[Disclaimer: Not medical advice! Consult with your physician.]
As a teenager, I suffered from horrible dysmenorrhea, or painful period cramps. As the years passed and I learned how to care for my body, I was able to make my period pain a lot more manageable. Lately, however, I’ve noticed that while the cramps aren’t quite as painful, I’ve been suffering from major depressive episodes during my period.
It has been a major bummer. Outside of this monthly hiccup, my mental health has actually been better than ever. I notice a huge downswing in my mood and negative intrusive thoughts that don’t feel like “me.”And apparently, I’m not alone. According to this Healthline article, it’s very common to suffer from depression during your period. Experts still aren’t 100% sure as to the cause, but they suspect that fluctuations in dopamine and serotonin as part of the body’s hormone cycling play a part.
Where do carrots come in? Carrot fiber binds to excess estrogen, preventing it from being absorbed via the intestines and wreaking havoc on our hormone levels (source). Think of carrot fiber like little brooms sweeping endotoxins like excess estrogen and harmful bacteria safely out of your system. What’s so bad about excess estrogen? In females, high estrogen levels can cause symptoms such as irregular or heavy periods, weight gain, fatigue, and fibroids (source).
Carrot Recipe
I’m definitely a fan of carrot juice (see my fave carrot juice recipe here), but for this to work, we need to consume the fiber. Looking for ways to incorporate carrot fiber into your diet? Here is a recipe I made called the Clemson Salad (Get it? Because its orange and purple?) that features shaved carrot.
There you have it! A carrot a day may be helpful in keeping the period crazies away. Have you tried eating carrots for hormone regulation? Let me know in the comments!
