Five fun facts about your menstrual cycle

No. 1 — Your menstrual cycle starts from the first day of your period and ends with the start of your next period. 

The menstrual cycle is distinct from the days that you bleed which are called menstruation or your menses or period.  Some refer to it sacredly as “my moon” or some affectionately as “Aunt Flo.”  I know you probably know many more names for your menses.  Globally, there have been thousands of terms.  

No. 2 — You will have 150-450 menstrual cycles in your lifetime. 

The wide range can be accounted for by the amount of pregnancies and the length of breastfeeding.  Breastfeeding in most women – but not all – will delay the onset of menstruation after pregnancy.  Some girls experience menarche, your first menstrual cycle, at age 9, some at age 12, some even earlier and some later.  Menopause, the ceasing of menstruation, can start at age 45 or at age 55, some earlier, some later.  Keep in mind that a woman with shorter cycles will have more periods in a year versus a woman with longer cycles.

No. 3 — When it comes to blood flow, there are many variations of normal. 

In general, women bleed 1o to 80 ml of blood during menses.  If you bleed less than 10 ml of blood per menses, you are considered to have a scanty flow.  It could be due to stress! When stressed, the endometrial tissue does not have the time and energy to build.  If you bleed 80ml of blood per menses, you could be susceptible to iron deficiency anemia. One reason for heavy flow can be uterine fibroids which are non-cancerous tumors.  In general, if you are unhappy with the flow, it could be that your hormones are not happy.  You can work with your naturopathic doctor to balance your hormones naturally, so you don’t have to go on birth control.

No. 4 — Some of you can feel yourself ovulate. 

It feels like a dull ache, a sharp moving pain or a cramp on one side or the other.  It can last for minutes to hours.  This is called Mittelsmerz.  Ovulation comes in the middle of your cycle at the end of the follicular phase and the beginning of the luteal phase.  The follicular phase prepares for an egg to be released and the luteal phase prepares for a fertilized egg to be planted in the uterus.  If no fertilized egg gets planted, shedding of the endometrial lining occurs.  This shedding of the endometrial tissue is the bleeding during your period. 

No. 5 - The majority of women (84%) have period pain. 

Period pain can be cramps in the uterus, lower back pain, or shooting or numbing pain down the legs. In general, women who eat more fiber from vegetables have less period pain then women who eat more sugar and flour.  Foods from the brassica family such as broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and chard are very helpful to supporting period pain by helping you to clear out extra estrogens influencing your menstrual cycle.  Sugar has not nutritional value and is good for no one. It will increase inflammation, contributing to period pain.  Flour, because it is so processed can also negatively contribute to period pain.