What to Eat For Your Menstrual Cycle: Four Phases

For cycling women of all ages, it’s important to be aware of the ways that nutrition and food choices can support our hormones.

• Our menstrual cycles can be a quick measure of our overall health. The relative ease and regularity of your menstrual cycle is an amazing piece of information that gives you insight about your overall health. In fact, some health professionals consider it to be the 5th vital sign.
• The menstrual cycle is so important because it indicates whether or not a woman is healthy and safe enough to reproduce. Reproduction is not essential to survival, so it is often the first system to “shut off” in times of illness or stress.
• This ability to stop menstruating is the body’s protection mechanism not to get pregnant in a less than optimal environment. Historically, this often occurred due to famine or other life-threatening circumstances. Today, a lack of a normal cycle occurs due to stress, imbalanced hormones, or lack of nourishment.
• It is normal to have some variations in our cycles. Even the season can cause changes. Certainly, one’s age, stage of life, and level of stress can also cause changes. But, painful periods, severe menstrual cramps or menstrual pain, and very heavy blood loss during that time of the month may be signs that you need to work on hormone levels using the right foods and a healthy diet.
• Most women between the ages of 12-50 have between 10-12 cycles a year. Menstrual cycles should generally be between 28-35 days, though this number may vary slightly. As long as your cycle is normal for you and is consistent, that is considered a good sign.

As always, it’s important to consult your healthcare provider if you have changes in your cycle or if you miss more than a couple of cycles and you aren’t pregnant.

We often think of menstruation as the main event of a cycle, but there are actually four phases in a cycle. The two main parts are the follicular and luteal phases, but they can be broken up further into the menstrual, follicular, ovulatory, and luteal phases.

One way to monitor your changes from phase to phase is to keep a journal of how you are feeling each day and what food cravings or mood changes you have.

Here is a more details description of the four parts of the female menstrual cycle. Note that there will be some variation in the timing based on each individual female.

The first day of bleeding marks the first day of your entire cycle. Menstruation occurs from days 1-5, though your specific period length may look different. Anywhere from 2-7 days is considered normal, though most women bleed between 3-5 days.

During the menstrual phase, you are shedding your uterine lining from the previous cycle. All hormones are low for the first few days, with estrogen and FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) begin to rise towards the end. Your body is also busy maturing several eggs for ovulation.

See below for the best foods to eat on your period.

After you stop bleeding, you move into your follicular phase, which occurs from days 6-15 (or from the last day of bleeding to ovulation). During this time, your body selects one dominant follicle to nurture and grow in preparation for ovulation.

I’ve include a list below of foods to eat during the follicular phase.

Estrogen rules this part of your cycle, along with luteinizing hormone to trigger ovulation. The end of the follicular phase is marked by ovulation, when the follicle bursts and releases an egg ready for fertilization.

Immediately after ovulation, your body is prepared for a fertilized egg to implant itself in your uterus. The ovulatory phase lasts from the end of ovulation to the luteal phase, roughly days 16-21.

During this luteal phase, progesterone rises, prompting the continued growth of a nutrient-dense uterine lining ready for implantation. The dominant follicle, now referred to as the corpus luteum, is primarily responsible for secreting the progesterone that will ensure a successful pregnancy if the egg has been fertilized.

See below for what to eat when you’re ovulating.

Your diet is a great way to optimize each phase of your cycle. Not only do you get to target potential symptoms with key nutrients, but your cycle is a built-in way to rotate your foods and ensure variety in your diet.

Here are some tips for what to eat on your period to support balanced hormones and your optimal energy and well-being. Remember to always use Non Toxic Pans when cooking.

Don’t worry if you can’t incorporate specific foods during each phase, but you might want to test if cycle syncing at least a few meals helps manage any unpleasant symptoms that you experience.

Body Needs: Your menstrual phase is a time to rest and replenish. Your body is undergoing a controlled inflammatory response to shed your uterine lining, so nourishing yourself with nutrient-dense, anti-inflammatory foods will help support you during your period.

Due to blood loss, iron-containing foods are the most important while on your period. Most women also need an iron supplement (see my recommendations of supplements for women of child-bearing age).

Foods to Eat (including iron-rich and mineral-rich foods):

• Beets
• Broccoli
• Brown Rice
• Chia Seeds
• Dark Chocolate (in moderation)
• Fatty Fish (like salmon and mackerel)
• Ginger
• Iron-rich foods (spinach, lentils, beef)
• Kelp and Seaweeds
• Quinoa
• Turmeric
• Walnuts
• Water-rich fruits (watermelon, cucumber)

A sample meal for your menstrual phase could include Instant Pot Sweet Potato & Beef Chili and a salad filled with iron-rich spinach, high-antioxidant berries, and healthy fats like sliced avocado and olive oil.

