I’m so excited to chat about pre period constipation and period poops because a lot of times we don’t even think it’s weird or that it’s coming from a specific place, but it is!
Ovulation makes the hormone progesterone. Progesterone is a crucial hormone for our overall & hormonal health and it has a muscle relaxing affect (which is why it helps reduce anxiety & chills us out!). BUT, it also relaxes our digestive tract muscles which slows down our digestion and can cause constipation!
When you finally do get your period, all of your hormones go down to their lowest concentrations (including progesterone) so the muscle relaxing affect on your intestines goes away which can stimulate a bowel movement.
In addition, with the onset of our period is the release of prostaglandins (made from lipids & have hormone like affects on the body).
The release of prostaglandins (specifically pro inflammatory prostaglandins) stimulate uterine contractions aka cramps and will also stimulate our bowels which can cause looser stools/diarrhea.
After some days of constipation this can feel amazing BUT we don’t want our poop to be too loose because that means our food is going through us too quickly & we’re not fully absorbing nutrients.
STRATEGIES TO HELP!
1. Reduce/remove inflammatory foods (gluten, dairy, fried foods , alcohol & sugar) to reduce pro inflammatory prostaglandins. Of course not at once! This is a lifestyle change not a crash diet.
2. Load up on fiber especially in your luteal phase (the phase before your period) & most specifically brown rice, sweet potatoes, acorn squash, butternut squash, spaghetti squash to stimulate the bowels & stabilize blood sugar.
3. Reduce or cut out caffeine or at least swap coffee for green tea. Green tea helps reduce pro inflammatory prostaglandins.
4. Take Magnesium Glycinate. This is huge for hormone health in general & also helps reduce cramps & period pain.
5. Take a Probiotic to support your gut. Just Thrive Health brand is my fave probiotic. Use code CORINNE for 15% off!
Start noticing how your bowels are changing & addressing where it’s coming from. Did you eat more inflammatory foods than usual? Were you under more stress? Did you eat enough fiber?
Once we start understanding our bodies and paying attention to them, it can empower us to make changes & heal it from the root out.
EPISODES REFERENCED:
Episode 46 for more info on prostaglandins, CRAMPS & MIGRAINES.
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So grateful you’re here! XO Corinne