Can’t you eat sweets during menstruation?

　　Myth: Eating chocolate or other sweets during menstruation will cause Dysmenorrhea and other discomforts, so these foods should be avoided during menstruation.

　　The truth: This is a widely circulated menstrual guide. What’s interesting is that the opposite of this statement, “Eating chocolate or other sweets during menstruation can relieve menstrual cramps and premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and make you feel better” is also very popular, making it difficult to tell whether it is true or false. Both of these statements are worthy of our careful exploration. If you want to know what impact sweets will have on aunts, you have to start with the causes of dysmenorrhea.

　　What's the deal with dysmenorrhea?

　　Menstrual pain refers to female Pain during menstruation is mainly divided into two types: primary menstrual pain and secondary menstrual pain. Primary menstrual pain occurs when a woman starts regular menstruation, usually on the first or second day of menstruation, and most will resolve on its own within two or three days. This pain is caused by excessive secretion of prostaglandins during Uterus Caused by excessive contraction and vascular contracture. Recurrent menstrual pain usually occurs after a woman has had no menstrual pain for a period of time, or when the original uncomfortable symptoms of menstrual cramps gradually turn into obvious symptoms. stomach ache , the pain usually starts one or two weeks before menstruation. This kind of pain usually has a pathological basis, and common causes include endometriosis. In this case, you need to seek medical treatment promptly.

　　The menstrual pain we will discuss next is primary menstrual pain, and the cause is not disease , but changes in hormone levels within the body and the strong contraction of muscles caused by it.

　　What happened to the sweets?

　　One thing that all kinds of sweets have in common is their high sugar content. Relevant studies have pointed out that sugar will affect the body's absorption and metabolism of vitamins and minerals, and these two ingredients can relieve muscle tension, make the uterus contract less strongly, and have a certain effect on relieving dysmenorrhea. For this reason, menstruating girls should really reduce their sugar intake.

　　But it must be mentioned that carbohydrate intake will increase a hormone called serotonin, also called 5-HT. nerve Transmitter levels in the body. Studies have shown that serotonin does have a certain effect on relieving PMS. From this point of view, the legendary saying that "eating sweets can relieve the irritability and other symptoms caused by premenstrual syndrome and make you feel better" also has some truth. But while PMS is relieved, dysmenorrhea does not receive the same treatment. Serotonin promotes the synthesis of prostaglandin PGE2, which is the real culprit of dysmenorrhea.

　　It seems that sugar has both good and bad effects on menstruation, and it is difficult to simply say yes or no.

　　It's all prostaglandin's fault

　　This title is actually a bit unfair to prostaglandins, because prostaglandins are divided into three series. Only series 2 PG2 is the culprit in causing dysmenorrhea. It will aggravate the contraction of muscles and uterus; while series 1 PG1 and series 3 PG3 are good helpers in relieving dysmenorrhea. The PGE2 mentioned earlier is a member of the PG2 family.

　　An unsaturated fatty acid called arachidonic acid is the precursor to the "bad" prostaglandin PG2. This fatty acid is widely found in butter, corn, palm, coconut, soybean oil, and even chicken and egg among many other foods. Our favorite sweets, such as cookies, cakes, etc., must contain a lot of butter, coconut and eggs. They will increase the level of PG2 and make menstrual pain worse. A survey on dysmenorrhea among Turkish college students indeed showed that the incidence of dysmenorrhea among girls who love sweets is about 1.8 times that of girls who eat less sweets.

　　We know that there are various food compositions, and there are many things that can relieve menstrual cramps. For example, fish oil and pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds rich in linoleic acid or linolenic acid can promote the formation of "good" prostaglandins PG1 and PG3. Vitamins and various minerals also have the effect of reducing muscle tension and relieving menstrual cramps. Whole grains containing a lot of vitamin E and B vitamins, vegetables containing calcium, magnesium, and potassium, and fruits containing bioflavonoids and vitamin C are all good food choices. If sweets contain these nutrients, it will not only have a negative effect on dysmenorrhea.

　　maverick chocolate

　　Different from other sweets, chocolate has a special impact on dysmenorrhea because it contains theobromine. Let’s discuss it separately.

　　Chocolate has always been a favorite of most people. Whether it is dark chocolate, white chocolate, milk chocolate, or chocolate with nut pulp, everyone loves it. Chocolate contains a substance called theobromine. Theobromine is a methylxanthine alkaloid. This name may seem unfamiliar to you, but when it comes to its similar species, coffee Because of the theophylline contained in tea, everyone will have more feelings about this kind of substance. This type of alkaloid has an exciting effect on nerves, so you can drink coffee to refresh yourself when you feel drowsy in the morning.

