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period

pianissimapianissima Raw Newbie

there was a point when i was getting one period a year—worrying. when i finally dealt with my thyroid problem i was back to normal. first month of being raw i got it, but that was august and nothing since then.

not to be SO vivid, but i just wonder if anyone knows what i could do. obviously, this is a sign that i am not in perfect health (even though i feel SO much better than before). does stress effect it? could it be because i’ve lost weight on the diet and my body needs time to adjust?

any knowledge/experiences would be helpful!

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Comments

  • hey pianissima, i haven’t gotten my period since last april 2006!!! theres a serious problem with me, im going to be 17 soon and i think this “menopause” thing has stunted my growth. 5 ft. i started taking maca now and again because the peruvian deem it a hormonal boosting superfood. its said to increase strength in the body flow, libido, and regulate hormones. being underweight and overweight or losing too quickly also stunts periods. remember thats things take time, the body doesnt change all at once. hope this helps!

  • pianissimapianissima Raw Newbie

    ilikenuts, thanks for the response. you might have an iron deficiency. i got blood work done and i don’t, so that’s not MY answer, but when i was your age i had the same problem and it was discovered that i was anemic. i know that your body won’t give blood if it can’t afford it, so i’m wondering what i’m doing to make my body think i can’t afford the loss? maybe it is the weight…

    very cool that you are raw in singapore! rock on!

  • A friend of mine went a long time without a period after losing a lot of weight. She thought the weight loss was the reason, but after seeing doctors for a long long time, they finally found that her pituitary gland was not functioning properly, not producing hormones, and that she had gone into “menopause” in her late 20s/early 30s. After receiving treatment, she began injecting growth hormones daily, but still had not had a period. Then, she got pregnant!! I’m not sure if her cycle returned after giving birth, but she still has to take hormone injections. She recently began the raw food diet, so I will be curious to see how her health improves from this.

    Not to scare or worry you, but there are many factors that can affect a woman’s cycle. I would suggest continuing a healthy lifestyle, but see a doctor!

  • ZoeZoe Raw Newbie

    I only had one a year, up until I went 100% raw. Since then, it is as regular as clockwork. This is very odd for me, I’m 33! I did go to a doctor in my 20’s but they couldn’t find anything wrong with me.

    I also did Bikrams yoga which is known ( not just Bikrams, any physical yoga) to help with all things hormonal. So I don’t know which was the one that did it for me, maybe a bit of both.

    With yoga, the stretching and flushing out of the body’s muscles, internal organs etc is very healing.It puts everything back in the right place. I did it every day for 6 months and I haven’t done it for the last 4 months, and am still regular like clockwork.

  • I had a great link to a site that talks about how menstruation is just a way for the body to release toxins and, as such, if you are toxic free you won’t have a period even if you are still ovulating. Unfortunately the link isn’t working now. :( But I got it from someone else on this site so I’m sure they’ll chime in (can’t remember who). I’ve also heard that a woman’s period is her taking the negative emotions of those around her and releasing it.

  • Katie said ” I

  • ZoeZoe Raw Newbie

    yeah, me too!

    I read a little book called “About your femininity, by a man” by Leonard Orr, where he puts forward his idea that women process men’s negative emotional energy. It just happens whenever men and women are around each other. This builds up in us (PMS/PMT Anyone?) and is finally released every month with our periods. He basically says that if it weren’t for this men would be total headcases…ummmm…”would be”?! (only teasing!)

    Hmm this may be why married men live longer than unmarried men, but unmarried women live longer than married women…

  • pianissimapianissima Raw Newbie

    ok. this got funny =) (thanks zoe)

    i do SO much yoga. i recently got bloodwork done and i’m in apparent glowing health, so i’ll give in a few more months to see if i regulate, otherwise i guess i’ll have to seek medical advise (gosh, i just don’t trust it much anymore though!)

  • I went vegan about three months ago and I am transitioning to raw (50% daily). I haven’t had a period since the end of September. It’s been two months, the worries are setting in. Not pregnant.
    (sex drive has also decreased) Am I deficient in some nutrient? Should I be concerned? I don’t think a regular doctor will understand my eating habits. Any insights, anyone?

