Heavy periods are a health risk over the long term that most women do not realize can frequently be resolved with dietary intervention. Try this approach first before resorting to surgery or drugs to address the problem!
Heavy periods, or menorrhagia, is a common problem for women particularly as they approach menopause. It is also a problem for women with endometriosis.
This problem has also emerged as a common side effect of vaccination for coronavirus. Post-menopausal women are even experiencing breakthrough bleeding. (1)
Excess estrogen can frequently be a cause too. Estrogen dominance is a real threat in our modern environment loaded with estrogen-mimicking chemicals like BPA and pesticides seemingly everywhere.
In addition, estrogenic foods like soy are an ingredient in a majority of processed foods.
Be aware that soy protein and soya milk can trigger similar effects as edamame or other whole forms of soy.
Heavy periods put a woman at risk for anemia, infertility, weakness, and persistent fatigue if not corrected.
Unfortunately, conventional treatments for this condition involve only drugs and surgery. Options include the birth control pill, hormone-releasing IUDs, hysterectomy, or a more recent technique called endometrial ablation.
I know several women who have undergone endometrial ablation in recent months to combat heavy periods.
This surgical technique involves the destruction of the uterine lining either with a laser, radiofrequency or microwaves, or heated water.
The ladies I know who have had this procedure swear by it and were very happy with the results. However, this approach is not an option for younger women who want to have children.
It is also best to avoid a surgical procedure unless absolutely necessary. Complications are always possible such as infection of the bladder or damage to the womb or large intestine.
Nutritional Intervention for Menorrhagia
The good news is that heavy and/or irregular periods frequently respond well to simple nutritional support.
This approach also helps significantly with cramping. Heavy cycles are frequently painful ones as well.
Natural Vitamin A
Vitamin A is known to help with excess estrogen so a simple increase in the amount of natural Vitamin A in the diet can help reduce heavy cyclical bleeding.
The Vitamin A must be natural and not synthetic. Excess intake of synthetic Vitamin A can produce deleterious effects.
In fact, some researchers believe that synthetic vitamin A interferes with the proper utilization of natural vitamin A from food. Thus, avoidance of the many synthetically fortified foods on the market is important as well. (2)
Plant-based Sources Ineffective
It is important to note that beta carotene will not help here! The source must be true vitamin A best found in ideal doses in high vitamin cod liver oil.
According to a case study written about in the book Eat Fat, Lose Fat, 2 tablespoons of high vitamin cod liver oil per day supplying about 60,000 IU of Vitamin A for 3 days in a row eliminated this debilitating problem for one woman who had been suffering from what she called a “never-ending period” for 4 years. (3)
Ongoing Supplementation
Note that a daily maintenance dose of high vitamin unheated cod liver oil (1 tsp per day) after that was sufficient to keep the problem of heavy periods from returning.
This brand is what my family takes.
Cod Liver Oil for Heavy Periods Before Drugs or Surgery
Do you suffer from heavy periods and have reached the end of your rope? If you are considering surgery, why not try this simple remedy to see if it might work for you?
Be sure to use ONLY high vitamin cod liver oil that contains natural Vitamin A. I recommend Dropi cod liver oil.
Most of the brands on the market today use synthetic Vitamin A instead of the real thing.
Worse, it is not clearly labeled.
Using cod liver oil with synthetic A or supplements containing beta carotene will not be helpful for resolving heavy periods.
For vetted and tested sources of high vitamin cod liver oil that use only natural Vitamin A and no synthetics, check my Resources page.
References
(1) Post-vaccine menorrhagia, metrorrhagia or postmenopausal bleeding
(2) Vitamin A Saga
(2) Eat Fat, Lose Fat
Nutritional Remedy for Heavy Periods http://t.co/epvswpwM
Could you also try DIM for getting rid of excess estrogen? both men and women can use it.
I do take cod liver oil as well and I find it helps with my moods and focus. Even my husband notices the difference!
What is DIM?
We take twinlab norwegian cod liver oil for a few years now, how to you know if it has synthetic Vit A ? I have a history of heavy bleeding, and was taking primrose oil capsules, but I have recently been thinking about stopping that. But I want to take in increased dose of liver oil to see if it helps as you suggested.
The fermented is so much more costly for us at this time for my family.
