Hi all I am wondering if you all know of any healing foods or remedies for menstrual cramps. I just went raw 2 weeks ago and just started my period. I have always gotten horrible cramps every month since I hit puberty. I always have to take ibuprofen for the pain and don't want to do that anymore. I know as I continue eating living foods that the cramps should lessen. Are there any foods in particular that are known for relieving menstrual cramps? Herbs would be a second choice for me, after food or beverage first.

Two things really helped me; the first is I stopped crossing my knees. A chiropractor told me to do it - he said that it tilts the uterus so the cervix doesn't open right. It started helping within a couple of months, and I've never looked back.

The second is I have started massaging the accupuncture point on the insides of my knees. The point is towards the inside bottom of the front of your knee; it's tough to explain over the internet, but here goes.

Stand up and rest your hands, fingers together, right on your knees, with the palms on your kneecaps. Your fingers should be pointing down towards your feet. Now move your index and middle fingers about three inches inwards, kind of like spreading your hands for the vulcan greeting. Your two fingers should be resting approximately over the pressure points. When you massage those points, if you're in the right place it will either feel sore or numb. Massage for a minute or two a few times a day (you might have to feel around a bit to find the right spots, but you should know when you've found them). But be careful, I often get a flood a few minutes to an hour later!

Another way to find the points is they are about an inch or so down and towards the front from the point where your knees meet when you press your legs gently together.

Raspberry tea is supposed to be helpful. You might check on adding some source of Iodine daily especially during those days. Seaweeds, powdered kelp, are good sources.

Hope you feel better soon.

Love,
Prism

Seabucktho- that's a great tip about the knee crossing thing Why do any of us cross our legs anyway? it's such a weird pose!

Musicbebe- try adding a lot more iron into your diet (dark greens i.e. spinach, kale). The difference it makes is amazing! You could probably have a big spoon of molasses as well or instead of. I know it's not raw, but it's better to have the odd spoon of molasses than taking aspirin/paracetemol etc (IMHO). Spinach is the safer bet though

Hi y'all,

Thanks musicbebe for starting this thread!

The women in my community going raw have had surprisingly different menstral experiences. One woman, the same age as me, 31, had always had incapacitating cramps from her first menses. She was in terrible pain and bled a lot each month. After going mostly raw, her pain and cramping decreased and her flow was more normal. She says that generally the more raw she is, the easier her cycles are.

I was at the other end of the spectrum. Before going raw, I rarely had cramps and had a light, short blood flow, sometimes only 3-4 days. When I went 100% raw, I started having increasingly painful periods. I went to my naturopath, and we tried different supplements - magnesium, zinc, etc... I was having green smoothies with lots of spirulina every day, a wide range of fruits and veggies, and couldn't figure out why this was happening. I ate a decent amount of seaweeds, and also a good range of oils including omega-3's.

After about a year I was at the point of using tylenol or similar to help deal with the pain, it was so intense.

Finally I asked my doctor to test me (with kinesiology) for iron deficiency. I had noticed I was getting bruises pretty easily. I was low. Apparently iron deficiency is a slow process that I attribute to the previous 5-6 years, when my diet had changed from including meat and dairy to mostly vegetarian/raw. I used the iron supplements for a couple months. Also during this time, I moved from 100% raw to 95% raw. I'm not sure what made the most difference, but now my periods vary from almost painless with just light cramping to medium cramping and pain.

I've heard from other women in my community that using molasses or Floradix for the week before their periods helps to boost the iron and they experience less pms and cramps. Worth a try.

I thought for awhile when I was getting such intense cramps that it was deep detoxing. Its hard to say. I've done a lot of major cleansing over the past few years, so it seems like if anything over time the menstral cramps should have gotten better. But it was just getting worse and worse, which leads me to think that it was an increasing nutrient deficiency.

Hope this info helps other women figure out what can work for them!
Tandi

For me, I only get cramps when I'm lacking calcium and probably magnesium. Even before raw, I got into the habit of eating yogurt for calcium before my period and that always prevented cramps... Now I just supplement with calcium around that time to prevent it

I had awful, awful cramps until I cut out all refined sugar from my diet--non-raw candies. I actually discovered this by accident, I was too poor to buy sweets So it helped me take my diet to a new level. I really do see white suagr as evil since I know it caused my cramps.

So the raw diet should help substantially. We are lucky to menstruate since it is a form of detox. But I know how awful and rough and strong a detox it can be. Hopefully it will get better as your body gets cleaner.