  • I’m 17 and haven’t started having a period. I’m worried that I will be put on hormones. Help!!!

  • Last Christmas I decided to give up meat and fish, as I had lost a lot of weight and couldnt digest anything properly, and for the next 8 months I didnt have my period. My weight was really low then, (30-31 kg) so assumed it was because of that, but after I gained it back, my period still didnt come.
    I thought about going to the doctor but I knew they would just give some pills that would force my period back and I didnt want that, so I tried to be patient and wait a little bit longer, to see what happened. I guess I didnt feel bad or didnt think anything was wrong. If I had felt it, I would have gone to the doctor.
    And finally it came back… actually right on the day I left for a wonderful holidays in Tahiti, so you cannot say I was exactly happy at the time, but since then, (last august) I have been having it and quite regularly.
    And I was not even transitioning to raw food!
    I think some bodies are just more sensitive than others.

  • I’m sorry, but not having a period, unless you’re entering menopause, is NOT healthy. Your period is not “toxins being released.” Nor is your period “releasing bad energy.” Your period is a regular monthly cycle, you’re body by nature releasing the tissue and egg not used in the monthly reproduction cycle. IF you are not menstruating, your body is not ovulating either. This is amenorrhea, or early menopause. Women who experience this typically are lacking something serious in their diets – and often, it is due to being significantly underweight. Most anorexic/bulimic women will cease to menstruate. Their bodies simply don’t have the energy to go through the regular, necessary cycle.

    There are other reasons you may cease to have your period – stress can cause you to skip a few periods. I state again, A FEW. If you have missed your period for a long time, SEE SOMEONE. It doesn’t have to be a doc, preferably not, see a holistic, homeopathic doctor/nurse/midwife. Make sure they know you are a raw foodist.

    Also, I recommend googling amenorrhea and raw food. You will find it is incredibly common for raw foodists to lose their periods.

  • skyespice, When a woman does not have her period, it does not necessarily mean she is not ovulating. It’s true that some raw foodists have short or no periods, but many also get pregnant while not having a period.

    Katie (above) referred to an article that discusses this in great detail. I’m not sure of the link either, but it makes the point that animals that eat a raw diet do not menstruate, but domestic animals fed a processed, cooked diet do menstruate or bleed with their cycles. Why wouldn’t the same hold true for humans? It’s also interesting to note that many overweight, unhealthy women who eat terrible diets have very heavy, long, and painful periods, whereas healthy athletic women often have very easy or no periods at all.

    Now, I don’t know about “toxins being released”, or “negative energy”, or whatnot, but I think there may very well be a relationship between diet and menstruation that we don’t understand yet. Women have been bleeding for so long it has become “normal”, but those women have also been eating “normal” cooked food for just as long.

    I don’t think not having a period is necessarily a reason to worry, as long as you can make sure that you are still ovulating! The only way to check (other than pregnancy!) is to chart your temperature every month. I’ve been doing it since I went raw and it’s really easy. My periods are also increasingly lighter and shorter each month. If eventually I have no bleeding at all, I won’t worry, because I’ll know that I’m still ovulating. The book “Taking Charge of Your Fertility” by Toni Weschler is great. I wish all women would read it! This book contains everything you need to know to chart your cycles, and will allow you to tell whether or not you are ovulating each month. It’s also great if you would like to try a more natural form of (effective!) birth control, or even if you are trying to get pregnant!

    Another piece of anecdotal evidence, I was on “the pill” for nearly 7 years. I tried to get off it twice in the past. Both times I gave up and returned to the hormones again, why? I bled like crazy! My periods were so heavy and would often last over 10 days. Sometimes I’d only have a weeks break before I’d start bleeding again. It was absolutely insane! BUT, since going raw, I’m off the pill and my periods are light, easy, and like clockwork. And thanks to charting, I always know exactly what day they’ll start, too! Easy, peasy. =)

  • I have a medical book written in the late 1800’s. In this book they talk about women’s menses and how it should be a small amount of dark ( older blood ) with some tissue and mucous leaving the body for about 2-3 days. They also talked about the new phenomenon of vaginal hemorrhaging among the upper class women of that era. It actually discussed a ” richer” diet possibly being the cause. Just thought you all might find that as interesting as I did.

