Do ice cream and chocolates or a packet of chips and pizza become your go-to foods right before you are due to get your period? Worry not, it’s a common symptom of Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) which can be managed; but have you ever tried to decode why it happens? Period or the menstrual cycle is a result of the hormonal changes taking place inside the body every month. Periods are said to be very closely associated with cravings, and menstruating females tend to binge on junk before the bleeding day.
This is because women experience a surge of progesterone, a hormone, before their periods. But there is more to it. According to Dr Vishaka Shivdasani, an award-winning nutritionist, “progesterone is a hormone that needs more glucose to function optimally” — the reason many women crave for carbs and junk food during that time of the year. “One also needs magnesium to make more progesterone, which also explains why we crave chocolate,” she added in an Instagram post.
Agreeing, Dr Smriti Jhunjhunwala, B.H.M.S, nutritionist, dietitian and founder of Vital Swasthya, said, “Periods or the bleeding of the uterus every month is the result of the functioning of two hormones, estrogen and progesterone. They are responsible for maintaining and shedding the lining of the uterus.” The expert added that PMS – -something a female usually experiences a week or two before her periods — “is due to the hormonal fluctuations (changes in the level of estrogen and progesterone) where the body shows changes in the mood, emotions, behavior and triggers the cravings for sugar and junk.”
The expert, however, pointed out that deficiency of certain vitamins, minerals, and insulin in the body can also lead to such cravings. “The estrogen spike provokes the body to have more carbs and progesterone boosts the cravings for sugar and chocolates as it needs glucose to function optimally. These cravings, called as pre-menstrual symptoms, improve once the period starts and disappear a few days later,” she told indianexpress.com.
SHOULD YOU GIVE IN TO THESE CRAVINGS?
While the fluctuating hormones demand sugar and carbs, it is not healthy to binge on sweets and processed food items. “Indulging in processed and junk food during PMS will only help satiate the cravings temporarily but in the long-term it is unhealthy,” Dr Jhunjhunwala added.
She further pointed out that processed foods will not show any rapid alterations in the body but “can lead to weakening of bones, poor bowel habits, fluctuating blood pressures, high cholesterol levels. It can also open the gate for chronic diseases like diabetes, obesity, and heart related diseases”.
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO WHEN CRAVING SUGAR AND CARBS?
Dr Shivdasani advised not to over exercise a week before your period because that hugely “increases the cortisol spike, which actually worsens your symptoms and even the cravings”. She, in fact, advised consuming fruits and other natural forms of sugar to satiate the cravings rather than going for processed sugar.
Dr Jhunjhunwala added, “Chips and snacks can be switched with home baked chips, roasted makhanas or bhel. Ice creams and cakes, which are considered to be the most satisfying, can be swapped with Greek yoghurt of different flavours with dry fruits in it”.
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