Menstrual Cycle Wellness: Key Vitamins and Antioxidants

Did you know that certain nutrients are absolutely essential for a healthy menstrual cycle? I recently wrote about key minerals and protein for menstrual cycle wellness.  Today, the spotlight is on the powerful role certain vitamins and antioxidants, as well as lifestyle tips for supporting hormone balance, energy, and mood.

When your body has what it needs, you can feel the difference—less PMS, fewer mood swings, and more steady energy throughout your cycle. These nutrients don’t just help you feel better now, they also support long-term menstrual wellness and make the transition into perimenopause and menopause much smoother.

The Power of Vitamins, Omega Oils & Turmeric

Numerous nutrients are required for a healthy menstrual cycle. Could it be that optimizing your nutritional status helps you avoid the dreaded days of your period? Below I discuss some fundamental nutrients such as B vitamins, vitamin D, omega-3 DHA and EPA, and turmeric.

B Vitamins

B vitamins affect so many functions in your entire body, including red blood cell production, memory, mood, energy, mitochondria, sleep regulation, balance, and much more. In terms of women’s health, Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) plays several special roles in the menstrual cycle and hormone health.

Many women simply don’t get enough vitamin B2 to meet their body’s demands despite the addition of it to many processed foods. An estimated 31 to 92% of women worldwide lack riboflavin! Plant-based diets, dairy free/lactose intolerance, the Western Diet, anorexia, or alcoholism can cause vitamin B2 insufficiency.

Riboflavin has several roles including:

• Antioxidant support and protection against oxidative stress

• Decreases non-beneficial flora in the vagina

• Decreases pro-inflammatory cytokines like TNF-a, IL-6, COX-2, and inflammatory gene activation

• Essential for energy production and mitochondrial function

• Essential for hair, skin, nails, vision

• Estrogen metabolism and detoxification

• Helps absorption and metabolism of other B vitamins 

• Helps stabilize nerve irritation associated with low hormones  

• Required for iron metabolism and blood flow

• Required for fertility, fetal growth and immune modulation

• Required for glutathione production, the master antioxidant system

• Required for nervous system, myelin sheath, mood, and blood vessels

• Supports pelvic organ connective tissue strength

• Supports thyroid gland function and hormone activity

• Aids urogenital microbiome health and Lactobacillus production

Other B vitamins such as B1, B3, B5, B6, B12, folate, and biotin also affect women’s health and the menstrual cycle. They provide support for:

• Blood flow and homocysteine metabolism

• Estrogen metabolism and detoxification

• Menstrual comfort 

• Mitochondrial and energy production

• Neurotransmitter production and synthesis to support mood, mental and physical energy, mental outlook, stress tolerance

• Protection of uterine and cervical tissues

• Thyroid and adrenal hormone function

• Much more

Myo-Inositol is a B vitamin-like substance, sometimes called vitamin B8. This carbohydrate type nutrient is in high demand by the ovaries as it is:

• Required to process insulin, glucose, and meet energy demands. 

• Acts as messenger for hormone activity with follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), insulin, and aromatase activity

High sugar, low fiber diets, or blood sugar imbalances break down myo-inositol faster and diminish its absorption. The ovaries are high energy tissues and require stable blood sugar which is assisted by optimal myo-inositol levels.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is another vital nutrient that plays several important roles in menstrual cycle regulation. These include:

• Calcium regulation for natural hormone shifts

• Inactivates and regulates prostaglandin receptors involved with pain signals

• Menstrual comfort

• Mood regulation and neurotransmitter function like serotonin

• Reduces expression of COX-2, also associated with inflammatory responses

• Reduces prostaglandin production that drives inflammatory responses

• Required for a healthy microbiome balance in vaginal tissues

Omega-3 EPA and DHA

Omega-3 fish oil EPA and DHA is more than just “brain food” as it is essential for numerous healthy physiological functions and comfort with the menstrual rhythm. EPA and DHA provide:

• Antioxidant protection for female organs

• Offsets high omega-6 Western diet vegetable-seed oil intake that promotes inflammation. 

• Reduction in prostaglandin and arachidonic acid pro-inflammatory compounds

• Required for blood flow, endothelial lining and blood vessel integrity to the uterus and ovaries

• Supports neurotransmitter and cell membrane receptor sites for mood and energy needs

• Supports ovulation and fertility through changes in insulin sensitivity and inflammation

Pro-inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids dominate the Western Diet. These vegetable and seed oils are added to processed foods for human consumption and to animals fed conventional corn and soybean diets. Food products high in omega-6 fatty acids have higher amounts of estrogens and other steroids which promote inflammation within reproductive tissues.

The recommended average dose of omega 3 oils for menstrual comfort is 500 mg/day of combined EPA and DHA.

Curcumin/ Turmeric

Turmeric is a golden spice that provides a wide range of benefits for human health. This bioactive nutrient helps your body manage oxidative stress that occurs with the physical work of monthly hormonal shifts. Clinical trials and other studies show that turmeric, with the active ingredient curcumin:

• Aids in the release of BDNF, a brain repair molecule, that supports mood, memory, mental energy, and life functions.

• Modulates IL-6, other proinflammatory cytokines and gene signals helping to protect blood vessels, bones, ovaries, uterus, brain, gut, and other tissues. 

