Most women have gone through episodes of heavy bleeding. For some of us, it’s a heavy rampage that hits every month.
The average loss of blood during a cycle is between 4 tablespoons to 1 cup of blood. Menorrhagia or heavy flow would constitute changing your pad or tampon every hour or so. This could last more than a week. Your daily activities are disrupted, your mood is off the charts, and all you want to do is stay in bed with a hot bag, hoping someone could feed you cupcakes.
There are a few ways to limit the flow. Follow these methods to get relief.
1. Build Up Iron
There are chances that a heavy flow could lead to anemia but a few studies prove it could also be the other way around. Heavy bleeding could be a sign of an iron deficiency. A Finnish research1 conducted a study on 236 women who suffered from heavy flow. They found out that 60% of the participants had a severe iron deficiency. Find out if you are anemic. If you’re low on iron, build it up by including meat, legumes, whole grain bread, and green leafy vegetables to your diet.
2. Sort Out Your Diet
There are several studies2 that point out that vitamin deficiency is a source of heavy flow. Eat fruits and vegetables that are rich in Vitamin A, K, C, and E. Some women have found relief by adding green beans, pears, green leafy vegetables and carrots to their diet.
You could also include spices in your food. Ginger, saffron, and cooling spices like coriander and cardamom can be used. Try to eat simple thoroughly cooked meals and avoid processed food.
3. Go Herbal
In ayurveda, heavy flow comes from a pitta imbalance, an imbalance that triggers heat in the body, acute inflammation in joints, and frustration. Bark powder from an Ashoka tree is useful to tone your uterus. Other useful feminine herbs are Lodh tree and Sacred Fig.
Shepherd’s purse3 is a popular herb that’s helped several women to get relief from heavy flow. Take half a teaspoon of the herb in water and have it every 15 minutes until the bleeding starts reducing.
4. Work It Out
Calming exercises or relaxation techniques are a good way to limit your flow. It could also help to reduce cramps. But, do not strain yourself. Listen to your body and maybe stick to light cardio, yoga, or swimming.
Yoga nidra, a deep state of relaxing, helps to alleviate heavy period flow, says one research4. It was done with 150 women suffering from heavy flow and painful cramps. The participants had relief in flow and pain after introducing yoga nidra into their routine.
5. Soothe Your Problems With Tea
Red raspberry leaf5, nicknamed “the woman’s herb,’’ is helpful to tone menstrual problems because it comes with plenty of nutrients and antioxidants. Drinking tea made out of it would help relieve you from the stress that comes with heavy flow.
Another option is to drink cinnamon tea. Cinnamon has been used for hundreds of years to stop excessive bleeding. It brings warmth to the uterus. Other varieties you could try are ginger and lemon tea.
Try out these methods and you could soon be having better control over your periods.
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