  • mygreenmojo,

    Wild animals DO menstruate. Not all species, but many of those closely related to humans, such as gorillas, oranguatans (spelling is way off, I know), Old World monkeys and some New World species, lemurs, and apes. So do some marsupials, hedgehogs, and even bats. There are So even wild animals on a 100% raw diet menstruate, both herbivore and omnivore. That supports the fact that ovulation leads to menstruation.

    I would suggest to the original poster, you need to make sure you are ovulating. As I stated before, women who are not eating enough will often stop ovulating, and therefore stop menstruating. This is because your body can’t support the act every month due to malnutrition.

    I do agree that a healthy diet will REDUCE the amount of a period you have, decrease menstrual pain, etc. But if you aren’t ovulating, there is a problem. Unless you are in menopause naturally.

  • skyespice,

    Yes, other species menstruate, in that they have a menstrual cycle versus an estrous cycle. These other species have menstrual cycles, but not menstrual bleeding, “menstruation”, like we do. Humans are the ONLY animals that bleed for a WEEK. And we consider this normal and healthy (!).

    The issue is not whether or not “ovulation leads to menstruation”. Menstruation is a part of the ovulation cycle. The issue is whether or not bleeding is a normal part of the menstrual cycle. I don’t really know, but in my experience, the healthier and “raw-er” I get, the less I bleed.

    See below:

    “Technically, menstruation is the shedding of the uterine lining between
    ovulations. Menstruation has been detected in most nonhuman primates, as
    well as in marsupials, carnivores, insectivores, tree shrews, flying lemurs,
    bats, and elephants (Profet, 1993). But not all mammals have overt, or
    externally visible, menstruation as humans do. Many menstruate covertly,
    reabsorbing the uterine lining after it is shed so that bleeding is not
    externally visible. Because the mammals we know to menstruate are not all
    closely related to one another, we assume that the process is widespread,
    and that nearly all female mammals menstruate in some fashion.”

    References: Profet, M. 1993. Menstruation as a defense against pathogens
    transported by sperm. Quart. Rev. Biol. 68: 335-381.

    Also, from wikipedia:

    “The evolutionary impetus for menstruation remains somewhat unclear. Most mammals reabsorb the uterine lining during their oestral cycle. The ancient writer Hippocrates considered that menstruation was intended to cleanse the body of “evil humours”, and modern evolutionary biologist Margie Profet contends that the primary function of menstruation is to remove sperm-borne pathogens from the uterus. In support of this theory, she has pointed to the relatively high levels of macrophages in menstrual blood. Anthropologist Beverly Strassmann has posited that the energy savings of not having to continuously maintain the uterine lining more than offsets the blood loss of menstruation. Currently, however, no single explanation of the evolutionary purpose of menstruation is accepted.[4]”

    [4] Kathleen O’Grady (2000). “Is Menstruation Obsolete?”. The Canadian Women’s Health Network. Retrieved on 2007-01-21.

  • One more bit, this time from a raw foodist:

    MENSTRUAL PROBLEMS

    by Walter Last

    I regard menstrual bleeding as a sign of subnormal health even if it is in the accepted normal range and I also see heavier bleeding much earlier as a symptom of a health problem than present medical opinion. This assessment is based on my own experience as well as the supporting evidence found in several books.

    It appears that undomesticated animals living in their natural habitats do not show any periodic bleeding. The situation is less clear with the anthropoid apes, but I understand that there may be no bleeding on vegetarian diets in the wild and only minimal bleeding in captivity.

    The periodic shedding of the endometrium in humans is given as reason for the commonly observed menstrual bleeding. However, I see no reason why this cannot just be reabsorbed and used as a valuable resource by the body. This seems to happen with women of various ‘primitive’ tribes as reported in the literature and also with many women on low protein diets in western societies. At most, a bit of ‘spotting’ is all that should be visible.

