Period cramps: what I eat to get through those days more calmly

"What can I eat to hurt less during my period?" It's one of the questions I get most often in my messages, and it always arrives at the same moment: day one, hot water bottle on the belly, when it's a bit late to get organised.

I'll answer you honestly. Your plate doesn't replace a painkiller, and it doesn't fix a medical condition. But it does act on a very specific mechanism, the one that produces the pain, and that's worth paying attention to a few days before it all starts.

Why some periods hurt so much

Every month, the lining of your uterus (the endometrium) thickens. When there's no pregnancy, it sheds, and the uterus contracts to push it out. Those contractions are what you feel as cramps. On the way, they squeeze the small blood vessels of the uterine muscle, which then gets less oxygen, and that lack of oxygen is what hurts.

When the pain has no other cause than this normal process, it's called primary dysmenorrhoea. It's common, often stronger in your teens and the first years of having periods, and it usually lasts one to three days.

In Solaia's map of symptoms by cycle phase, that's exactly the window: painful periods, cramps and lower back pain from day 1 to day 3, nausea and headaches mostly on days 1 and 2, then fatigue taking over from day 2 to day 4. If you recognise yourself in that calendar, you're in the most common situation.

Inflammation and prostaglandins, without the jargon

The contractions don't start on their own. They're triggered by chemical messengers made by the endometrium itself: prostaglandins. The more there are, the harder the uterus contracts, and the more it hurts. They don't stay politely inside the uterus, either. They get into your circulation, which is why some of us also have nausea, loose stools or a headache on day one.

Here's the thing: prostaglandins are inflammation molecules. And some of them are built from the fats we eat. Omega-6 fats (plentiful in sunflower oil, fried food and processed products) are the raw material for the most inflammatory prostaglandins. Omega-3 fats (oily fish, flaxseed, walnuts) produce much calmer versions.

That's why I say food has a say. You can't switch the mechanism off, and luckily so, because it has a job to do. But you can tip the balance one way rather than the other, and do it over the two weeks before your period, not just on the day. It's also why the turmeric tip in the app comes on day 6 of the luteal phase, well before your period.

The foods that help me: omega-3, magnesium, ginger

Omega-3

This is my priority. Two to three portions of oily fish a week (salmon, sardines, mackerel), and ground flaxseed or walnuts on the other days. ZOE points out that several studies have found less pain in women who eat more fish or take omega-3. It isn't magic, but it fits with everything we know about prostaglandins.

In Solaia, the best-rated recipes for the menstrual phase are almost all built on this:

• Omega-3 Salmon with Ginger (anti-inflammatory score 100): a fillet poached in a fresh ginger broth, served on spinach. Twenty-five minutes, and it's the dish I make most often on those days.
• Sardines & Black Rice Bowl (score 95), for omega-3 and the calcium in the soft bones.
• Balanced Plate: Salmon & Sweet Potato (score 100) when I need something more filling.

Magnesium

Magnesium helps muscles relax, including the uterine muscle. You'll find it in pumpkin seeds, buckwheat, cacao, almonds and leafy greens. Two recipes I love during my period: Buckwheat Crêpes with Spinach & Egg (score 92), magnesium and iron in the same crêpe, and the Black Quinoa Magnesium Bowl (score 90), warm quinoa, avocado and a big handful of pumpkin seeds.

The app's tip for day 3 of your period is dark chocolate, for its magnesium. I'm on board, as long as it's 70% or more, by the square, not by the bar.

Ginger

It's the best-studied food for cramps. Several small trials have compared it with common painkillers, with encouraging results. I use it fresh, grated into broth, in tea, in curry. It also calms day-one nausea, which doesn't hurt.

