What you eat may cause menstrual cramps

Although menstrual pain (dysmenorrhea) is the main reason adolescent girls miss school, few girls seek treatment
.
Analysis of relevant studies suggests that diet may be a key factor, especially diets high in meat, oil, sugar, salt and coffee, which have all been shown to cause inflammation
.
The results will be presented
at the NAMS Annual Meeting in Atlanta, October 12-15, 2022.

About 90% of adolescent girls experience period pain
.
Most people use over-the-counter medications to control pain, but the effect is limited
.
There is evidence that a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids and low in processed foods, oils, and sugar can reduce inflammation, which is a major cause of
dysmenorrhea.

This analysis aimed to study the effects of diet on dysmenorrhea and to determine which foods cause dysmenorrhea and which can reduce them
.
Researchers conducted research through a literature review and found multiple studies that looked at dietary patterns
that cause menstrual pain.
Overall, these studies found that diets rich in omega-6 fatty acids promote inflammation, while foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammation
.
The muscles in the uterus contract because of prostaglandins, which are active
in the inflammatory response.
When measuring the dietary inflammation index, vegetarians (which do not contain animal fats) were found to have the lowest
rates of inflammation.

"Studying the effects of diet on dysmenorrhea was initially intended to treat the dysmenorrhea that I personally experienced; I want to understand the science behind
this association.
Understanding that different foods increase or decrease inflammation and thus increase or decrease dysmenorrhea reveals that diet is one of many factors that
are often overlooked for health outcomes.
I hope this study can help those who are menstruating reduce the pain they experience and shed light on the importance of overall treatment choices," said Serah Sannoh, lead author of the poster presentation from Rutgers University
.

"Since period pain is the leading cause of school absences for adolescent girls, it's important to explore ways to
minimize pain.
Approaches like dietary modification can be a relatively simple solution that can provide them with substantial relief," said
Dr.
Stephanie Fobiang, medical director of NAMS.

Dr.
Faubion and Ms.
Sannoh are available for interviews
prior to the Annual Meeting presentation.

Founded in 1989, the North American Menopause Association (NAMS) is North America's leading nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the health and quality of life of all middle-aged women and older through an understanding of
menopause and healthy aging.
Its 2,000 multidisciplinary members, including clinical and basic science experts from medicine, nursing, sociology, psychology, nutrition, anthropology, epidemiology, pharmacy, and education, uniquely qualify NAMS to provide health professionals and the public with an authoritative resource
of accurate, unbiased information on menopause and healthy aging.
To learn more about NAMS, visit www.
menopause.
org
.