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Is this normal - raw athletic WOMAN experiencing NO monthly periods!!

I have always been very athletic…into cardio, weight training, yoga, etc. Ever since I went basically 100% raw (except for brewing tea in sometimes higher temp.’s), I don’t have periods anymore at all. I feel more energetic and healthier than ever. I do place more concentrated fat in my diet b/c I burn a lot of calories (from nuts, seeds, avocados, coconut, love cacoa…yum) along with the mounds of greens I consume and fruits and veggies. Even though I may eat more fat than some raw food enthusiasts would say is correct, it works for me; unless I eat too much all at one sitting. I’ve learned to measure out a portion. My point in talking about the fat part is that most people reply that I must not eat it or not enough. I eat plenty, but my body fat is probably around 10% b/c of my exercising. DOES ANYONE ELSE EXPERIENCE THE SAME THING? HAVE YOU BEEN GIVEN ANY LOGICAL AND ENCOURAGING INFO THAT THIS IS NORMAL DUE TO THE LIFESTYLE CHANGES?

Comments

  • Yes, from what I have read, it is okay. On the ‘Forums’ tab use the search box to search other threads about this. I would use words like ‘period’ ‘menstruation’ and ‘menopause’.

    Also there is an article floating around the internet. It is a bit sensationalist and I have not been able to track down the references cited, but the author makes an interesting point if you can sort through the sensationalistic writing.

    http://www.giveittomeraw.com/profiles/blog/show…

  • hey teagirl, yeah i’m pretty much the same way. i’m maybe 75% raw now, and i pretty much never get my period. maybe 3 times a year but only for like 1-2 days. i asked my doc about it and she said since my body fat was so low (10% ish) it’s normal. YAY!!!! :)

  • It is totally normal if you have a low body fat percentage! The same for me, my period lasts for only 1 or 2 days if there’s any.

  • pianissimapianissima Raw Newbie

    i started a similar thread a while ago. i went to ob/gyn and he was very impressed with my health, completely unconcerned with the fact that i hadn’t gotten a period in over 6 months… he was in a good position to notice anything that might suggest this was a pointer to a bigger issue but NOTHING. he said that the reason most women skip their periods (and in this case it is ALARMING) is that they are not producing enough estrogen, but this wasn’t my case…

    also, i had a very light one last month, so that was reassuring.

  • Slosh-uhSlosh-uh Raw Newbie

    I was thinking this exact same thing! I just got my first period in like 3 months yesterday, which sucks because I have a date tonight, but I’m glad its here.

    Good to know we’re all healthy chicas!

  • Thank you everyone!! And thank you redhouse for that article…I actually printed it for those days when your family and friends think your going to end up with brittle bones, osteoporosis, and start to resemble a man. In my opinion, eating a vegan raw diet is the only way to stay in optimal health and dis-ease free. Cooking foods, eating GMO and pesticide and herbicide sprayed foods, along with the quality of our dairy, meat, poultry, fish, etc., that have to be pasteurized, irradiated and cooked to death in order to be considered safe for human consumption according to the FDA is heading everyone towards cancer along with every other chronic ailment. At least some of us will still be kicking until our last days.

  • pianissimapianissima Raw Newbie

    i missed that article on the first perusal… WOW… neato!

  • yo teagirl—i think i want you to be my trainer/nutritionist!!! :)

  • hello ladies….i just joined and dont know much about being “raw” but i will contribute my two cents worth to kind of balance the discussion…...i have endometriosis so if this is true it would be a great strategy for dealing with that misery but…..from my understanding menstruation is a necessary evil if u will…..it happens for a reason to clean out the system and prepare for possible pregnancy….a detox ….the allopathic medical system is also promoting birth control that stops periods altogether and i consulted my naturopath who believes stopping the period is bad news….also i know that if someone is experiencing adrenal burnout syndrome that they will never recover on a vegan/veggie diet…..here is a link on that: http://www.drlwilson.com/Articles/adrenal_burno… ....i am past the burnout stage and into addison’s range but i am turning raw for a major part of my new diet/protocol but i do know that balance is important in everything….i am only suggesting that if your periods have stopped u might want to investigate this with a naturopathic doc just to be sure…..excessive exercise is a cause of adrenal burnout or adrenal problems….stress on the adrenals can result in lack of periods…so pls check it out:))))kat

  • Thanks cherrygold4life for the compliment!! I practiced as an oncology nurse for quite a few years, and what an eye opening experience it turned out to be. I quickly became disheartened by the whole field and it’s band aid approach to everything. The only time conventional medicine should be used – in my opinion – is for trauma/acute emergency situations and for diagnostic testing only…I would seek the treatment elsewhere. Now I focus on a natural approach to everything and have witnessed nothing but great things when done correctly, with proper lifestyle changes. It is amazing what the body can do when given simple, clean, raw nutrients…along with a positive mental attitude and proper sleep of course.

    Thank you kelticgoddess as well, although I strongly believe women who are dedicated to a raw lifestyle and eating what is right for them by listening to their bodies usually notice much improvement in their physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing. I cannot speak for everyone, but the signs and symptoms of adrenal burnout are exactly not what I have experienced since transitioning into a raw vegan lifestyle…it’s been the exact opposite. Therefore, for me, my lack of menstruating is most likely a direct result of the decreased stress and toxins on and in my system, and the ability of my system to now absorb and utilize all the vital nutrients rather than building them up and storing them in the wrong place.

