Let’s talk about cramps during your period. What causes them? How do you rate them? Do you know how to stop stomach cramps during your period?
How to Rate Your Menstrual Cramps
Cramps can be rated on a pain scale of 0 to 10. This is the official way to rate them medically.
0 – No pain or cramps
2 – Hurts a little but you can deal with it.
4 – Cramping is a lot more and you prefer to stay in bed rather than deal with them.
6 – You can’t go to work or school feeling bad cramps at this level.
8 – Your cramps are so bad you’ll go to the Emergency Room for relief.
10 – Your severe cramps are so bad you pass out into a coma.
So where are your cramps on the scale? Are you at a 4 or a 5? Or are you one of the unfortunate ones with a pain level of an 8?
What causes cramping during your period? Why do you get cramps during your period and not at other times of the month?
The answer is that painful cramping comes because your body is expelling the inner lining of the uterus, and there may be a lot of inflammation in the body simultaneously. This is why you get cramps – but only during the time of your period.
How to Relieve Cramps During Period
What can you do for the cramps? There are a number of solutions – herbal remedies, vitamins, period vitamin supplement, diet changes and more.
Herbal Remedies for Cramps
Herbal remedies are some of the best home remedies for menstrual cramps. You don’t have to mix up combinations to reinvent the wheel and make up your own unique homemade remedy; there are many on the market already mixed and ready to go. They go by names such as Cramps Be Gone, Bye Bye Cramps, Cramps Less, and other types of similar names.
These herbal formulas usually contain herbs such as:
1. Cramp bark – Experts at the University of Maryland Medical Center confirm that this herb is a natural solution for menstrual cramps. Here’s how to make it: In a small pot, add 2 cups water, 2 teaspoons cramp bark, and simmer for about 15 minutes. Then cool and drink during the day.
2. Peppermint – If you’re growing your own peppermint in the backyard, by all means use it fresh. Use one tablespoon chopped peppermint leaves (you can use the stems too) per cup boiling water to make tea. If you’re using dried peppermint, the dosage is one teaspoon per cup boiling hot water. Sip all day long.
Note: Adding peppermint oil to tea is a no-no. First of all, many of the essential oils on the market may include synthetics and you really won’t know it until it is too late. Synthetic essential oils are essentially synthetic chemicals and they can cause liver damage. Far too many people use essential oils at dosages that are too high. One ounce of essential oil is equivalent to hundreds of pounds of plant material, and it’s far too concentrated for you to be using several drops a day.
3. Valerian Root – This herb calms down the nervous system. Cramps are occurring within the muscles in many cases, and there’s a nervous system influence. Take 2 capsules valerian root with a cup of water and notice effects within a few hours. However, always remember that valerian root is for mild to moderate pain, not moderate to severe pain.
Vitamins and Minerals for Pain Control of Cramps
There are different nutrient supplements you could also take for cramps. Here’s a list of some of them:
1. Vitamin B1 – 100 mg is the magic dosage that does wonders for menstrual cramps according to one study of over 200 teens with cramps mentioned in the Global Journal of Health Science. The researchers found that the teens had significantly less pain. Why? Probably because vitamin B1 is nerve food and food for the nervous system. Pain signals are from the nervous system.
2. Omega 3 fats – In the same study as what was mentioned above, researchers also gave some teens omega 3 supplements. Now interestingly, they didn’t even give them the right dosage for the day – 2000 mg omega 3 fats but instead gave them 500 mg omega 3. Still, it worked well and the teens had significantly less pain from the cramps. Why did this one work? Simply because omega 3 fats reduce the amount of prostaglandins in the body that are linked directly with pain production. If you have an omega 3 deficiency, it’s awfully easy to have high levels of pain.
3. Magnesium – Magnesium acts in the body to decrease inflammation. Many women are magnesium deficient – and the mineral helps the nervous system relax. Dosages should be about 300-400 mg per day.
4. Period Vitamin – This is a combination of vitamins and minerals as well as herbs that your body needs during the childbearing years. It’s different than a prenatal supplement that is taken during pregnancy. All the ingredients support your body’s reproductive cycle and what ends up happening is PMS goes away over time. It takes a few months to establish the levels of nutrients in the body to eliminate all the signs of PMS.
Food Changes – What to Eat and What to Avoid Matters
Since diet is at the root of all your PMS symptoms, it behooves you to start improving it. Make a goal for yourself to start with these changes, in any order:
1. Eat more vegetables. How many is enough? Try the 17 servings a day that Japanese women get daily. They don’t have problems with PMS or even hot flashes during menopause. How can you get that much? You will have to take a supplement of fruits and vegetables. Usually six capsules a day is enough to ward off cramps and PMS by providing those 17 servings daily.
2. Cut the sugar. Your weight will drop at least five pounds if you cut the sugar. Sugar increases inflammation and therefore increases pain.
3. Cut the alcohol. If you are going to drink it at a low level, like one drink a week, go with a type of wine that has absolutely no chemicals or synthetics in it. Most wines and alcoholic drinks are loaded with up to 200 different chemicals. It’s no wonder that people end up with liver damage. Wine isn’t supposed to be bad for you but if it’s loaded with chemicals, what’s good about that? Check out the website, www.drycreekfarms.com for a safe place to get your wines.
4. Cut the bad fats. Use only butter, olive oil, and avocado as well as nuts and seeds for your fat. Coconut is also okay.
5. Cut the carbs. By cutting out the GMO foods in your diet, you automatically extend your lifespan and cut out the pain and other symptoms you are having. Try it to believe it for yourself.
6. Stop any high fructose corn syrup containing foods.
Other Home Remedies You Can Use For Cramps
1. Heating pads – The way heat works on cramps is that it increases blood circulation while simultaneously relaxing the nervous system. Do you know how to use a heating pad? The first rule is never to put it directly on your skin because you can end up burning your skin. This is why you put down at least two towel layers on the skin, and then place the heating pad on top. It doesn’t matter if you use an electric heating pad or a non-electric one.
2. Get Higher Levels of Endorphins – By raising your body’s level of endorphins, you end up raising your body’s own production of pain killers. This will then in turn decrease your body’s pain level – no matter if it’s from cramps or other issues. How to do this is simple: 1) Get happy. 2) Watch funny videos. 3) Go running long-distance or participate in other types of exercise. 4) Pray. 5) Sing. 6) Listen to music.
You hold all the power to stop your cramps. Up until now you may not have had the education to discover what was causing your cramps. You may have even mistakenly blamed the doctor for not finding you a cure or your mother and grandmother for having cramps and passing them along to you through inheritance. You now see that it’s what you are doing on a daily basis that is causing cramps to appear. Follow all the ideas in this article and you will cure your cramps once and for all.