    I know personally several women who stopped external bleeding when they adopted a vegetarian low-protein diet predominantly based on raw food. In these cases the normal ovulation cycle continued as shown by temperature measurements, checks of mucus consistency and a pregnancy. These women were fit and in good health. One was sent by a concerned specialist for bone density measurement. The result showed above normal bone density.

    Books that give examples of similar cases are NATURAL WAY TO SEXUAL HEALTH by H.G. Bieler; RAW ENERGY by L. & S. Kenton and SURVIVAL INTO THE 21st CENTURY by V. Kulvinskas. Apart from a low protein diet, another requirement for avoiding externally visible bleeding appears to be a diet high in bioflavonoids and carotenes as demonstrated in the book RAW ENERGY.

    It has been claimed by some writers such as Dr George Starr and Arnold Ehret – and I generally agree with them – that menstrual bleeding is a tremendous waste of female resources which keeps women in subnormal health and with greatly reduced physical strength. This is reflected in the 15% higher average hemoglobin levels of males as compared to pre-menopausal females. There is a very high loss of sex hormones in menstrual blood and a New York gynecologist, Dr Frank, believes that this causes the menopause to start many years sooner and with greater health problems than would otherwise be the case.

    Basically, the wall of the uterus after shedding the endometrium is an open wound, which heals quickly and with minimal blood loss in healthy women, but which continues to bleed the longer and heavier, the more unhealthy the body is. Only when women become too anemic does monthly bleeding stop as a self-protection measure.

    http://users.mrbean.net.au/wlast/menstrual.html

  • pianissimapianissima Raw Newbie

    thanks mygreenmojo.

    there is actually a part of “the raw life” by paul nison where he interviews the head of the hippocrates institute. apparently all the women at the instituted have noticed an end to their bleeding.

    this is such an interesting topic, but i never thought to question such a “normal” thing.

    also, all4raw- in DIET FOR A NEW AMERICA, robbins claims the “normal” time to get your period is around age 17. women’s diets have become too high in fat, leading to premature bleeding… not healthy.

    anyway, i don’t know what to believe, but it’s nice to get so much diverse info!

  • In response to proper age to get one’s period—

    This isn’t scientific info or anything, but something happened recently that made me wonder “What is ‘normal’?”

    My cousin got her period at 11 years old. My great aunt was telling me, and she said “That’s so early! Why is she getting it now? Is it the hormones in the food?” Etc…

    I was surprised to hear her say its early, because I got mine at the same age. I told her so, but then I also stated that in my youth I ate a LOT of meat, fatty foods, etc. I was the first kid to hit puberty and was MUCH taller, stronger, faster than ANYONE I knew my age. Of course, now I’m the shortest…

    So yeah, eating a poor diet will definitely bring it on sooner, not just the period but puberty as a whole. While I was a heavier child, my cousin is not (at least I don’t perceive her to be.. she always seemed thin until she hit puberty)... so weight may not indicate it.

    I’ve noticed that when I eat raw vegan my period won’t come… BUT (sadly) I haven’t been raw vegan for a full cycle yet. I’ve fallen back onto SAD food twice now right before my period. Essentially, I’m raw vegan all month (last month I even did the master cleanse, so I was particularly clean), and no period… but then I cave and eat SAD for like a week and, as a result, have one of the worst periods ever (with little dark blood, which tells me its mostly new blood / carrying the toxins of the foods I ate recently—as in less blood formed earlier from the cleaner diet and was then probably re-absorbed).

    Sorry if this is too much info, just hoping some people will find it useful. All in all, it appears pretty obvious to me that a cleaner diet results in a cleaner cycle and little to no bleeding… but a SAD diet will bring on heavy bleeding. I think we would all agree that a person is healthier if they have healthy diet… and, as a result, the smaller or lack of a period would be a function of that healthier body. The heavier period would be a function of an unhealthy body.

  • i feel your pain
    about 2 months ago I became vegan, but my parents are not for it. And although I have became a heathier person My mom stupidly persists me that my eating is unhealthy simply because of one thing, i havent had a period in 6 months. I mean there are a billion other reasons possibly for it like my weight loss, exercise, and stress. I really wish i could have some help. I;ve tried going raw to fix the problem, but thats a no no for my mom.

