"The Flood"

Health Amplified

“The flood”

The flood, the plague, the red tide, that time of the month, having a period, or better known as menstruation. These are all secret code words between women which have bonded us together into womanhood.

For most girls and women, having a period is a one week a month episode with a few aches and pains. For others, it can come across as a debilitating disease, where life get’s influenced drastically. Continuous spotting, bleeding non-stop for a month, pain and extreme fatigue due to prolonged blood loss. Let’s have a look at nutrition etc and see how we can bring some kind of relief.

The first thing we need to look at is your omega oil intake. These oils feed your endocrine/hormonal system and helps keep it happy. Feed it the wrong oils and you will cause disruption. Omega oils are found in cold pressed flaxseed oil, cold pressed salmon oil, cold pressed olive oil, avo’s, nuts and seeds etc. No wonder we crave fatty food just before or during our periods. Our bodies need those healthy fats and oils to function optimally. We just need the correct source, and not heated, overly processed oils.

The second thing that we need to look at is our iron intake. Loss of blood means loss of iron. Symptoms can be pale skin and fatigue. Continuous bleeding can even lead to anaemia, if you don’t make up for it in your diet. Make sure that you stock up on beetroot and spinach. (See the beetroot recipe at the end). Have it mixed in with roasted vegetables, grated beetroot into salads, blended into smoothies or have fresh vegetable juices. I tend to avoid vegetable juices that are in a carton. The product has to be pasteurized and heated, so it is basically cooked vegetable juice. The taste is very contrasting if you had to compare the pasteurized product to fresh juice. A favourite of mine is pomegranate juice. It adds vitality and energy to your day! It is a bit pricy, but definitely worth it. Try the Woolworths brand or “Rush” glass bottled juice. “Rush” is sweeter where as Woolworths pomegranate juice has a tang to it.

You can supplement with iron tablets, but it may lead to constipation. I prefer sticking to a more natural wholefood form for better absorption.

Please remember that vitamin C helps with iron absorption, so make sure that you are eating lots of fruit and vegetables. We don’t get in enough fruit and vegetables. 

Barley grass contains valuable chlorophyll and is also anti inflammatory. Ginger and cinnamon are also wonderful ingredients to include on a daily basis. These also act as anti inflammatories, are pain relieving and cleanses your system. Add 2 cinnamon sticks and 2 rooibos tea bags to a flask. Pour over boiling water. Let it stand for 2 hours before taking half a mug every now and then. You can add some plant based milk if you want to. The cinnamon also aids circulation and warms you up. Cinnamon is a natural sweetener, so no need to add any.

Stay away from junk food as far as possible. It is high in sugar and heated oils. It can throw your endocrine system out of sync, leaving you feeling more miserable with worse PMS than what you should be having. Refined flours including white bread is devoid of nutrients, rather fill up on wholegrains like brown rice, oats, buckwheat, millet etc. These will fill you up and provide the good carbohydrates that your body needs for fuel.

Calcium lessens PMS symptoms and magnesium helps to relax your muscles. Remember that calcium is also found in fruit, vegetables and almonds, not just in dairy.

Not all of our cycles are regular, which can put a lot of stress and worry on ourselves. There is assistance available alongside a wholefood predominantly plant based diet.

I love essential oils and it has become a part of our household! A drop of geranium oil mixed into a little coconut- or olive oil and rubbed onto your lower abdomen and back can bring relief from pain, stabilizes moods by helping to balance your hormones. Frankincense oil and lavender oil are also anti inflammatory and pain relieving. We use geranium oil during the day, and frankincense and lavender during the evening because it relaxes you so much. Myrrh oil helps with the onset of menstruation if it is delayed.

And then lastly, moderate exercise. Exercise and stretching are stress relieving activities, it releases feel good hormones and helps to ease aches and pains.

I’m sure we all have some or other embarrassing period stories to tell! If all else fails, then there is nothing like a hot water bottle, cosy blanket and some dark chocolate!

Lizelle

Recipe:

Roasted beetroot and gnocchi

Our kids have loved this since they were toddlers, asking for “pink gnocchi”. The beetroot colours the gnocchi pink when mixed! This is a lovely winter dish and a way to incorporate beetroot that kids will enjoy. Gnocchi is a type of small, Italian potato dumpling.

-Cook beetroot, peel and cut into cubes.

(You can buy whole cooked beetroot if you are short on time.)

-Place in a roasting pan.

-Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

-Add some garlic and sprinkle with pink salt.

-Roast until slightly shriveled and soft.

-Cook gnocchi according to package instructions in salted boiling water.

(Or try to make your own from scratch.)

-Gnocchi is cooked when it floats on the surface of the water.

-Remove with a slotted spoon and incorporate the gnocchi into the roasted beetroot in the pan. Incorporate until it turns pink!

-Taste and add more salt and balsamic vinegar if needed.

-Don’t forget some freshly ground black pepper.

-The men in the family can also enjoy this one, even if it is pink…!!