Many people suffer from period discomfort on a monthly basis. Although pain management and hormone therapy can be successful, they are frequently associated with negative side effects. Anecdotal data suggests that for some people, changing their diet to eliminate gluten-containing foods may be the answer.
Why do periods hurt?
Humans, several monkeys and bats, and even the little spiny mouse, which, incidentally, also suffers from premenstrual syndrome, are among the 2% of animals that menstruate. They all have one thing in common: they spend a lot of money on pregnancies that result in just one or two babies.
The placenta, which connects to the wall of the mother's uterus, provides all nourishment to the developing embryo. The thick lining that forms during the menstrual cycle prevents the placenta from passing through, causing permanent damage to the uterine wall.
If an egg is not fertilized, the lining breaks down and is shed, and a new lining forms to prepare for the next pregnancy opportunity. Menstruation, the process by which this "unused" endometrial tissue is eliminated from the body, occurs in certain mammals.
“The pain is from the inflammatory response when the uterus lining is shed”, Sally King of Menstrual Matters, a nonprofit online information hub, told MNT.
Females did not have many periods before modern times because they presumably spent the majority of their adult life pregnant or breastfeeding. As a result, they may only experience about 100 periods in their lifetime.
Between puberty and menopause, most women now have over 400 periods. If they experience severe pain on a monthly basis, it can have a significant impact on their lives.
Dr. Cohen added, "The difficulty is that periods have long been a taboo subject." “We need to get the word out about them”.
The treatment of period pain
“Treating period discomfort is frequently trial and error for doctors,” Dr. Cohen stated.
“First and foremost, we must determine if the pain is primary, with no evident clinical explanation, or secondary, with an underlying illness such as endometriosis or fibroids that requires treatment.” – Dr. Polly Cohen.
“We start with paracetamol [acetaminophen] for basic pain. If that doesn't work, we'll try nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medicines (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen and mefenamic acid,” she explained.
These may help for some people, but they are not a long-term solution.
Dr. Cohen continued, “Taking NSAIDs for a long period can create stomach problems like ulcers, so we switch to hormonal controls like the birth control pill or coil, which can work well for certain women.”
But what if you've done everything and nothing seems to be working? Eve informed MNT that she went from acetaminophen to NSAIDs to the birth control pill after starting with acetaminophen:
Pain[relievers] take a bit to set in, so unless you know when the pain will strike, you'll be in agony for around half an hour before they kick in, leaving you weary for the rest of the day. My period discomfort was unaffected by birth control tablets. I was at a loss for what to try next.
A change in diet?
“After I graduated from high school, I obtained a job in Germany caring for two young boys,” Eve explained. “One of them [had celiac disease] and needed to stay away from gluten in his diet. The entire household was gluten-free because even a trace of gluten could make him extremely ill.”
Eve said, "I was so busy looking after the boys that I hadn't noticed my periods for a couple of months before I realized I'd been there for a couple of months before I realized I'd scarcely noticed my periods." “Because the mother is a doctor, I questioned if the gluten-free diet could have helped with the pain.”
“She stated she couldn't locate any clinical studies on it, but the girl who had worked for them before me had observed the same thing - no period pain and significantly shorter, lighter periods,” –EveEve followed a gluten-free diet with her family while in Germany, but ate regularly outside the house: "I wasn't completely avoiding wheat [...] but I was obviously eating a lot less than usual." But I had almost no menstrual pain for those six months.”
“My period pain was so awful, I was referred for an ultrasound to assess if I had endometriosis,” Paige, 21, told us. Thankfully, I don't have that.”
She subsequently attempted to cut down on her gluten consumption.
“It's easy to live off pasta and bread as a student,” she mused, “but I found alternatives, such as rice, quinoa, and rye bread.”
Paige remarked, "The difference was remarkable." “My periods are so much simpler, and I don't have the horrible side effects of the birth control pill - spots, breakthrough bleeding, and weight gain.”
What does science have to say about it?
“While there is little scientific proof that wheat or gluten in the diet affects period pain,” Sally King explained, “we do know that an anti-inflammatory diet can lessen period pain and blood loss.”
“High-inflammatory diets, which include a lot of processed foods, coffee, alcohol, and meat, can definitely exacerbate pain and other cyclical symptoms,” she added.
“I also find that if I eat junk food or drink too much alcohol, my periods are worse,” Paige explained. “However, removing gluten from my daily diet has made a significant difference.”
Dr. Cohen stated that a link between gluten, wheat, and inflammation has previously been discovered by certain experts and that this could be why the diet adjustment succeeded.
She told MNT, "We've seen connections between nutrition and period pain." “A low-fat, vegan diet was proven to minimize period discomfort in one study, but it was a tiny trial, so we can't draw any definite conclusions,” she cautioned.
Dr. Cohen continued, "The problem with food studies is that it is very difficult to control for other things; that is why so few are done in this field."
She informed MNT that switching back to a low-gluten diet had made her pain-free again.
A gluten-free diet, however, may not be suitable for everyone. Dr. Cohen added that without additional scientific data, she couldn't advise patients to become gluten-free to relieve period discomfort because restricting one's diet could have unintended health consequences.
“It's difficult to totally eliminate wheat and gluten,” Eve said, “but I'm going to experiment with how much I can consume and whether cutting it out at certain times of the month works.”
She told us, "I've urged my sisters and a couple of friends who have horrible period pains to cut down on gluten, and they've really noticed a change."
Before modifying one's diet, a person should rule out an underlying cause for their period discomfort, and they should only do so after speaking with their doctor.
According to Dr. Cohen, though, cutting back on wheat or gluten may be worth a shot. “It might assist because the pain is caused by inflammation, and wheat products promote inflammation in some people,” she explained.
* Some contributors' names have been modified to protect their identity.