Period Health: The Essential Nutrients
There are quite a few essential micronutrients - vitamins and trace minerals- that are required for period health. All can be obtained through diet however if you are not eating certain food groups they may need to be supplemented. Here they are.
Magnesium
Often considered the #1 supplement for periods. Magnesium is an incredible mineral and the good news is that it is found readily in our food. Food sources include nuts, seeds and leafy green vegetables.
Did You Know:
Fats are the building blocks of our hormones.
Magnesium is important for the nervous system and aids with sleep. It regulates the Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal Axis (HPA) and improves the function of insulin and thyroid hormones. It is anti-inflammatory and promotes the healthy metabolism of estrogen.
The bad news is that stress actually causes our body to dump this mineral and so we can quite quickly become depleted. Annoying when it is really the time you need it the most as magnesium has a calming affect. Modern day stressors come at us from all angles and so often that we can’t seem to replenish our stores quick enough. In the past, we would have had time to replenish these magnesium stores between stressful events through our diet of green leafy vegetables etc., however stress is more chronic than before and so that’s not always possible. There are also environmental toxins that can deplete magnesium and so another factor to consider.
How do I know if I am deficient?
There is no test to show if you have a deficiency. Magnesium is stored inside the cells and so a blood, urine or hair test will not be able to tell you much. It is often advised to take a supplement and see how you feel. 300 mg is the dose, recommended after food.
Zinc
I love this nutrient. It plays a role in so many aspects of our health including fertility. Deficiency has been shown to affect period health, cause PMS and periods pain. Similar to Magnesium, Zinc is also anti-inflammatory and regulates the stress response (HPA Axis). What I find the most fascinating is that zinc nourishes the egg directly. It is found in the follicular fluid surrounding the eggs and has been found to promote healthy ovulation and progesterone. It is also responsible for the synthesis, transport and action of all hormones including thyroid hormone. It is also a natural androgen blocker.
The important thing to note about zinc is that it comes from animal products like red meat and it cannot be stored in the body. Meat is the best source of zinc and so vegetarians are likely to be deficient. Zinc levels can be checked by a simple blood test and if a deficiency is found, supplementation of 30 mg can be given.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is a steroid hormone. It regulates more than 200 genes in your body and is really important for your general health and your fertility. It helps you to absorb calcium and is essential for both healthy insulin sensitivity and ovulation. Correcting a deficiency is so so important when trying to conceive.
Vitamin D is synthesised from a cholesterol precursor (hence the importance of healthy fats in the diet) when your skin is exposed to UV light (sunshine). Certain things such as being overweight or obese, chronic inflammation and magnesium deficiency can all interrupt this synthesis. If you experience any of the following symptoms you could have a Vitamin D deficiency:
8 signs and symptoms of vitamin D deficiency.
Getting sick or infected often
Fatigue and tiredness. Feeling tired can have many causes, and vitamin D deficiency may be one of them
Bone and back pain
Depression
Impaired wound healing
Bone loss
Hair loss
Muscle pain
A simple blood test to check for 25-hydroxy vitamin D can assess your levels. Levels should be between 30-50 ng/mL and if you are deficient, a dose of about 2,000 IU can be prescribed by your doctor to increase your levels. Food sources of Vitamin D include egg yolks and mackerel.
Melatonin
Melatonin is responsible for sleep and it’s made in the pineal gland in the brain. Studies have found that 3 mg of Melatonin daily can reduce the rate at which egg quality declines. It does this by reducing the oxidative stress found at the level of the oocyte (egg) and the fluid surrounding it. Inflammation is detrimental to our overall health and so reducing this as well as oxidative stress can help with egg quality and period health. A recent phase II double blind placebo controlled randomised trial has shown that melatonin can help reduce chronic pelvic pain in women with endometriosis potentially through its effects on brain-derived neurotrophic factor and beneficial effects on sleep quality. Melatonin has also been found to play a role in PCOS by protecting the ovarian follicles from oxidative stress and promote ovulation. After 6 months of treatment, melatonin seems to improve menstrual irregularities and biochemical hyperandrogenism in women with PCOS through a direct, insulin-independent effect on the ovary. Based on their results, melatonin could be considered a potential future therapeutic agent for women affected by PCOS.