The Myth About Menstruation And What Women Should Not Eat

By Bright Azuh

Women are precious creatures and there is a long list of things they enjoy doing including ‘sitting down and being taken care of' but one thing that doesn’t sit on that list is menstruating. Talk about how important it is for a woman to crack that egg and lose that blood every month, no one exactly enjoys bleeding through their uterus but it needs to happen.

A social media publication that went viral recently flagged a couple of things that women are not supposed to eat and do when they are menstruating. These things include “do not take cold water, avoid some fruits like cucumbers and coconuts, also do not apply shampoo on your hair as the pores of your head are open during menstruation and shampoo can give you headache,” etc.

While it is advised that women practice healthy living especially during their periods, most of the claims in this publication that have been reposted more than one million times in different languages are false. Those recommendations are without scientific back-up.

Do not drink cold water- FALSE

Dr Aloysius Inofomoh, a consultant obstetrician based in Lagos told Africa Check that none of these claims can be proven scientifically. That taking ice water or cold drinks does not affect menstruation and ice water is not a risk factor for uterine cancer. Drinking cold things does not alter hormonal cycle

Do not eat cucumbers and coconuts- FALSE

Dr Inofomoh also revealed that cucumber is a vegetable that, when eaten, passes through the alimentary canal. It does not get to the uterus at all. There is no relationship between it and barrenness. It has nothing to do with a woman’s reproductive system.

People also debate that a woman will vomit blood or incur a uterus injury if she hits her body on a hard object during her period. This is also false as reports have shown that if a “woman is hit in the abdomen, depending on the strength and location of the impact, vomiting of blood means there is severe injury to the stomach or oesophagus – not the uterus.” In other words, she only vomits blood if she has a pre-existing injury in her stomach.

Meanwhile if you must avoid any food during your menstruation, you should avoid taking high fat foods, carbonated drinks, too much fried and refined food. Consume more fruits and vegetables, take healthy carbohydrates for strength and stay hydrated with lots of water.