Want to know what should be your Indian diet during periods. What all Indian foods to eat during periods / menstruation. Read along .. A woman’s body is going through a lot of pain and discomfort during periods but with proper diet and care most of the issues related to periods can be reduced to a great extent without medicines.
Wondering what should be your diet during periods / menstruation ??? Read along to find out more. It has been proven through studies that a well balanced diet full of nutrients and vitamins can help in easing lot of period problem like Cramps, Pain, Acne, Bloating, Upset Stomach, Excess Blood Loss or Decrease in blood flow. A healthy menstruation cycle determines your future reproductive health. And through diet and simple exercises you can reduce the discomfort to a great extent without consuming any medicines.
The focus here is on diet or food that we consume because in our fast paced life we are consuming highly processed, refined, spicy, packaged food a lot. The trend to eat-out frequently or eat ready-to-eat meals is what worsens the period problems as all these foods are HIGH in Salt which causes bloating and weight gain during periods . A simple whole grain diet along with few detox drinks will surely give you relief from this monthly pain and cramps.
So lets find out what should your diet be before the cycle and during the cycle. It is important to control the diet before the periods not just during the periods only. A healthy nutritious diet even if followed 10 days before your expected period will help you ease out your pain in your next cycle.
Foods To Strictly Avoid During Periods
- Coffee – it elevates the Estrogen level. Excess estrogen can also cause menstrual problems such as weight gain and irregular periods.
- Tea preferably just 1- 2 times a day
- Completely avoid aerated COLD DRINKS and ENERGY DRINKS. High sugar makes the body slow and sluggish.
- Completely avoid ALCOHOL
- Avoid Bakery products – cakes, pastries, biscuits, cookies.
- Avoid Highly Salty products – Chips, Waffers, Namkeens, Pizzas, Cheese, Chowmein
- Avoid Fried Foods – Pakoras, Vadas, Chaat Items, Samosas.
- Avoid Chinese Foods as it is quite high in Salt and Oil.
- Avoid Milk if suffering with diarrhea. In this case consume Dahi/ Curd to include healthy protein in the diet.
It might seem like an unimaginable task. But if a balanced diet is followed through out the month, these Cravings will decrease and your monthly pains and discomfort will decrease immensely.
Reduce Salt , Reduce Fried Food , Reduce Refined Packaged Food
Indian Diet Chart During Periods:
Note: Every person’s body reacts in different way to different food items. If eating something makes you uncomfortable then avoid or skip that food item.
Start this diet 10 – 15 days before the expected periods.
On Waking : 1 medium size Banana with 2 – 3 Walnuts, 8 – 10 Raisins and 1 tsp Sunflower Seed or Pumpkin seeds.
Breakfast : 30 mins later have breakfast. Quantity is too be decided according to your calorie needs. There is no need to increase your calorie intake during this period.
Breakfast Ideas:
- Oatmeal with seasonal fruits
- Masala Oats
- Dal cheela with paneer stuffing with green chutney
- Besan ka cheela and curd.
- Overnite soaked chia seeds with fruits
- Upma with veggies and green chutney
- Steamed Sprout salad
- Mix vegetable Paratha with less oil with dahi / curd
- Omelette with veggies and 1 roti
- Besan dhokla with green chutney
- Oats Idli with coconut chutney
Post Breakfast : 1/2 hour later Ajwain Water / Cinnamon water / Ginger Tea
Mid Morning Snack : 1 – 2 seasonal fruit (Avoid imported / non seasonal fruits )
Lunch – 1 bowl Dal + 2 chapati or 1 cup boiled brown rice + 1 cup Sabji + 1/2 cup Dahi / Curd with 1 tsp roasted flaxseed powder
Indian Lunch Ideas :
Dal / Tariwali Preparaions
Side Vegetable –
- Paneer Bhurji
- Bhindi ki Sabji
- Lauki ki sabji
- Aloo baingan
- Gajar matar
- Mix vegetable stir fry
- Aloo methi
- Baingan bharta
- Matar mushroom
For more easy veg recipes click here Indian Vegetarian Recipes
Curd Preparation with 1 tsp roasted flaxseed powder
- Mix Veg raita
- Plain Curd with salt and pepper
- Aloo Raita
- Lauki Ka Raita
Roti / Indian Bread
- Oats Roti
- Bran Roti
- Bajra Roti
- Mix Grains Roti
- Ragi Roti
Dessert:
- Gur (Jaggery ) Masala
- Gur (Jaggery ) laddoo
- Slice of whole wheat – jaggery cake
Post Lunch – 1/2 hour later Ajwain Water / Cinnamon water / Ginger Tea
Evening Snacks
- Popcorn Chaat
- Sweet potato chaat
- Jhal Muri
- Spicy Mur Mure (Puffed Rice )
- Boiled Potato Chaat
- Fox Nut roasted
- Boiled egg salad
- Tofu Sticks
- 1 – 2 Boiled Eggs
Dinner Suggestions –
- Repeat same as Lunch
- 1 bowl Soup like warm Tomato Beetroot Soup , Spinach Soup with roasted almonds, Minestrone Soup with lots of vegetables, Mushroom soup with roasted pine nuts.
- Homemade Paneer Tikka
- Stir Fried Vegetables with Chicken
Dessert:
- 1 piece of Dark Chocolate Chocolate
- 3 – 4 Baked Atta Gur Shakarpara
- Slice of whole wheat jaggery cake
- Gur Mur Mure Laddoo
Post Dinner – 1/2 hour later Ajwain Water / Cinnamon water / Ginger Tea
Before Sleeping: 1 cup hot milk with Haldi (Turmeric Powder). Avoid if suffering with bloating or diarrhea.
This diet chart for periods is a sample plan you can add and customize it according to your needs.
A healthy balanced diet during periods is very important to ease out all the pain, discomfort and to live your life to the fullest even during periods. Life should not get disrupted during periods.