Busting menstruation myths! Is it true that you can’t eat ice at all when you’re on your period? Will swimming during your period attract sharks?

Preface

Menstruation is an important stage in every woman's life, yet the myths and misunderstandings surrounding menstruation can often confuse people. Myths about food and activity are widespread in certain cultures and societies, including some beliefs about eating ice or swimming during your period. We’ll explore the truth behind these myths and explore their veracity one by one.

Debunking myths about menstruation

Myth 1: You can’t eat ice during menstruation?

In fact, there is currently no scientific evidence to support not eating cold food during menstruation. Cold food itself will not cause any adverse effects on the menstrual cycle. Every woman's body and reaction to food are different, so whether eating cold foods is appropriate during menstruation should be based on individual comfort and body response. The intake of cold drinks or cold water does not affect the menstrual cycle or cause increased menstrual blood flow. However, some women may be sensitive to cold drinks or water during menstruation and may experience abdominal discomfort. This depends on the individual's body response and comfort level.

Different countries have different eating habits, which brings up a myth: Why do women in some countries still eat cold food during menstruation?

For example, Korean girls will continue to consume cold products such as kimchi during menstruation, including: kimchi, chili peppers, perilla leaves, soju, rice wine, ginger, etc. From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, these are natural gastric protective layers to repel cold, and Korean The restaurant mainly serves ice water, so they have been accustomed to consuming cold products since they were young, so their physical constitutions are naturally different.

Secondly, in view of South Korea’s geographical advantage, South Korea is rich in ginseng and is highly nutritious. Many Koreans grew up eating ginseng, which can inhibit malnutrition caused by a lack of meat. Therefore, in an average traditional Korean family, if their children are found to be in poor health, the parents will take appropriate ginseng and tonics.

On the contrary, Chinese people have been taught since childhood that tap water should not be drunk directly. Cold water may be harmful to health. Especially when women are on their menstrual period, drinking cold things is a taboo and must be boiled before it is hygienic. Cheng Lian, a doctor at Hunan People's Hospital, explained that this is the same reason that foreign women do not take confinement after giving birth. Chinese people pay attention to the need for warm water, such as hot and lukewarm water. Readers are advised to make a decision based on their physical condition. It is best not to consume cold water and frozen food before and during menstruation.

Tips for keeping healthy during menstruation

So, besides drinking less frozen water during and during menstruation, how can you take care of your body? The following are 4 key points of health care during the menstrual period. However, since everyone’s body constitution is different, if you have further conditioning needs, you still need to consult a professional doctor:

1. Before menstruation: good sleep and exercise habits

Conditioning the body does not happen overnight. Overwork and staying up late will cause Qi and blood to be consumed. Excessive consumption and Qi and blood deficiency will easily lead to less menstrual flow and irregular menstruation. Many women suffer from regular colds and headaches before menstruation due to premenstrual Qi and blood deficiency. Therefore, you should try to maintain a good biological clock on weekdays, go to bed early and get up early, so that the body can have proper rest, which can effectively improve immunity and reduce menstrual pain. As for exercise, regular exercise habits, such as running and yoga, can promote blood circulation and relieve menstrual pain. Of course, strenuous exercise should be avoided during menstruation. Depending on your situation, you can switch to walking, jogging, etc.

2. During menstruation: abstinence according to physical constitution

As mentioned above, it is not completely forbidden to eat ice before and after menstruation. However, this depends on personal constitution. If your body constitution is already cold, eating ice will easily reduce the amount of menstrual blood and intensify uterine contractions. It is recommended to eat less ice and "cold foods" such as watermelon, winter melon, and pears; eat more warm foods, or cook a pot Drinks such as brown sugar ginger tea, longan and red date tea; if your body is on the hot side, it’s okay. If you are not sure about your constitution, you can observe your body during menstruation and make simple judgments (whether your hands and feet are cold and the degree of menstrual pain after eating ice, etc.), or you can directly seek medical advice and prescribe the most suitable medicine for you.

3. During menstruation: keep warm

Everyone is used to spending time in air-conditioned rooms in summer. If you are in your menstrual period, you should pay special attention to keeping your calves, shoulders and back warm, especially around the Dazhui point on the back of the neck. Because the outside of the calf is the spleen, stomach and Yangming meridians, which are connected with the uterus. The back is the governor meridian of the human body and is also where the yang energy of the human body is located. Many people do not have dysmenorrhea problems when they are young, but long-term cold exposure can easily turn into uterine cold.

4. After menstruation: Supplement nutrition

After the menstrual period, the uterus has completed its metabolism, and the progesterone decreases, so Qi and blood are most deficient. At this time, Qi and blood enter a new accumulation cycle and need to be replenished. You can appropriately use some foods that nourish blood and qi, such as donkey-hide gelatin, red dates, longan meat, and dietary prescriptions that nourish qi and blood such as Bazhen soup and ginger-date tea. The average menstrual cycle for women is five to seven days, so ovulation occurs five to seven days after menstruation. Generally, the golden tonic period for women is the week after menstruation ends. During this period, you can replenish your qi and blood and get twice the result with half the effort. If you are a woman preparing for pregnancy, you can nourish yourself during this period and eat some sea cucumbers and fish maw appropriately.

By following the above 4 points and being prepared before, during and after menstruation, you can effectively avoid menstrual pain. However, if severe pain persists, it is recommended to consult a professional doctor as soon as possible and seek medical treatment as soon as possible.

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Myth 2: Swimming during menstruation will attract sharks?

