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Menstrual Cycle

Tonight I engaged in a conversation with my uncle ( a Doctor) about protein. He explained that my lack of protein will challenge my body and have me skip cycles and become very weak/unhealthy. I was very eager to have a strong point, but I do not know much about this subject… and I fall victim to have skipped my monthly cycle since I have been raw. Any information would help greatly….

Thanks!

Comments

  • Hi Cole, This is always such a hot topic next to the b12 question. The thing is- are you limiting your protein intake drastically? Because there is a lot of protein in nuts, peas, sprouted beans, and even vegetables. The fact that most raw vegans are eating at least 10x the amount of vegetables as other people means we are getting 10x more protein (from vegetables). Personally, I shoot for 20 grams a day. Thats 3 cups of peas, or 3\4 of a cup of almonds used in a salad dressing, no oatmeal, or even a couple lemon cookies.

    What I have heard is people who limit their fat intake lose their periods. SO this could be a marathon runner who’s eating 50 to 100 grams of protein a day! What is more important to me is for a woman in particular to eat foods high in iron. Cashews and watermelon are good sources.

    http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/SR17…

    Here is a link for iron content from the USDA. It says that a cup of dandylion greens has as much iron as 3oz of ground beef. 1 oz of cheese has the same iron as an apple. 2 oz of pinenuts have more iron than 3 oz of ground beef. Scallions are high in iron, and Jerusalem-artichokes have 5 grams of iron per cup. (Try to get 10 grams a day)

    One teaspoon of parsely, cinnamon, or one teaspoon of celery seed has more iron than a cup of raw spinach- which most people think of as a high iron food.

    That list doesn’t even have a lot of the raw foods we eat like beets, asparagus or raw kale- which shows how limited the midset of those who put the list together.

    But as you can see there is iron in places you wouldn’t think. There is also protein- but of course I’d have to know exactly what you eat- and even then it’s hard to find all of the nutritional info on raw foods.

    Any more info from you would be great here as well.

  • kandacekandace Raw Newbie

    I found the book The China Study to be really helpful in learning about protein and health. A bit about what the book has to say (taken from his website – we keep giving away our copies of actual book),

    “I uncovered a dark secret. Children who ate the highest protein diets were the ones most likely to get liver cancer…

  • Wow thank you for the information. This very very helpful. Writeternity, I don’t intend to limit my protein, if I do. I thought I ate too many fats! :) I snack on nuts all day. I dont believe I get enough greens in though. I sometimes find myself only eating nuts and fruits. My uncle also told me that I should take supplements. I would not know what I needed, or even if I needed them. Again, I am sooo greatful for your responses and help. Thnk youu!

  • KristensRawKristensRaw Raw Newbie

    World Health Organization (WHO) recommends we get 10% of our daily caloric intake from protein. The longest living cultures in the world have 10-20% of their calories from protein, and it’s hardly even from animals.

    Menstrual cycles…some interesting info here… There has been some excellent research on the effect of diet and a woman

  • KristensRawKristensRaw Raw Newbie

    Green smoothies are a sure fire and easy way to get your greens and taste great, too.

    Cheers! Chef Kristen Suzanne www.KristensRaw.com

  • NuttgirlNuttgirl Raw Newbie

    I can only speak from my own personal experience but after being raw for a few weeks I do find that I am more regular with my periods. Last time I got my period after 31 days which is a rarity for me. Prior to going raw I used to get them every 45 to 60 days. When I was a vegetarian I used to eat a lot of soy based products…Boca burgers and hot dogs, soy bacon, and so on. I really think those soy based products screwed me up. I truly believe giving them up has done wonders for me.

  • My cycle used to be AWFUL. I would have it like every 2 months for like 2 weeks sometimes months at a time.They were extremely painful. Now since going 75percent raw..it is only 4 days and completely tolerable! If that doesn’t prove it..

  • This is great. I am very greatful I posted this here. I dont know why I am skipping my monthly cycle. Maybe my body is adjusting slowly. thank you again! :)

  • Hi Cole

    There is a lot of misconception about proteins. Don’t listen doctors about proteins, they usually recommend you to eat double size of the normal daily amount intake, I saw so many people with kidney and liver problems due to over eating of protein. If your weight is 50Kg for example your ideal amount of daily protein should be in my view 23 grams which you can easily reach without any problem, many people for example don’t know that also 3 tomatoes will give you approximately 4-5 grams of protein. You probably been told by our society that you need double amount of protein every day I often criticized when I talk about proteins with my friends, our society has been brainwashed in eating lots of animal proteins in order to grow stronger and healthier, that’s is one of the biggest deception in nutrition. I’m 78 kg and my ideal protein consumption is 37 grams of protein daily. I never over eat on proteins and I believe this is one of the reason I never get a cold or flu in 20 years.

    Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you need further infos.

    Best regards

    Dan

  • thanks for your insight on protein, dan. i just started reading “the china study” and this book also supports the fact that many ailments come from eating too much protein.