Additional Foods to Consider: You can try adding an Adrenal Cocktail to improve your electrolyte levels too. Beet Juice contains plant-based iron and minerals. Nourish your magnesium levels and your mood with a few daily squares of dark chocolate or my recipe for Healthy Hot Chocolate.

Foods to Avoid:

• Sugary foods like candy and cookies.
• Dairy products like milk which may cause bloating and cramping.
• Alcohol which can dehydrate the body.

Body Needs: A lot of women feel best during their follicular phase when the body’s fertility efforts are more behind the scenes. Enjoy a normal balanced diet during this phase, incorporating plenty of nourishing foods to provide nutrients to a maturing follicle.

If you are trying to conceive, this is the best time to focus on hormone balance and optimizing fertility. I’ve included specific foods to include and avoid during this time leading up to ovulation.

Foods to Eat Follicular Phase (including nutrient-dense foods):

• Avocados
• Berries (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries)
• Eggs
• Fermented Foods (yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi)
• Leafy Greens (spinach, kale, Swiss chard)
• Legumes (lentils, chickpeas, beans)
• Lean Proteins (chicken, turkey, fish, tofu)
• Nuts and Seeds (flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds)
• Whole Grains (quinoa, barley, oats, whole wheat bread)

A sample meal for your follicular phase could include nutrient-dense salad with with lots of vegetables, sauerkraut, grilled chicken, and avocado. You could also add a Green Vegetable Juice to your diet to help add extra micronutrients.

Additional Foods to Consider: Some women find themselves prone to dehydration during their follicular phase due to the high levels of hormones, so incorporate more mineral-rich sea salt and water during this time (try my recipe for Cucumber Ginger Lemon Water or homemade Celery Juice).

Foods to Avoid During Follicular Phase:

• Alcohol which can affect hormone balance and overall liver function.
• Too much caffeine which may impact estrogen levels.
• Highly processed foods like fast foods or fried foods that can contain additives, high salt, and unhealthy fats, which can impact overall health and hormone balance.
• Too much soy or phytoestrogen-containing foods which can affect estrogen balance.

Body Needs: During your ovulatory and luteal phases (the rest of your cycle leading up to when you start bleeding), you want to start supporting your detoxification pathways to make it easy to metabolize and eliminate the used hormones from your follicular phase.

Focus on liver-loving foods like cruciferous vegetables, antioxidant-rich berries, and protein. Incorporate plenty of fiber to ensure you’re able to eliminate properly.

Foods to Eat (including detoxifying foods):

• Asparagus
• Berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries)
• Brazil nuts
• Chia seeds
• Eggs
• Flaxseeds
• Green leafy vegetables (spinach, kale)
• Lean meats (chicken, turkey)
• Quinoa
• Salmon
• Sunflower seeds
• Tuna
• Walnuts
• Zinc-rich foods (oysters, pumpkin seeds, beef, cashews)

You may consider eating easily digestible foods since some women can start to have digestive issues during this phase. One way to do this is to cook your vegetables, as opposed to eating raw veggies during this time.

A sample meal for your luteal phase could include a pureed soup, which is typically easy to digest. A dairy-free broccoli pureed soup is a great option (see all of my dairy-free soup recipes). Or, try my Liver Detox Smoothie that is very nourishing and naturally detoxifying.

You may also wish to follow a Sugar Detox Meal Plan to help with sugar cravings.

Additional Foods to Consider: Try adding some homemade broccoli sprouts to also help with your body’s natural detox pathways. Cinnamon Water can help manage blood sugar levels.

You can also try eating more foods with natural probiotics such as sauerkraut and coconut yogurt to help with any digestive issues during the luteal phase.

Foods to Avoid:

• Sugary foods which can affect mood and energy.
• Trans fats that can negatively impact hormone production and overall reproductive health.

Body Needs: To help stave off cramps, headaches, and difficulty sleeping during the luteal phase of your menstrual cycle, you should definitely include magnesium-rich foods while continuing to support your detox pathways.

Foods high in magnesium include nuts and seeds, leafy greens, avocado, chocolate, and bananas. If you have trouble with allergies during this time, try my tips for how to reduce histamine naturally.

Foods to Eat During Luteal Phase:

• Almonds
• Avocado
• Bananas
• Brown rice
• Chickpeas
• Chocolate (in moderation)
• Dark leafy greens (spinach, kale)
• Eggs
• Lentils
• Peanuts
• Pumpkin seeds
• Quinoa
• Salmon
• Sweet potatoes
• Turkey
• Whole grains (like barley and oats)
• Zucchini

Foods to Avoid During Luteal Phase:

• Alcohol which an exacerbate mood swings and disrupt sleep.
• Caffeine in excess can intensify breast tenderness and disrupt sleep patterns.
• Sugary foods which may contribute to premenstrual migraines and mood swings. See my list of the best no-sugar foods.
• High-sodium foods that may contribute to bloating and water retention.