The menstrual period is a unique physiological phase where the body undergoes changes, including reduced immunity, emotional fluctuations, irritability, and anxiety. Women who regularly consume herbal teas should exercise caution with the following during menstruation.
Cooling herbal teas. Cassia seed tea aids weight loss, reduces lipids, promotes bowel movements, and improves vision. Chrysanthemum tea clears liver heat, nourishes the liver, and enhances eyesight. Honeysuckle tea clears heat, relieves summer heat, detoxifies, and soothes the throat—popular choices in autumn. Cassia seeds, chrysanthemum, and honeysuckle are all cooling herbs. Traditional Chinese medicine holds that blood flows with warmth but stagnates with cold.Women should prioritize warming substances and avoid cooling ones during menstruation. Regular consumption of these herbal teas during this period may hinder smooth blood flow and potentially cause issues like dysmenorrhea.
Blood-activating herbal teas. Peach Blossom Beauty Tea, containing peach blossoms, winter melon seeds, and white poplar bark, dispels wind, activates blood circulation, moisturizes skin, and fades dark spots.Danshen Tea, containing Danshen and Schisandra, harmonizes blood, nourishes the heart, and calms the spirit; Lightening and Beautifying Red-Green Tea, with Safflower, Prepared Polygonum multiflorum, Alisma, and Purple Danshen, promotes blood circulation, removes stasis, drains dampness, detoxifies, lowers lipids, lightens the body, moisturizes the skin, and enhances complexion. All these medicinal teas promote blood circulation, and their use during menstruation may lead to heavier flow and prolonged periods.
Additionally, licorice tea (which moistens lungs and detoxifies) and senna leaf tea (which induces bowel movements) may also disrupt the menstrual cycle, potentially causing excessive bleeding. Exercise caution when consuming these during menstruation.
Women face numerous dietary restrictions during menstruation. Neglecting these guidelines may lead to irregular periods, dysmenorrhea, or abnormal flow volume. Below is a list of foods recommended and discouraged during menstruation for female readers to consider carefully.
I. Recommended Foods During Menstruation
1. Kelp
Kelp reduces fat deposits on blood vessel walls and promotes toxin elimination from the bloodstream.It is also a wholesome food that supports healthy detoxification and weight management.
2. Red Beans
Red beans have a sweet and sour taste with neutral properties. They help detoxify while replenishing qi and blood. The saponins in red beans increase colon motility, aiding digestion and promoting urination, which effectively improves bowel movements.If you experience leg swelling during your period, eating red beans can yield excellent weight loss results.
3. Garlic
Garlic lowers total serum cholesterol. Its secondary metabolite, methylallyl trisulfide, prevents blood clots and helps increase HDL cholesterol. Consuming more garlic is beneficial if you experience excessive energy depletion during your period.If you've indulged in rich foods, incorporating garlic can help lower total serum cholesterol, which is highly beneficial for weight loss.
4. Chinese Yam
Chinese yam contains abundant mucoprotein, which prevents fat from depositing on blood vessels and helps retain sufficient blood proteins, preventing nutritional deficiencies due to excessive blood loss. Moreover, it reduces subcutaneous fat accumulation, effectively improves gastrointestinal digestion, and helps avoid obesity.
5. Dairy Products
Whey acid not only prevents cholesterol buildup on arterial walls but also optimizes hormonal balance during menstruation, ensuring your bust size remains stable while you lose weight.
Healthy Weight Loss Porridge for Menstruation—Red Bean and Purple Rice Porridge
Ingredients: Peanuts, purple rice, red beans, Chinese yam.
Method: 1. Soak peanuts, purple rice, and red beans for half a day; peel and dice the Chinese yam.
2. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add all ingredients, stir briefly, then reduce to low heat and simmer slowly.
3. Cook until beans and yam are tender.This takes about 40 minutes. For menstrual health, add brown sugar to nourish the blood!
Benefits: Strengthens the spleen, nourishes the kidneys, promotes diuresis, and reduces swelling. Purple rice nourishes the kidneys, yam strengthens the spleen, and red beans fortify the heart and aid fluid metabolism. Ideal for menstrual health, weight loss, and overall wellness.
II. Foods to Avoid During Menstruation
Prickly ash, cloves, black pepper: During menstruation, consume mild, neutral-flavored, nutrient-rich foods. Avoid highly stimulating spicy foods, as they may cause blood vessel dilation, potentially leading to early menstruation or excessive flow.While spices like Sichuan pepper, cloves, and black pepper enhance flavor in cooking, they should be avoided during menstruation. Consuming these pungent, stimulating foods may lead to dysmenorrhea and excessive menstrual bleeding.
Watermelon: Women should refrain from eating watermelon during their period. In traditional Chinese medicine, watermelon is considered a cold-natured food. Consuming it during menstruation can harm the body.
Persimmons: Containing tannic acid, persimmons readily bind with iron, hindering the body's absorption of dietary iron. Since women lose significant blood during menstruation and require iron supplementation, persimmons are unsuitable for consumption.
Pears: Avoid excessive consumption of raw pears during menstruation. Pears are cold in nature and may cause dysmenorrhea or prolong menstrual flow.
Crabs: Crabs are highly cooling, capable of clearing heat, cooling the blood, and dispersing stasis. Women should avoid raw, cold, or cooling foods during menstruation, especially those with cold-type dysmenorrhea.
Snails: Highly cooling in nature, they clear heat. Avoid cold foods like snails during menstruation.
Salt: Consuming excessively salty foods before menstruation is harmful. Such foods increase salt and water retention in the body, potentially causing headaches, agitation, and irritability prior to menstruation.
In summary, during menstruation, avoid cold and raw foods. Traditional Chinese Medicine holds that blood flows with warmth but stagnates with cold.Consuming raw or cold foods during menstruation hinders digestion and damages the body's yang energy, leading to internal coldness. This cold stagnation impedes blood flow, resulting in scanty menstruation or even dysmenorrhea. Even during the hottest summer months, cold beverages should be avoided during menstruation. Cooked and warm foods are preferable during this period. In winter, mildly warming foods like lamb, chicken, or longan may be consumed in moderation.