No Boys Allowed

As the title suggests, this post is for ladies only, so if you are not a member of my gender, close this page right now or read on at your own peril. 

Those who know me well know that I have a raging passion for the empowerment of women. I love being a woman and I think that we have a lot to offer the world, but our inherent skill set and unique point of view are chronically underutilized. There are so many beautiful things that come from womanhood, but there are some aspects of it that are not so pleasant, one of the most prominent of which comes from the systems that has come to most define our sex, namely a certain monthly visitor. 

I also have a deeply-seeded love and appreciation for the body I have been given. Having taken many classes on the human body and its inner workings has led me to believe that it is truly God's greatest creation. A highlight of the body is the reproductive system: a system that carries out a process so intricate and temperamental that it is truly a miracle that any of us were born at all. It is surely something for us to marvel at, and I am particularly grateful for the opportunity that it will allow me in the future to create and nurture my own children. However, I wish that Heavenly Father could have spared us females the month torture that is the menstrual cycle. Seriously, it sucks. 

A remarkably accurate representation.

This was on my mind yesterday because it was the repro lecture in my pathophysiology class and we looked at problems like dysmenorrhea and other such plagues. I also spoke to one beautiful woman whose uterus was taking a particular beating this month. Finally, I stumbled across this clever website. 

The Period Store was founded by a couple of clever gals (thankfully) who wanted to help a sista out. The gist of it is you pay between $15-$30 to receive a custom package right before your period. Depending on which package you choose, it comes with a feminine hygiene product of your choice, an artisan sweet, a print of a piece of custom artwork celebrating womanhood, sample packs of medications (which must invariable be some variation on Midol), and tea packets. You can buy one package or set up a subscription and get a package every month timed to your cycle. They also have a blog so funny that even the most dignified madame can't help but snicker at it.
 

Some of the offerings

Personally, I think it's a clever idea. However, I'm poor so there's no way I would pay cash-money for that stuff. Instead, I decided to look into dietary solutions for dysmenorrhea. (I know, you were wondering when food was going to come in.)

Painful cramps and other such symptoms have a number of causes. Causes include those nasty prostaglandin E's, levels of which can skyrocket to 10 times normal in a woman experiencing a painful period, as well as some nutrient deficiencies.

I did some quick research and found some interesting dietary and lifestyle changes that can have a positive impact on these pesky symptoms. I will link in different studies as their results are mentioned. For one, DON'T SMOKE. I actually found some mixed results in different studies in regards to smoking, but it's always a good habit to kick since it's bad for pretty much everything. 

Some of the other themes of changes that decrease menstrual pain and other issues that are probably more relevant to Mormon girls are an increased intake of calcium. This particular study used supplements, but dietary calcium absorbs better and greatly reduces the prevalence of side-effects from supplements. As an aside, some vegetables are good sources of calcium, but the body does not absorb it well, as opposed to calcium from dairy, which is readily absorbable. Short story short, stick to dairy for your calcium.

Another prominent finding in helping cramps was the consumption of omega-3 fatty acids. Good sources include fish, flaxseed (ground, not whole), walnuts, and others. Incorporating more fruits and vegetables was also found to be a protective factor. Interestingly, but not entirely surprisingly, excessive sugar intake was correlated with increased menstrual pain.

So the next time your uterus throws a hissy-fit, try putting some of these suggestions into action. All of these things have been shown to have wide-spread health benefits, so so them anyway regardless of whether they help with cramps, they're just plain ol' good for you.

Yeah, having your period sucks, but what marvelous blessings come from it in the form of the opportunity to be a be a woman and create. In your prayers or simply in the course of your day if you're not the praying type, take a moment to be in awe of your incredible body and thank God or Mother Nature for such a wonderful gift. And remember:

P.S. If you're not sure what exactly is going on in your body during your monthly rage-fest, come and talk to me, and I can give you a simple explanation. Plus, recipients of my run-down have said that it's pretty funny.