How to Stop Heavy Periods Naturally
Heavy periods are characterized by:
-A period lasting longer than 7 days
-Losing more than 80 mL of blood per cycle (or 16 regular tampons or pads)
-Changing tampons or pads every hour or two
-Needing to double up on period protection products
-Having to wake up to change your tampon or pad in the night
-Planning activities around your heavy period
-Blood clots the size of a quarter or bigger
Heavy periods can be a huge burden on your daily life and can make the time of month very stressful. In addition, heavy periods can be a signal that something deeper is going on the body. Any physical symptom that is outside of the norm, should always be looked into because it can be a sign that there is an imbalance in the body. If you want to know how to stop heavy periods naturally, here is a list below to help you out.
How to Stop Heavy Periods Naturally:
1. Uncover Your Root Causes
-First, it’s important to understand what may be out of balance in the body and contributing to your heavy periods. This is why uncovering your root causes is the first step for how to stop heavy periods naturally.
-Hypothyroidism
Hypothyroidism is when your thyroid is under-functioning, meaning that it is not producing enough thyroid hormones noted as T3 and T4. A study has found that women who have hypothyroidism also have more menstrual issues and irregularities, specifically heavy periods. The reason that women experience a heavy period with hypothyroidism is that both estrogen and the T3/T4 hormones can have an effect on each other because they are both related to fat metabolism. When estrogen is out of balance in those with hypothyroidism, this can cause heavy bleeding during menstruation.
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-Fibroids
Fibroids are noncancerous growths that can occur in the uterus. This can cause heavy bleeding because the mass can press against the uterine wall causing the endometrium to release more blood during menstruation.
Source: Harvard Health
-Adenomyosis
Adenomyosis is when there is an invasion of the endometrium into the myometrium which is the muscular layer right next to it causing the uterus to be enlarged. This condition is usually diagnosed in women in their 40s or 50s, and the cause is not entirely understood. The heavy periods and pelvic pain occur due to inflammation and swelling of the uterus.
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-Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
Pelvic inflammatory disease or (PID) is when you have an infection in the reproductive organs which causes inflammation. This disease can be avoided by wiping front to back while using the bathroom and practicing safe sex. It can cause heavy periods. Specific mechanisms for the increased heavy bleeding is not currently clear, but a proposed idea is that the inflammation increases estrogen levels which can lead to increased heavy periods.
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-Endometriosis
If endometriosis is your root cause for heavy periods, this is a sign of estrogen dominance. Endometriosis is a condition where there is a growth of endometrium tissue outside of the uterus, typically in the fallopian tube, vaginal canal, or ovaries. This tissue is estrogen-sensitive and higher levels of estrogen cause increased menstrual flow and pelvic pain.
Source: 26695831
-Iron Deficiency
Another one of the root causes of heavy periods is iron deficiency. This is because iron functions in the blood and its job is to help red blood cells carry oxygen around the body. If you have a heavy period you are losing substantially more iron than you would if you had a normal flow.
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-Estrogen Dominance
Estrogen dominance is when there is a higher ratio of estrogen to progesterone. The different forms of estrogen dominance are high estrogen low progesterone, high estrogen normal progesterone, and normal estrogen and low progesterone. Heavy bleeding can be caused by estrogen dominance. Heavy bleeding is caused by polyps which are when there is enlarged tissue growth in the endometrial cavity. Estrogen functions to build up the endometrial wall for menstruation, so heavy menstrual bleeding is another one of the signs of high estrogen.
Source: 26695831
FREE pain-free period 5-day MEAL PLAN:
2. Implement nutrition and lifestyle shifts:
-Reduce conventional meat (opt for organic and grass-fed red meat as available)
Grass-fed organic meat is another one of the foods that are beneficial in how to stop heavy periods naturally. The livestock animals on factory farms (not grass-fed organic) are produced to grow as big and fast as possible in order to produce the most amount of meat per animal. These animals are fed large quantities of feed and additionally are supplemented with antibiotics, and growth hormones like estrogen to make them grow faster and bigger. A study found that though the estrogen level in these meat products does not match the amount of estrogen in oral contraceptives, the estrogen in the meat transfers at a significant amount to humans. This estrogen that transmits to humans can be a cause for estrogen dominance. Because of this, it is recommended to shop for grass-fed and organic meat when you can. These meat options are made from animals who were not mass-produced with hormones, and they were fed their preferred diet which is grass. This way, you can lower estrogen and decrease heavy periods.
Source: Journal of Oncology
-Cruciferous Vegetables
Cruciferous vegetables include broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and more. These foods are vital for how to stop heavy periods naturally. These vegetables are noted as one of the foods for estrogen detoxification. Estrogen detoxification is the process the liver undergoes in order to excrete the estrogen to maintain normal levels, and this leads to normalized hormone levels and less heavy periods.
Indole-3-Carbinol (I3C) is the main compound in many cruciferous vegetables. A study found that participants who were given the I3C, had decreased concentrations of metabolites that would activate the estrogen receptor, which shows that it can lower estrogen naturally.
