Menstruation woes? You’re not alone. While period pain – cramping or heaviness in the lower abdomen, back, or thighs – usually subsides after a few days, it can be excruciating. Thankfully, relief is available – from pain meds to heating pads, yoga, and even certain foods. Also read | Can periods be problematic? Here’s when should you worry about your menstrual cycle
Bananas can help cure period pain? They are rich in magnesium and potassium, which can help relax muscles and reduce cramping. However, effectiveness varies from person to person. (Freepik) Can bananas ease period pain?
In a June 28 Instagram video on her page, Dr Raj Arora, general practitioner (GP), NHS or National Health Service, the publicly funded healthcare system in the UK, reacted to a report that said ‘eating just one banana could reduce period pain’.
She wrote in her caption, “Can eating a banana help ease your menstrual cramps?! Bananas are rich in magnesium and potassium thought to help relax muscle and reduce cramping. The results can vary from person to person, though, and not everyone will see benefits. Have you tried this as a period pain remedy? Has it worked?”
In the accompanying video, Dr Arora discussed the potential for bananas to alleviate menstrual cramps by examining their nutritional content. She explained that bananas contain magnesium and potassium, which can help with muscle cramping and bloating, respectively, and fibre, which can address period-related constipation.
She said, “Can eating a banana help with your period pain? I’m a GP. Let’s get into it. Now, the idea behind this is that your banana contains magnesium, so a good portion of magnesium, which can help with muscle cramping and also contains potassium, which can help with bloating as well. It also contains fibre. So, if you’re somebody who gets constipated during your period, which can add to period cramping or exacerbate your period cramping again, it can help with that bowel movement as well. So, it may relieve bloating and cramping from that perspective as well.”
Not a cure-all but a supportive dietary addition
However, effectiveness varies from person to person. Dr Arora cautioned that bananas aren’t a cure-all, but rather a supportive dietary addition to managing menstrual discomfort.
She explained: “It is really important to say that bananas are not the answer to period pains, as this can vary from person to person. So, for somebody, eating one banana might help with their period pains. For somebody else, it might have no impact at all. So, look, if you’re suffering from period pains, it’s important that diet is important. So reduce your processed foods so that you’re not having, like you know, a quick transit time, and you’re not having lots of cramping in your bowel as well, which can also show up as worsening period pains as well. And also the hormones that you experience during your period can have a huge impact on your bowels, and what you’re eating.”
She added, “Therefore, you might find that if you’re eating certain foods during your period, you’re going to the toilet quickly. So for some of you, you might have diarrhoea, and others might have more constipation. So it’s very different from person to person. So having a banana may be helpful in some cases, but it may not be helpful for everybody.”
According to Dr Arora, bananas are a potentially supportive dietary addition to a holistic approach to managing menstrual discomfort. (Made using ChatGPT) Managing menstrual discomfort: beyond bananas
Dr Arora suggested that for mild to moderate pain, remedies like heat patches and over-the-counter pain relief may be more helpful, while severe, debilitating pain warrants immediate medical attention to rule out underlying conditions.
She shared, “So what else can you do if you’re having period pain? First of all, if your period pains are mild to moderate and you’re struggling with them, but you can manage doing some things, then you might want to think about things like heat patches just to help relieve the muscular pain. You might want to take some mild pain relief, for example, paracetamol or ibuprofen. If you’re not contraindicated, these can really work well.”
She added: “If your pain is more severe, though, and you’re noticing that you can’t get out of bed, you’re feeling dizzy, you’re passing out, any of these things, then you know, a banana is not going to help that. So, you really need to go and see your doctor and find out what’s going on because this could be a sign and symptom of something underlying. Endometriosis, PCOS, fibroids, the list goes on. So, in short, bananas can be helpful. They’re not going to be the silver bullet, I think. Try it. See what it does for you. Might help, may not.”
Note to readers: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.
This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice.