Heavy Periods (Menorrhagia)
One woman in three sometimes has periods heavy enough to be disruptive, perhaps with clots and flooding. The blood loss can cause, shortness of breath, fatigue and eventually, iron-deficiency anemia.
The culprit is often a poor diet with an imbalance of onega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids leading to an imbalance of prostaglandin and other important substances that affect your blood vessel tone.
Eating insufficient food containing plant hormones to help maintain a good balance of your own estrogen and progesterone may make the problem worse.
There may be one of several womb problems (fibroids, polyps, infection, inflammation from a coil, or adenomyosis-endometriosis in the wall of the womb). Pelvic inflammatory disease ( An uterus or fallopian tubes infection) may be the culprit.
Iron Deficiency anemia is a frequent cause. For while heavy periods can cause anemia, in turn anemia causes heavy periods. An inherited blood disorder sometimes encourages bleeding too.
Stress, food sensitivity, an under-active thyroid and certain drugs can be responsible. And smoking makes heavy bleeding worse, because the inhaled chemicals interfere with the ability of the womb’s arteries to stop bleeding.
If heavy periods are also irregular, there may be a hormone imbalance (estrogen dominance) associated with the absence of ovulation. For similar reasons, periods may become heavier and cause flooding as the menopause approaches.
Sometimes what seems like a heavy period is actually a miscarriage. And occasionally womb cancer is to blame.
Treatment for Heavy Periods
Food and Drink: Eat more salads, vegetables and fruits to provide calcium, magnesium, zinc and essential fatty acids (Omega-3 is very essential and helpful to treat heavy periods); check that you have a good balance of the latter.
Make sure you eat plenty of plant hormones, especially those called lignans (in sunflower and sesame seeds, cracked flax seeds, whole grains, beans and peas). Some people find eating too much meat makes period heavier. However, cinnamon-spiced food reputedly eases heavy bleeding, as do citrus fruits.
Liquidize whole lemons, oranges, or pink grapefruit for a thick juice containing blood vessel-conditioning flavonoids and Vitamin C. Add fresh or dried thyme to one of your meals each day. And use a food elimination diet to identify any food sensitivity.
Herbal Remedies
Many herbs can be useful and because there are so many causes of heavy periods, there’s understandably a lot of controversies over which ones are best. However, beth root (Trillium erectum) is a good one. Take a cup of tea or teaspoon of tincture twice a day.
Aromatherapy
A daily stomach massage (Using three drops each of geranium, cypress and rose oils in two teaspoons of sweet almond oil) may help ease stress-related heavy periods. You can also put six drops of any of these essential oils in your bathwater.
If there’s no treatable cause and six months of home treatments don’t help, consider medication with a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug.