Sulforaphane is another compound found in cruciferous vegetables. A study found that sulforaphane has protective effects against pathways that lead to carcinogenic effects from high estrogen by inhibiting estrogen-induced DNA damage.
-Iron-Rich Foods
Heavy bleeding causes a lot of blood loss, and you are therefore losing a lot of iron. Include iron-rich foods in your diet to compensate for the blood loss. It is important to incorporate both types of iron in your diet as well to get the most benefit. Plant foods contain non-heme iron, and animal sources contain heme iron. Non-heme sources include spinach, kale, nuts, and seeds. Heme sources include lean meats and fish. This is why consuming iron-rich foods is one of the ways for how to stop heavy periods naturally.
Source: 30504337
-Adequate Fiber
Another way for how to stop heavy bleeding naturally is to consume adequate fiber. As you increase fiber intake you will increase bowel movement bulk, frequency, and you will decrease each movement’s duration. Estrogen gets eliminated through the body by detoxifying in the liver, and then it is sent to the gut to be excreted. Fiber is beneficial for gut health and supporting estrogen excretion to decrease total estrogen levels in the body. This is why intaking adequate fiber is one of the ways for how to stop heavy periods naturally.
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-Colorful Fruits & Veggies
Colorful fruits and veggies contain lots of antioxidants and are important for how to stop heavy periods naturally. Antioxidants function to decrease oxidative stress and inflammation. Oxidative stress damages cells and reduces their ability to function by altering DNA structure. Reactive oxygen species are the villains that cause oxidative stress. Oxidative stress occurs when there is an imbalance in this system, either too many reactive oxygen species or not enough antioxidants. Our body can make certain antioxidants on its own, but if we consume them through the diet this makes the antioxidants more readily available to get rid of the reactive oxygen species and decrease oxidative stress. When this oxidative stress occurs, there is no priority for other body functions, like estrogen detox, to occur because the main mission is to decrease oxidative stress. This is why consuming foods with antioxidants in the diet makes them one of the estrogen detox supplements.
-Balance Blood Sugar
Balanced blood sugar is very vital for how to stop heavy periods naturally. In an unbalanced blood sugar state, our levels will have lots of steep high and low points causing the ‘lunch rush’ followed by a mid-day crash. Over time, the unbalanced sugar and insulin levels lead to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.
Insulin is a hormone and needs to be produced in a balance just like every other hormone. When insulin is produced too much then this can lead to other hormone imbalances like estrogen and testosterone which can lead to a heavy period after stopping birth control.
Ways to manage it are to eat smaller meals more frequently, normalizing sleep schedules, and include a protein, fat, and a fiber component in every meal.
Source: 16353672
-Nontoxic Products
Another way for how to stop heavy periods naturally is to use nontoxic products. Toxic products contain xenoestrogens, which are chemicals that have a structure similar to estrogen. They are so similar that they can cause the same effects that our normal estrogen would in the body. This is why non-toxic products can help to lower estrogen naturally to avoid heavy periods. You may not know, but many of your daily household items contain these xenoestrogens.
Start slow, don’t throw out all your toxic products all at once, begin by just using hair care alternatives, and then slowly incorporate more nontoxic products in other avenues in your house. To find which products to use, you can the EWG skin deep database or Think Dirty app to check out your products
Here are some examples of some products and ingredients to stay away from.
Sunscreens: 4-methylbenzylidene (4-MBC) and Benzophenone
Shampoos, face washes and lotions: If they contain parabens
Plastic packaging: BPA, phthalates, DEHP, PCBs
Food: Artificial dyes, and BHA a preservative
Cleaning supplies: ammonia, nitrobenzene, formaldehyde, phenol,
Building Supplies: PCBs in paints and electrical oils
Insecticides: Atrazine weed killer, dieldrin, endosulfan
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-Turmeric
Turmeric contains a bioactive ingredient called curcumin which is the compound that helps with how to stop heavy periods naturally. Curcumin is best known for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. It helps to reduce inflammation and scavenges free radicals that can damage cells. Moderate or severe cramping along with heavy periods can be an indication of inflammation in the body. The antioxidant effects are beneficial to reduce the internal stress response which can balance out progesterone and estrogen, which results in decreased inflammation.
Curcumin is not absorbed well in the bloodstream. Combining turmeric with black pepper or looking for curcumin supplement formation with black pepper or piperine can enhance the absorption of curcumin. Piperine is the bioactive compound found in black pepper that has been shown to increase the absorption of curcumin
-Support Gut Health
Supporting gut health is also important for how to stop heavy periods naturally. The gut is made up of a variety of different bacteria that aid digestion, and it is fueled by fiber. This bacteria is good, and we want a broad diversity of it in order to digest foods. Gut dysbiosis is when there is an imbalance in the number of bacteria in the intestines. Healing the gut will aid to decrease constipation, bloating, and will lower estrogen naturally to prevent heavy periods. Additionally, you can absorb nutrients much better with a healthy gut, which promotes detoxification when you consume nutrients like B vitamins and magnesium.
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