Jen, the reason why Sarah only uses the Green Pastures cod liver oil, is because it is the ONLY one on the market that is fermented. Every other manufacture essentially shares the same equipment, which uses very high heat to extract the oil from the liver – which is only a 2-3 day process. Green Pastures ferments the livers to extract the oil; a 6 month process! When the manufactures use the high temp process, it “kills” all of the nutrients – vitamin A and D, so they have to add it back in, in a synthetic form. I know that it is expensive, but Green Pastures is the only manufacturer who uses the traditional methods to extract the oil, that keeps all of the natural vitamins intact (and who knows what other good things are preserved?). I hope that helps.
Do any of you have any nutritional remedies for irregular periods? Will cod liver oil help regulate periods?
Have you looked into “night lighting” for regulating periods? Apparently the amount of light at night affects the hormones. I think you are supposed to have your bedroom completely dark except for days 14 – 17 of you cycle. On those days, use a small nightlight or a closet light. On the “dark” nights, a red nightlight is OK.
Wow that is interesting! I had never heard of this technique. Thank you!
It’s certainly worth a try, since CLO can address a host of hormonal issues.
thank you! I will give it a try!
Peggy (The Primal Parent) notes that sugar throws her off. She’s SUPER strict paleo due to crazy health conditions, and finds that “cheating” immediately messes up her hormones. Maybe it’s a liver function thing.
The dark sleeping is great, but you have to combine it with Sarah’s advice to get to bed by 10:30! Sleep deprivation will whack your adrenals -> hormones too.
Also check out Fertility Flower; they might have something more for you.
Good luck! Hormones are tricky little things
Actually I have the opposite problem: very light, short periods. Sorry if its too much information. Perhaps I’m lacking estrogen though I don’t know how that could be possible at my young age.
I had really short and light periods for years until soy milk messed me up by putting in TOO MUCH estrogen. you are perfectly healthy and normal.
I wouldn’t be so sure to pass that judgement so quickly. I also have very light, short, painful periods, and I WAS diagnosed with low estrogen. I’m not saying that’s what this commenter has, but it may be worth looking into. Just as too heavy of a period can be an issue, so can one that is too light, as the uterus may not be shedding completely each month.
Hi Kelsey,
I think that this is what my daughter’s problem is. She has light, but very painful cycles with the blood turning brown the second day. What do you do for low estrogen?
Louellen – that’s good news that short, light periods is a good thing. I have short, light periods followed by a few days of dark, coffee like discharge (old blood.)
I’m reading “Ancient Bodies, Modern Lives”, and the author notes that the duration of menstruation varies by culture. It seems to have to do with hormone levels, which are set by the nutrition available during gestation – basically, we’re so well fed (or over fed, depending how you look at it) that we produce lots of hormones (but because the western world does most of the studies, we call that level “normal”) and this leads to mega swings during our cycle and lots of our PMS symptoms (these also differ by culture) and longer bleeding. That book quotes an average of 7 days’ bleeding in the US and 3-4 days in … I can’t remember, but somewhere less health-rich.
This post is fascinating; I’ll look into this some more. I had a vegan friend who had been menstruating for 3 years at one point. I’m not in touch with her any more, but I immediately thought of her when I read this.
Black seed or black seed oil increases menstrual flow. Black seed mixed with saffron and honey fixes most menstrual problems.
Nutritional Remedy for Heavy Periods http://t.co/RfZ2TcZe
My sister just had ablation surgery done last week. My other sister had it done last year. My gynecologist suggested it for me too but I KNEW there had to be a natural answer to this! So THANK YOU for your timely post about it! I learn a lot from the comments left too!
Thank you for posting this! I’m an acupuncturist and treat this condition quite frequently. I do like to recommend nutrition and/or supplements that can quicken the healing process. Thank you!
Nutritional Remedy for Heavy Periods http://t.co/n64ywgL4
Okay, I had endometriosis as a teenager. I had to have emergency surgery when I was 16 due to the condition and I was told I would probably never have children or at best, have great difficulty keeping pregnancies. After having the surgery, things got better and minus 2 miscarriages I had 8 healthy pregnancies. Our youngest is 6 years old.
In the last 4 months, my cycles have gotten HORRIBLE all over again. When researching, it would appear that I very possibly have PMDD.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR POST!!! And as God would have it,….I am currently reading “Eat Fat Lose Fat” and on page 117 “Start-Up Week” where you prepare for a Phase One.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR POST!!!! Really!