Am I the only one who feels extra on my period, and not in a good way! Extra gassy, extra bloated, extra hungry, extra everything, no? Just me? Surely not…
The monthly torment of “why am I so gassy on my period?” begins this week and, I mean, trying to cover up burps and farts is hard in public; my dog isn’t around to take the heat. Apparently, all of this bloated and gassy feeling during your period AND diarrhoea (yep, good ‘ol period poops) during your period is normal… Don’t get me wrong, I’m relieved, but really wish this wasn’t the norm.
What happens in our bodies that causes this?
So, who’s to blame for these bloody symptoms, pardon the pun. Once again the answer is hormones, isn’t everything hormone related these days! I’ve got a love-hate relationship with mine <3
Oestrogen is kicking up a fuss
You can thank oestrogen for the extreme bloating before or during your period, constipation and trapped wind. Ok, we’re talking about farts, we were just being polite. This is because the rise and fall of oestrogen slows down our ability to pass food through our intestine. All of this build up can cause our stomach to bloat during our period.
Progesterone's not far behind
And don’t think progesterone isn’t playing a hand in this either, oh no. Progesterone also peaks and falls which means you can go one of two ways:
- Constipation, farting and bloating, the same as oestrogen
- Or diarrhoea, liquid retention and more bloating.
We can’t catch a break! Safe to say, either way, there is a great explanation as to why we experience bloating and gas before our period and none of it’s our fault.
How to ease bloating during your period
Alright, enough of the problems, we want solutions goddammit...
How do we stop this trapped wind on our period? At least reduce it anyway:
1. Exercise - this is the cure to everything, when we exercise we don’t just get our legs moving but our bowls too. This will help if you’re feeling symptoms of constipation and gas.
2. Food - “you are what you eat”- isn’t that a saying? Right back to it, food, there are some foods that are just prone to making us fart simply because they have more fibre and fibre gets things moving. Usually, fibre is amazing to have in our diet, but maybe watch it for the days before and during your period as you may be extra sensitive. Foods to watch out for that contribute to that bloated and gassy feeling are beans, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, dairy and lentils.
3. Water - Linked with exercise and food, water pushes everything through the intestine and gets things moving which we like to hear. So try to stay hydrated as much as you can, ideally 2 litres everyday. Otherwise there is nothing in your body to push all that food through your system.
4. Slow down - some of us horse into our food and don’t stop until we see an empty plate, might have to do with the ‘if you’re not first you’re last’ mentality with siblings. This however is really bad for us as it causes a backlog if you know what I mean. Chew your food, don’t gulp it down. This will help your stomach and digestion process the food and push it through the intestine much more easily.
So, try some of our suggestions and let us know if they work. We are always open to hearing your stories and suggestions 😊