The human senses of sharks are mainly through sound, vibration and smell, not necessarily menstrual blood. Menstrual blood dilutes in water and is quickly carried away by currents, so small amounts are not attractive to sharks. If you use tampons to swim in the sea, you should change them immediately after landing to ensure hygiene. Otherwise, there is a chance that a large number of bacteria will breed and cause infection. It is true that sharks will react to a small amount of human blood, and the fresher the blood, the stronger the reaction will be. However, it mostly occurs in tanks or fish cages.

In fact, most cases of humans being attacked by sharks are caused by sharks mistaking humans for other prey. For example, great white sharks usually prey on small and medium-sized mammals such as seals and sea lions. They can easily mistake humans who are diving or surfing for prey and attack them. It is not recommended to go to the sea and play in the water when your physical condition is not good due to menstruation. Even if you feel in good physical condition at the moment, your condition may still take a turn for the worse during your period, so it is recommended to rest on shore. However, it is not recommended to go to waters where sharks are present even during non-menstrual periods.

Japanese doctor Ayako Shibata said that the chance of sharks being attracted to human blood in the open sea is very low. Not only is the distance a problem, the flow direction and depth of the seawater will also have an impact. Or the appearance of other foods that sharks prefer to eat, as well as the shark's hunger status, etc. will also change the current situation. This reflects that menstruating women may bleed in the water, but they may not necessarily attract sharks. Whether they attract sharks depends on the concentration of the blood.

Myth 3: You can’t participate in sports or physical activities during menstruation?

Moderate exercise is safe to do during menstruation and can help relieve period pain and mood swings. Adaptive exercise, light aerobics, and stretching can all help relieve period pain and boost your mood.

Recently, some scholars completed a meta-analysis and systematic review on menstrual cycle and exercise performance, integrating 78 related studies. The results indicate that girls' average athletic performance may decline slightly during the pre-follicular phase (when menstruation begins). However, scholars mentioned that the gap in sports performance is very small, that there are large differences between studies (for example, different training qualifications and ages of subjects), and that the quality of many studies is not very good. Therefore, exercise programs should be tailored to each girl's individual responses.

During the menstrual phase. Due to uterine contractions during menstruation and residual symptoms, girls may initially feel that their exercise performance is poor. So what can be done?

• Rest: If you find yourself out of shape, lacking motivation, tired, etc., taking a few days off can be a good option.
• Tapering training: If you can exercise, it is recommended to arrange a tapering period of half a week to a week to avoid overexertion.
• Switch to other light training: Some people who do not want to do heavy training during menstruation will also choose to replace exercise with other sports or activities, such as walking, jogging, etc.
• Train as usual, but understand that it may not perform as usual: you can also train as usual, and then if you can't increase the weight, reps or sets, or your posture is not good, etc., know that this is just a matter of this stage.

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Myth 4: You can’t get pregnant during menstruation?

Girls can still get pregnant during menstruation. Sperm can survive in the body for 3 to 5 days, and the timing of ovulation may be during or at the end of pregnancy.

There is a common misconception that women release eggs from the body during menstruation, so having sex during menstruation will not lead to pregnancy. However, this is not 100% true. Generally speaking, the 14th day calculated from the first day of the menstrual period is the day of ovulation. As long as the ovulation period (that is, the dangerous period) has passed, the chance of conception will be greatly reduced, such as during menstruation.

Menstrual period 4 stages

stage	Physiological changes
1.Menstrual phase	From about the 1st to the 5th day, the total bleeding volume is about 10 to 80 milliliters (ml).
2. Follicular phase	From approximately day 1 to day 13, the pituitary gland's gonadotropin hormone (Gonadotropic hormone) will promote the growth of follicles in the ovary and select the most mature one to develop into an egg. At the same time, the ovary will secrete estrogen. (Estrogen) gradually thickens the endometrium.
3. Ovulation phase	About the 14th day is the ovulation day, that is, the egg cells are discharged into the fallopian tube, and the period from about 4 to 5 days before the ovulation day to 3 to 4 days after the ovulation day is the ovulation period.
4. Luteal phase	From about the 15th to the 28th day, the time after ovulation to the next menstruation is the luteal phase. During this period, the follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) secreted by the pituitary gland will cause the rest of the filter The vacuole transforms into the corpus luteum and secretes progesterone, which thickens the endometrium to facilitate implantation of the fertilized egg.

However, some women have irregular menstrual cycles, such as polycystic ovary patients, excessive weight loss, and people who exercise, which may cause abnormal menstrual cycles. After the egg matures, it can survive in the fallopian tube for 24 hours, and the sperm can survive for 3-5 days. Some people's menstrual period and ovulation period will overlap, especially those with short menstrual cycles. When menstruation has not ended, ovulation may have begun. , plus sperm can survive for a long time, it is possible to get pregnant. Therefore, it is still possible to get pregnant during menstruation, but it is not absolutely safe. Therefore, if you do not have a childbirth plan for the time being, you should take safety measures.

in conclusion

In summary, the myths and misconceptions surrounding menstruation can be confusing, but many of them are actually wrong. First of all, there is no scientific evidence to support the inability to eat cold food during menstruation. This depends on each person's physical constitution and cannot be generalized, especially regarding myths such as menstrual exercise and safe periods that will not lead to pregnancy. Moderate exercise during menstruation is safe and can relieve menstrual cramps and mood swings. In addition, it is still possible to get pregnant during menstruation because sperm can survive in the body for several days and the timing of ovulation may occur after the menstrual period is over. Therefore, we should correctly understand these myths and adjust and manage our activities during menstruation according to our personal physical conditions and needs.

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