  • Hi Christine, very lovely dogs, which bread are they? I’m planning to get a dog was thinking about Fox Terrier not sure yet.

  • The China study is a great book, I recommend you and everbody to never over eat on protein, many people ignore the fact that majority of food contain protein, many people don’t know for example that 1 zucchini has around 2 grams of proteins, 2 oranges nearly 5 grams, 200grams of spinach nearly 6 grams, 200 grams of kale over 6 grams. they assume that fruit and vegetable don’t have any protein, I know of many people that because this misconceptions eat over 100 grams of protein daily, they don’t even realize it and some of them they also think to not take the right amount of proteins. Get a book on food composition and try not to eat more than your daily allowance of proteins then according to my formula you can find it by multiplying 0.47x for your weight in Kilos and I guarantee that you will notice great improvements in your health. The best, cleanest sources of proteins are green vegetables, seeds (hemp, flax, sesame, poppy, sunflawer, chia etc.) and of course all superfoods such as spirulina, blue-green algae, chlorella, bee pollen, maca, cacao beans, goji, hemp seeds, acai berries and young coconuts. Always make sure to have in your house some of this superfoods if not all. :-)

  • jenny2052jenny2052 Raw Newbie

    I thought this was a really interesting article on another thread:

    http://www.waldorfhomeschoolers.com/menstruatio…

    Going raw is the only thing that has made my periods bearable, too! I’ve had awful periods since I was a kid, and I have tried everything to help them, with no good results.

    The toxin connection really seems true to me. My period my first month of being raw was the worst one of my entire life (my period has always been sheer misery, so that is really saying a lot!). It was so painful I thought I was going to have to go to the hospital. I was a little worried, but I stuck it out because I thought it might be connected to detox. Sure enough, the next month it was drastically better than normal, and ever since it has only continued to improve. This past month it was almost eerie. Instead of what used to be 8-9 days of crippling pain and a huge quantity of blood, it was 4 days, with only one day of moderately heavy bleeding. Most of all, there were virtually NO clots! I cannot express my relief enough!

  • jenergyjenergy Raw Newbie

    Ooookay… so that explains why I have cramps from hell this month. I’m 4 days into being thisclose to fully raw (maybe 90%? not sure how to calculate that) and my period came yesterday, accompanied by these godawful cramps. I’m like you, jenny (even my name, haha) in that I’ve always had a rough time with my periods with cramps and mood swings and all that fun stuff, but this just seems worse than usual. Could also be that I’m really tired and headachy anyway from detoxing. At any rate, I’m going to bed as early as humanly possible tonight! I like that this thread is here and we’re all open enough to share about this stuff, it’s really helpful! :o)

  • Hi jenergy try this smoothy, I actually helped many of my friends suffering from painful period with this simple smoothie: mix in a blender water, watermelon, strawberry, raspberry, an hanful of parsley and spinach drink one liter 1-2 days before period and another liter shortly after the period, during period eat plenty of raw pumpkin, sunflower and sesame seeds which are extremely rich in magnesium.

  • jenny2052jenny2052 Raw Newbie

    Ugh, jenergy, so sorry to hear it. I hope you get to feeling better soon. Now that my period is down to a relatively low roar (it is still painful, though MUCH better than before), there are a few immediate things that help me. The best for relieving cramps is magnesium (like dan suggested). I actually still take a supplement form of it during my cycle. There are several types of magnesium sold: the best version I have found is Magnesium Asporotate (not Magnesium Aspartate, which is more common). It just seems to work the best for me. You can take up to 1200 mg a day (I do during PMS and day 1), but it does have a laxative effect, so you might start slower and work up to that if necessary. It is amazing because it helps both with muscular cramps and with mood. So not only do I feel less uncomfortable, but I also feel much calmer and more comfortable emotionally. Great stuff. Another way to get more magnesium is to take a hot bath with 1/4 cup or so of epsom salts. That way, the magnesium absorbs through the skin. Honestly, I have no idea why magnesium isn’t recommended for menstrual symptoms more often. It worked for me WAY better than B vitamins ever did. By the way, it’s also good for easing the general discomfort during detox!

    Just as an aside, another food high in magnesium is….chocolate! So there is a physiological impetus behind the cliche of women craving chocolate during their cycle. If you eat cacao, this is definitely the time to indulge!

    Omega 3s are also excellent for pain and muscle contractions – flaxseed oil is a terrific source (walnuts are good, too). I take a big spoonful of flaxseed oil whenever the pain is getting too bad and it really does help. Of course, fish oil is the most loudly talked about source of Omega 3s (and tests on fish oil have revealed that its pain blocking abilities are very similar to those of ibuprofen). However, less talked about is the fact that flaxseed oil has nearly twice the Omega 3s as fish oil! I find it very effective.

    Anyway, rest well, and I hope you feel better soon!

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