  • pianissimapianissima Raw Newbie

    absolutely. a “necessary evil” for unclean bodies, but not for clean ones.

    there is however a difference between an unhealthy cessation of menstration and a good one… sometimes we are overstressed, overweight, underweight and our bodies cannot afford the loss of blood. but if there is no dirt there’s no reason to clean up so to speak…

  • Very well put pianissima!

  • AKAAuburnEyesAKAAuburnEyes Raw Newbie

    For the past 3 years I’ve been on a long journey to change my diet and improve my nutrition. Not due to any desire to lose weight but due to gluten and corn and dairy allergies that were plaguing me. All the changes were beneficial but there was room to improve even still.

    About 3 months ago the raw food lifestyle traversed across my periphery and got my attention. My husband and I are now averaging about 1 cooked meal per week, all the rest is raw and basically staying along the 811rv principle.

    My past 2 cycles arrived without me even knowing it, zero cramps, zilch. The first was shorter than my norm, the last one was 14 days late and again even shorter and zero cramps. This is a tremendous change from the near debilitating cramps and full on hemorrhaging I could barely keep up with. It is good to read that this is an indication of improving my health overall and not that something is wrong. I also am very active, as a personal trainer I make sure I practice what I teach :) and my body fat has dropped even more due to my nutrition. By no means is it unhealthy low though so I was becoming puzzled by the changes in my menstual cycle.

    Redhouse your link was a real eye opener, thank you for sharing it!

  • RawsikiRawsiki Raw Newbie

    Me too!!! I haven’t gotten my period in about 4 months! I thought it was something to really worry about (maybe it is). I have an appointment with a doc. to check things out, but I would be thrilled if I was told that it’s normal because I am so healthy! Another reason to go raw!

  • i’ve been reading a lot about FAM birth control, it talks about skipping periods because one does not ovulate. it said that its quite possible that ones body simply continues to produce progesterone and does not produce enough estrogen for the ovaries to release an egg (ovulation), so when one doesnt ovulate, one will not get their menses either… so if one does not get their period, then they do not ovulate, and they can not get pregenant? is this a natural method of birth control? or does a RAW diet lead to a missing of the menses for reasons other than a missed ovulation?

  • INHO - This is a natural function in our bodies. It is nature’s way. I would not worry. If you read other posts you will also read about your body fat percentage. If you want to get pregnant (not that you do) you might need to increase your body fat. I studied this in my anthropolgy classes decades ago and there is a ton of literature on the topic. If you start noticing your hair falling, muscle cramps and other oddities, you may need to take a look at what you are eating and making sure you are getting enough nutritional requirements from you diet.

  • I’m sorry kelticgoddess, but any diet which advises against eating fresh fruit and places emphasis on heavy meat and dairy consumption (like Dr. Wilson’a diets) flies in the face of what we know to be true about diet and human health. I respect your opinion and choices but I would implore everyone to use common sense when picking a diet. .

  • hi_im_kelsi: I’ve actually read online in a few different places about women on raw healthy diets still ovulating and being able to get pregnant. This may have some truth to it, b/c I have always used the rhythm method as an alternative to birth control and will still notice these changes – to a lesser degree though – happening. Sometimes I may even get that slight twinge some women notice on the right or left side of the lower abdomen where your ovaries are. Also, click the link redhouse provided above; that article may shed some light…it did for me.

  • Hi Kelsi. I love that article! Thanks for pointing it out. I have a degree in Anthrolpology and concur with the author. I’m not here to debate and prefer not to get pregnant :). I’m pasting the link here again for others to read if they choose. You look healthy. Enjoy Life.

    http://www.giveittomeraw.com/profiles/blog/show…

  • Rawrocks, you received a degree in anthropology so you should know the tremendous historical importance fertility, fertility rites, fertility cults and even menstruation itself has had on the world

  • Sureshot, I’m sure you mean well, but the point of this thread, and that great article linked here, is that periods aren’t ‘normal’ and can’t be classified as a ‘normal bodily function’, simply stating that they are doesn’t make it true. You seem to be well read, so must be aware that anthropology itself is a subjective study, and just because there have been cultural rites built around a particular lifestyle choice, doesn’t make any part of that an indispensable part of being human. Seeing as we are on the subject of anthropology, in Tamil society women who are menstruating are deemed ‘unclean’,they are excluded from contact with anyone who is on a religious fast (who are deemed ‘pure’), they have to sleep separately (in some villages they have to sleep outside while the rest of the family sleep inside), they can’t participate in cooking, in drawing water from the well, and they can’t go into a room or place where an image of god is present etc. None of the younger woman (I mean from 40s downwards) likes this practice and they all break it as much as they can, the younger ones break it altogether, it is seen by the women themselves as backward and denying of their humanity and only the fear of what others will think of them keeps it in place. This isn’t about denying the feminine, just as hating periods as most women do, is not about denying the feminine. I completely agree with the article. On the frutarian health farm where I learnt to eat raw food in South India, the woman who ran it had been eating raw food for 30 years and never had periods, but she had children without any problems, she had healthy grown up children who had only ever eaten raw from the day they were born. The women who came to the health farm to get well, all Tamils, were delighted with the fact that they need never have a period again. Anthropology should not be about reinforcing rigid cultural practices, it should be about showing the changing fluid nature of cultural practices.

  • here is a good article relating to this: http://www.phifoundation.org/menses.html

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