How To Grocery Shop In Sync With Your Menstrual Cycle

So you’ve been researching what type of foods to start buying to help you have a happier, more pain free menstrual cycle.

You may have come across a few different grocery lists of what you should buy for the different phases of the cycle which can help you learn how to properly fuel your body and work in harmony with your hormones. 

better cycle kit

$117.00

This science-backed, 3-step treatment is a game-changer for painful cycles and mood swings. Featuring belly jelly formulated with 100% organic castor jelly, a super-stretchy bamboo belly band to cover the jelly while it absorbs, and an aromatic flaxseed heat pad to improve absorption.… read more

waffle - $117.00 teddy - $117.00 black teddy - $117.00

It's important to know as well that your body is always communicating with you so is going to tell you what it needs and doesn’t need. As you continue to shop and eat in sync with your cycle, you will slowly get to a point where you start to understand your body in depth, so you know how to best care for it. 

There are 4 different phases of the menstrual cycle and it's important to consume different foods at different times to balance and optimize your hormones. On average these phases cycle through every 28 days but they can range anywhere from 21-35 days long and that is also entirely healthy!

A Brief Overview of The Phases

1. Follicular phase

The follicular phase actually starts the very first day of your period. After you bleed for 3-7 days, whatever your norm is, there is a small gland in your brain called the pituitary gland that starts producing a hormone called the follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). This hormone tells your ovaries to start maturing anywhere from 5-20 eggs within their follicles. When those eggs start maturing and building up, they cause the hormone estrogen & testosterone to be produced which helps build up the lining of your uterus. 

2. Ovulatory Phase

During your ovulatory, estrogen reaches its highest amount and causes the surge of a hormone called the luteinizing hormone (LH). LH then tells your ovaries to pick the healthiest egg to make its way into the fallopian tube. That egg will burst out and sit in the fallopian tube from anywhere, on the average, from 12-24 hours. After that, the egg goes away for the rest of the cycle.

3. Luteal Phase

After that chosen egg bursts out of it’s follicle, that follicle basically collapses in on itself like a black hole and creates something called the corpus luteum. The corpus luteum starts producing the hormone progesterone or, what people like to call, our ‘calming hormone.’ It’s main responsibility is to maintain our uterine lining up until our period starts.

4. Menstrual Phase

This phase is your period when you bleed. This happens when an egg did not fertilize and your uterine lining begins shedding because there was no baby that it needed to maintain. It is basically the monthly detox from your uterus. 

Now, that we have a basic understanding of the different hormones that are at play and what their basic role in terms of our reproductive health is, let’s talk about what kind of foods we can buy to support our menstrual cycle!

The biggest thing to remember with this food list is that you should eat a variety of these foods at all points in your cycle. Everything on this list is beneficial to your entire body. This list that I have created is to help give you an idea of varying foods that are supportive at different times. 

Follicular Phase

During the follicular phase, I love recommending for people to start increasing the colourful vegetable and fruit intake! This means eating the rainbow alongside eating more quality protein as protein helps support our egg development which is so important during this time. Also strive to incorporate a range of fats like hemp seeds and chia seeds are great for supporting your cervix as it begins to prepare for ovulation in the next phase. Also be sure to drink more water to continue to hydrate the cells in your body!

Ovulation Phase

During ovulation, focus on making sure you continuing to eat quality protein and eat the rainbow in terms of fruits & vegetables. Also start increasing your fats during this time, especially if you notice that you have trouble getting good quality cervical fluid as you get closer to ovulation!

Luteal Phase

The luteal phase, is where most people notice their various menstrual related issues such as endometriosis pain, breast tenderness, acne, bloating, constipation, mood swings, night sweats, headaches, migraines, etc. You may also notice that you start spotting which is a sign of low progesterone and typically, high estrogen. The key to supporting progesterone levels is supporting your liver! You will want to focus on quality fats and eat lots of dark greens. Be sure to start increase your protein and fats. 

Menstrual Phase

Now, lastly during your period you may be feeling tired and not wanting to put too much effort to making foods which is natural. We want to work on bringing nutrients back into our body that we lose due to our bleed.