Nutrition and Women's menstrual cycle

Women's menstrual cycles is still a very taboo topic, however for female athletes it is something that is left very much in the dark. It is very important to help make people talk about this more and also feel comfortable doing so. We all have to deal with it, but it never spoken about, or if it is, it is in a very hush hush and secretive manner. As athletes, it affects out training. It is another thing we have to think about, on top of getting good sleep, eating well and performing your best. This topic needs to be explored and understood more. Enabling female athletes to enhance their performances and recovery during their cycle is very important. There are some tips and tricks published by nutritional experts, where they talk about the different food types you should eat during each phase of your cycle. 

There are 3 phases in the cycle. The first phase is during days 1-12. This is when the body is producing FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) which increases the production of oestrogen. The physical changes going on in the body during this time; the egg matures, the uterine lining is reconstructed, and hormone processing is supported. 

Phase 2 are days 13-14 and phase 3 is days 15-28.

Over the course of my next cycle I will be trying the foods that expert nutritionists recommend you should eat. I will be reporting if I feel a difference, not only in myself but also if my performances are any better, or if I notice I am recovering more quickly. 

Experts say during phase 1 you should be eating low fat foods, seedlings, probiotic food such as yoghurt and cheese. 

For the last 12 days I have been in phase 1. The foods I have been eating are chia seeds and pumpkin seeds with my oatmeal and mixing them into it. They add a nice crunch but personally I didn't really feel a difference with them in there. I don't think they made a huge difference to how I was feeling or how my performances were, as I didn't feel any more energetic having eaten them. I was also having at least one yoghurt a day, I have always eaten a large amount of yoghurt though so I am not sure this made any difference because my body is used to it. I stayed away from foods with high fat content such as processed red meat, like sausages and bacon. I felt like this made a difference, as I normally feel sluggish after eating these foods. This is also probably because they are not the healthiest or most nutritional foods for your body.  

I will now be trying out the foods for phase 2 and update once I have finished that cycle.