• Modulates the release of neurotransmitters supporting mood.

• Provides antioxidant support and protects the brain and organs from oxidative stress.

Exercise

While you may not feel inclined to exercise when fatigued, research shows that exercise helps reduce menstrual pain. Strive for 45-60 minutes of exercise at least three times per week.

Spine Health and Posture

Your posture and spinal alignment also play a role in menstrual comfort. Posture affects nerve signals, blood flow and other metabolic functions to your internal organs including the ovaries and uterus. Studies show that women who had postural imbalances with the low back and pelvis experienced increased menstrual discomfort and other symptoms.

Work with your chiropractor, osteopath, or physical therapist for this drug-free, hormone-free approach to restore healthy posture, spinal alignment and comfort. A healthy spine affects all neurological signals to your internal organs supporting blood flow, lymph movement, muscles, bones, and modulation of pain signals.

Circadian Rhythms and Breakfast 

The menstrual cycle depends upon rhythms. Your monthly period is tied directly to your body’s most primal rhythms associated with the day-night circadian rhythm, body clocks and your meal patterns. 

The brain-ovarian communication loop, i.e. the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis is linked to the master clock in the brain, which is fundamentally tied into day/night – light/dark connection. Of particular interest is the effect of meal patterns, especially breakfast. Breakfast turns on the activity of numerous metabolic and nerve connections tied into the master body clock. It is also linked with metabolism and fertility.

In the adolescent girl just starting her menstrual cycle, the neurological-metabolic connections are establishing connections and in process of synchronization. It takes until early adulthood for these connections to reach synchronization and maturation.

Breakfast stimulates numerous signals for this synchronization with the master clock and the brain-ovarian connection. However, skipping breakfast in adolescence and early adulthood interferes with the central clock systems regulation process, disrupting the metabolic rhythms of the menstrual cycle and ovarian function.

Scientists propose that skipping breakfast contributes to impaired entrainment of the body clocks that affect the regularity and maturation of the reproductive system in adolescence and early adulthood. Furthermore, the effects may cause OB-GYN issues into adulthood with fertility, pregnancy, and other concerns.

Skipping breakfast is also associated with a decline in physical stamina, stress tolerance, and mental health. It changes bowel motility, increasing the propensity towards constipation, as breakfast stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system and bowel motility. Constipation also disrupts the gut microbiome and vaginal flora and impairs hormone detoxification.

Your Action Plan for Menstrual Health

The female menstrual cycle is a normal function in a healthy body. It becomes a stressor when your body is out of balance, depleted, exhausted, inflamed, and lacking nourishment.

Dietary Tips

Breakfast! Strive to eat breakfast within 60-90 minutes after awakening. Have 20-30 grams of protein at breakfast which provides superior support for your metabolic factories and energy production. Include a small to moderate serving of complex carbohydrates like overnight oats with some fresh berries and an avocado. If your appetite isn’t the best in the morning, have a smaller breakfast and keep trying.

Choose whole foods, preferably organic and non-GMO to avoid pesticides and steroid residuals. Follow the Five Rules of the Leptin Diet as your lifestyle plan. It is easy to do!

Exercise

Strive for 45-60 minutes of exercise at least three times per week. Choose 1-2 activities that you enjoy and commit to doing them. Rotate in new activities periodically to change up the routine. Ask a friend to work out with you for motivation and accountability.

Nutritional Supplements

Fundamental nutritional supplement support includes:

1. Daily Energy Multiple Vitamin contains all bioactive B vitamins with clinically relevant amounts.

2. Female Plus contains bioactive nutrients that help smooth out your menstrual cycle as well as supporting hormone detoxification. Includes myo-inositol, I3C, DIM, and more. It is a game changer for many women.

3. Vitamin D is used by all organs in your body. Too often, we don’t get enough sunshine exposure which compromises vitamin D levels. Get your levels tested at least once a year. I recommend most adults take 5000 IU per day unless lab tests show other needs.

4. Daily DHA provides high amounts of omega-3 DHA with a modest amount of EPA. Plant-based omega-3 oils and foods have poor conversion into DHA and EPA. If you don’t consume cold water fatty fish, you must supplement omega-3 DHA and EPA.

5. Turmeric Gold or Repair Plus provide a remarkable, highly bioavailable form of curcumin. Turmeric Gold is a single ingredient product whereas Repair Plus also contains quercetin, bromelain, and papain supporting inflammation management and repair processes.

These supplements can be taken with other products like Daily Protein Plus, Daily Bone Xcel, Muscle Mag (which contains extra vitamin B2) and/or Strengthener Plus that provide protein and mineral support. If you need a little extra energy support, consider Adrenal Helper and Thyroid Helper.

Your ongoing tolerance to the ebb and flow of the menstrual cycle provides insight into your hormonal stress tolerance for the season of perimenopause and menopause. A pattern of exhaustion, sleep disruptions, and mood stress indicates a high need of support. Taking care of yourself now is essential!

Additional Resources

Mastering Menopause: Make It a Smooth Transition

Hormonal Hot Flashes: Tips to Survive the Heat

Body Temperature – Thyroid, Adrenals, or Something Else?