And iron

It's not a painkiller, but you lose iron with the blood, and the fatigue of days 2 to 4 partly comes from there. The very first food tip of the menstrual phase in the app, on day 1, is precisely "iron first": lentils or red meat. I always add a source of vitamin C alongside (lemon, kiwi, pepper), because it improves the absorption of plant iron. The Soothing Spinach & Chickpea Curry (score 100) ticks every box: iron, turmeric, coconut milk, and it reheats beautifully. The Iron-Rich Lentil Salad (score 90) is its cold version, to take with you.

What I cut back on during those days

I don't cut anything out forever. I just make room during the week before and the first days of my period.

Fast sugar and ultra-processed food. They keep inflammation going, and they cause blood sugar spikes followed by energy crashes on top of the period fatigue. Biscuits, pastries and fizzy drinks step back for a few days.

Fried food and oils high in omega-6. For the reason explained above. I cook with olive oil and dress salads with rapeseed or walnut oil.

Alcohol. It's inflammatory, it disrupts sleep, and it often makes headaches worse.

Too much salt. It adds to water retention and that bloated feeling.

Coffee. The app's day 4 tip suggests switching to rooibos. To be honest, the direct link between coffee and cramps is less well established than the rest of this list. I cut down mainly because I sleep worse when I have too much, and sleep is already fragile on those days. If one cup in the morning suits you fine, keep it.

And I don't skip meals. An empty stomach and very low blood sugar are an open door to nausea and headaches.

My comforting hot drinks

Warmth is half the comfort. A hot water bottle dilates the blood vessels and relaxes the lower belly (that's the day 2 tip), and a scalding mug in your hands does something similar from the inside. Here are the ones on rotation in my kitchen during my period, all in the app:

• Anti-Cramp Chamomile & Ginger Tea (score 80). A tablespoon of dried chamomile flowers, a centimetre of grated ginger, five minutes covered, half a lemon. The lid matters: it keeps chamomile's essential oils in the cup.
• Golden Ashwagandha Latte (score 92). Oat milk, turmeric, ginger, a pinch of black pepper to help the turmeric absorb. I often make the simple version without the ashwagandha, and it's still delicious.
• Cycle Support Herbal Tea (score 78): raspberry leaf, nettle and two slices of ginger, steeped for ten minutes.
• Solaia Cacao Ritual (score 80): two spoonfuls of raw cacao, almond milk, a pinch of cinnamon. It's my evening drink, and my way of getting magnesium without thinking about it.

A note from the field: a lot of you tell me you don't like herbal teas. Start with the latte or the cacao, which feel more like a dessert than a remedy.

When the pain isn't normal: talk to a professional

This is the most important part of the article. Periods that hurt are common. Periods that stop you living your life are not normal, and they shouldn't be brushed off.

Lara Briden, a naturopathic doctor who writes a lot about menstrual health, lists signs that should send you to a professional. Here they are:

• the pain doesn't ease with a standard painkiller;
• you miss school, work or plans because of it;
• it starts before your period or lasts well after;
• you have pain during sex, when going to the toilet, or at other times in your cycle;
• it gets worse year after year;
• your periods are very heavy.

These signs can point to secondary dysmenorrhoea, meaning pain linked to another cause: endometriosis, adenomyosis, fibroids, infection. Endometriosis in particular is often diagnosed years late, because the women affected have been told over and over that "it's normal to be in pain". Talk to your doctor, gynaecologist or midwife, and don't hesitate to get a second opinion if you don't feel heard.

If you already have a diagnosis, the food I describe here can support your day-to-day alongside your medical care, never instead of it.

What I take away

Cramps come from prostaglandins, inflammation molecules that partly depend on the fats we eat. My trio: omega-3, magnesium, ginger, plus iron for the fatigue. I cut back on fast sugar, fried food and alcohol, and I listen to what coffee does to me. And I drink hot.

The most useful thing is still to plan ahead. Starting oily fish and ginger in the middle of the luteal phase changes more than rushing for a herbal tea on day 1. With Solaia's cycle tracking, you see those days coming, and you have the menstrual-phase recipes at hand before you need them.