Lara Briden - The Period Revolutionary
Leading the change to better periods and hormones
Tips to improve fertility with nutrition and herbal medicine.
Normal period pain or dysmenorrhea should be mild and respond to simple treatments like ibuprofen, zinc, or a dairy-free diet.
If period pain does not respond to simple treatments, it’s severe period pain, and could be a symptom of a condition such as endometriosis, adenomyosis, fibroids, infection, pelvic congestion syndrome, or pelvic floor tension.
Debilitating period pain is never normal.
Vitex (also called chaste tree or chasteberry) is a herbal medicine prepared from the berries of the Mediterranean tree Vitex agnus-castus. In ancient times, it was used to suppress the libido of monks, hence the name. Fortunately, it does not have that effect on women.
Vitex is effective medicine for breast pain, irregular periods, premenstrual mood symptoms, and some types of acne.
Natural or non-hormonal contraceptive methods include fertility awareness-based methods, the diaphragm, condoms, and the copper IUD or Paragard.
Soy contains phytoestrogens or “plant-estrogens,” which sounds bad but by out-competing estradiol, phytoestrogens can have a beneficial anti-estrogen effect in women of reproductive age.
That’s why soy and other phytoestrogens can make periods lighter and improve estrogen excess symptoms such as PMS and heavy periods.