　　What is the relationship between theobromine and dysmenorrhea?

　　An important cause of dysmenorrhea is insufficient blood supply to the uterus, which leads to insufficient oxygen supply, aggravates uterine contraction and aggravates dysmenorrhea. Theobromine can dilate blood vessels, thereby relieving menstrual pain caused by this cause. In addition, theobromine has diuretic properties. One of the discomforts caused by menstrual pain is body edema [4] (I believe many sisters have experienced this). Theobromine helps the body drain water and relieves discomfort. Theobromine will also increase a substance called cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) in the body. This is a small molecule substance that transmits information within cells. We usually call it the second messenger. It has the effect of relaxing smooth muscles, thereby relieving dysmenorrhea.

　　Looking at it this way, theobromine is really a good thing. However, don’t forget that as an alkaloid that can excite nerves, excessive intake may cause side effects such as insomnia, anxiety, and restlessness. However, the effect of theobromine in this aspect is weaker than that of caffeine, but as a possibility, everyone still needs to be reminded of it.

　　Black Qiao, White Qiao, Milk Qiao, who is the most well-behaved?

　　Since it’s for the benefits of theobromine, there’s also something to be said for what kind of chocolate you choose. When people usually buy chocolate, the most common categories are dark chocolate, white chocolate and milk chocolate. In fact, the ingredients of these three types of chocolate are quite different, especially dark chocolate and white chocolate [9]. The main ingredient of chocolate is cocoa. Usually before chocolate is made, cocoa is processed into cocoa juice through a series of steps. Cocoa juice contains 53% lipids, 1.5% theobromine, carbohydrates, proteins, etc. After cocoa juice is flavored with sugar, it is the raw material for various chocolate cakes, cookies and brownies. However, when making chocolate, cocoa juice is usually divided into two parts: cocoa butter and cocoa powder.

　　Cocoa butter is the lipid component of cocoa, and cocoa powder is the solid remaining after most of the cocoa butter has been removed, and theobromine is included in it. The different proportions of cocoa butter and cocoa powder in a chocolate not only determines the taste of the chocolate, but also determines the theobromine content. Regarding the classification standards of dark chocolate, white chocolate and milk chocolate, there are slight differences in the United States, the European Union and other countries and regions. Generally speaking, dark chocolate contains the highest proportion of cocoa powder, followed by milk chocolate with a certain proportion of milk mixed into it. White chocolate usually only contains cocoa butter but not cocoa powder, so there is almost no theobromine in white chocolate.

　　It can be seen that even if you eat the same chocolate, the ingredients you eat are actually very different. If you only consider the effect of theobromine on dysmenorrhea, dark chocolate should be slightly better than milk chocolate, and both are better than white chocolate. Just don't eat it to the point where you get nervous and can't sleep.

　　Sweets aren’t that scary, chocolate isn’t that magical.

　　In these documents describing the relationship between food and dysmenorrhea, we often see words such as "a large amount", "excessive", "excessive" and other similar words. Although sweets may aggravate dysmenorrhea to a certain extent, as long as they are moderately controlled and do not eat haiseles, so many synthesized prostaglandins are not enough to have a significant impact on the sisters' dysmenorrhea. What's more, food also contains other nutrients that can relieve menstrual cramps, which can offset such negative effects to a certain extent.

　　Although chocolate containing theobromine (dark chocolate and milk chocolate) can relieve dysmenorrhea to a certain extent, due to genetic and other factors, each person has a different number of hormone or neurotransmitter receptors, so each person responds differently to the same dose of substances, and the effects are also different. Again, a balanced and comprehensive diet is the most important thing, even during these days when the body is relatively unwell every month, healthy It's okay to eat some sweets in moderation as long as you don't feel any discomfort. And expecting chocolate to significantly relieve pain is probably unreliable.

　　Conclusion: This rumor has a certain scientific basis, but it is a bit absolute and one-sided. Although in theory, theobromine contained in chocolate can help relieve menstrual cramps, other sweets may aggravate dysmenorrhea to a certain extent because they contain more sugar and some PG2 precursors. However, they may also contain PG1/PG3 precursors, vitamins and minerals that can relieve menstrual cramps. In actual life, as long as you consume these foods in appropriate amounts according to your physical condition, they will not have a significant impact on dysmenorrhea.