  • There are 2 common reasons a woman of early or middle years will stop menstruating.
    The first is because you may not have enough bodyfat. Many women will loose their period if they drop below a certain level.

    I am going from stuff I learned back in nursing school – A&P-, I believe the menstrual ‘cut-off’ was about 12% bodyfat. That is VERY lean for a woman. If you are ‘bodybuilder’ lean (8%), this may be your problem. (Conversely, reaching 12% is usually what will kick in a girls first mense, despite a young age. Bodyfat produces it’s own estrogen.)

    I experienced the other cause myself, when I went through the full Army Basic Training course at age 35 (NOT recommended!). High levels of physical stress (work-outs, injuries, malnutrition, etc) can cause a drop in estrogen production in the body. This is BAD, because estrogen levels are what keeps your bones strong.

    What ‘mygreenmojo’ points out has merit, but if you suspect your symptoms are from stress, malnourishment or exercise, keep reading…

    This is the important part, so PLEASE pay attention. If you are experiencing amenorhhea (cessation of mense) you may be undergoing an artificial menopause, and premature OSTEOPOROSIS. If you have a light bone structure, you really can’t afford this. Seriousely.
    Your bones are becoming more brittle R-I-G-H-T N-O-W.

    I actually cracked a few teeth just after basic ended. Had a root canal done, and lost a tooth. No joke. Part of my problem was that I had been dieting to ‘make weight’, and I severely cut back on my fats. I was eating about 75-85% raw at the time, whatever I could pick out to eat in the Army chow-line. I ate a lot of salads, veggies and fruit, and avoided fats like the plague. It was a really bad move, and I paid for it. I am already having spinal problems at 41, even with my fairly thick, muscular frame (kayaking, swimming, etc.). I may pay for it even more in the future, as I get older.

    Estrogen is synthesized from fats in the body, Poor fat intake will drop estrogen levels. I don’t want to sound like your parents, but… Whatever is wrong in your life, consider fixing it ASAP. A lack of estrogen now can have implications for the rest of your life. Stay raw, but don’t screw yourself up. Whatever your activity and stress level, it seems apparent from your description of symptoms that you are not ingesting the right nutrients in the right amounts to deal with your body’s needs.
    There is a nice, to-the-point medical synopsis of amennorhea here:

    http://www.ivf.com/amenath.html

    Less commonly, there may be an underlying problem with your endocrin and/or reproductive systems. I would recommend a medical physical, with pelvic exam and PAP to rule these out.

  • debbietookdebbietook Raw Master

    greenmojo, spirit and others – thank you so much for presenting an alternative view of menstruation. I have been wondering if the body might ‘use’ menstruation as an opportunity, at least, to clear itself of toxins. After all, some women have hot flushes at menopause. If periods cease, but the diet is still toxic, the body will need to find some other way of expelling toxins, won’t it? Hence – hot flushes. Not a shred of scientific evidence to back any of this – just a hunch.

  • You guys sure have a good discussion going on here. I just thought I would throw in my thoughts and story. I think a lot of you have good points. It’s good to have a few things checked medically if you are worried, but there may not be anything wrong with you. Our bodies are pretty smart.

    I have also not really had a period much for the last 3 years. I have been vegetarian or vegan or raw the entire time- leaning more towards raw vegan as time goes by. Now, I am getting about a 1-2 day period (if you can call it that, it’s actually more like spotting) about every 6-9 mos. I have had the full work up, including bloodwork and MRI and everything is normal. My obgyn thought it was fine, because I am a healthy person in most respects and this is just what my body is doing. My history was never that regular and I started at age 14. (I’m 31 now.) I also took some bcp’s for a few years in my mid-twenties. I can tell when I am ovulating- so I figure that my body is just doing what it wants. And I don’t have to deal with all the pain of the period. So it seems like a pretty good deal to me.

    I have found that it bothers other people more than it bothers me. I must say that I have always been irregular (btwn 40-120 days) it’s just much less often now. But I am a lot healthier person now also. Body weight has not significantly changed.

