diarrhea, dizziness, indigestion, headache, heartburn, high blood pressure, nausea, vomiting and, in rare cases, elevated liver enzymes.
Instead, Sanoh recommends following an anti-inflammatory diet.
Sanoh put her research into practice by reducing her intake of red meat and other inflammatory foods like sugar and coffee, and she confirmed to CNN that it reduced her period pain.