    So good luck, pianissima and the rest. Thanks for sharing your thoughts here.

  • There was a study that showed lower rates of breast cancer among Mormon women compared with most American women. Breast cancer is related to the cycling of estrogen through the body, and these women had fewer cycles (and fewer periods) over a lifetime because of pregnancy. Having fewer periods may be a good thing.

    On the other hand, Woodchick has raised a really important issue. I’ve never thought about osteoporosis seriously because I’ve never met any younger people who have it. Wow.

  • pianissima, Thanks that is very comforting. I don’t now how to calm my mother down about it.

  • I don’t think long or heavy periods are good, either. They are a heavy drain on the body’s resources. Women with heavy menses often walk around listless, anemic. My period is very light, 1-2 days, and just a little dark blood. It has been this way for a long time. Having a light period is still having a period, though.
    To be completely devoid of mense is the body falling out of the cycle we all follow, moon cycles, ocean tides, and the hormonal signals of the women.around us (after a while, a household’s women will all mense at the same time. Nature is amazing, isn’t it?).
    Estrogen also controls our skins elasticity, our hair’s lustre, our more ‘genteel’ temperment (it is the MALE hormone projesterone that causes PMS), and some of our body’s physical responses during lovemaking. If you start seeing changes in your appearance, or loose your sex-drive, start asking some very pointed questions.

  • pianissimapianissima Raw Newbie

    i REALLY appreciate all the alternate wisdom here. not very many people i know would think to question bleeding… or cramps! i had my first—and so far last—period in july, a few weeks after becoming raw. it was miraculous! very light bleeding and NO CRAMPS. this is coming from someone who became completely debilitated every month (or so). yoga helped a little, but nothing like becoming raw.

    mygreenmojo- i have to check out that book!

    woodchick- i’m definitely seeing your point here, but prior to becoming raw i would have similar irregularity, so i’ll wait to see what happens… i get an annual blood check and see my obgyn yearly. i seem to be in great health. a think stress might be a factor though as i am highly emotional (artists!)

    all4raw- my mom was always FREAKED about whether or not i was getting my period. maybe we should all check out the cycle book mygreenmojo recommended. when you think about it, it’s a little silly that someone else (obgyn) should know more about our bodies than we do! let’s get informed!

  • pianissima,

    yes, check the book out! it’s so liberating to finally understand all the changes your body goes through each month. it’s all things you’ve noticed before… but never understood! such a great resource.

    actually, the man who invented “the pill” is quoted in the book as saying “some day all women will want to know when they are ovulating” or something like that. seriously, why should the obgyns know what our bodies are doing when we don’t? they’re OUR bodies! LOL

    i know many people might think charting sounds difficult, or inconvient, but it’s not! it’s so easy. i would guess about 4-5 hours worth of reading, and then you are informed enough to control your fertility (for free!$$) for the rest of your life! what could be easier than that? each day you take your temperature in the morning and write it down on your chart, but that only takes about 30 seconds, and if you miss a few days a month, it’s no big deal (unlike the pill). your temperature, along with a few other fertility signs (“cervical mucous”) tell you when you ovulate each month. then you just use your contraceptive of choice during that fertile window. the rest of the month you are free to enjoy sex with your (monogamous and STD-free, of course) partner without worrying you will become pregnant.

    i was on the pill for 7 years, but no more. now i understand my body and i’m completely free! =)

  • Morning_theftMorning_theft Raw Newbie

    I’ve been raw for 5 months now and still my period is not back… You guys are making me worry a little bit… Is there anything I could do short of seeing a doctor that would pump me full of artificial hormones?

  • I doubt a doctor would do anything that drastic.
    Although, honestly, I find Nurse-practitioners to be a little more ‘in tune’, especially if you can find one who doubles as a certified midwife (or at least has one in her office.) Those ladies are WONDERFUL.
    To be honest, they are less likely to charge an arm and a leg for their services, too.
    They do pretty much the same work as a Dr. in General Practice, can do a Gyno exam and/or order the necessary tests to check thyroid, bone density, etc.

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