Menstrual Cycles and Acne

Many women are bothered by two nuisances that coincide with each other around the same time of month; menstrual cycle discomfort and acne. Acne can occur during a woman's menstrual cycle even if she has never had acne before. Not only does this nuisance occur during that time of the month, but it may take a while (if ever) for it to go away. Many women suffer from menstrual bloating, cramping, and acne breakouts all into one during the same time; this can make life unfair! The good news is there are three tested secrets that will make your life so much easier next time. They're easy to do and cost-effective; they just require some slight preparation. Unless you have severe cramping (that causes you to stay home all day) do not take menstrual pain medication when trying these secrets. These secrets fight both acne and menstrual discomfort.

Secret #1: Approximately four to five days before your menstrual cycle comes, begin decreasing salt consumption. Sodium is necessary for optimal health, but not in the form of sodium-chloride (table salt). It's best to get salt from fresh foods that naturally have low dosages of salt in them such as spinach, turnip greens, collard greens, and broccoli. The key is to avoid both table salt and foods with processed salt added to them. The easiest way to do this is to prepare all your own foods; don't eat out unless you know exactly how your food is prepared. If you buy any boxed and canned items, try to purchase "no-salt added" versions that are abundantly available in health food stores. Be sure to use lots of fresh herbs like Basil, Cilantro, Thyme, Black Pepper, etc to season your food. You don't have to obsess over the amount of salt you consume as long as you are eating mostly fresh foods. Not only will this help reduce menstrual bloating and cramping, it will reduce the appearance of acne as the overloading of salt is a major contributing factor.

Secret #2: It's good to exercise a few times a week, but if you don't regularly get enough exercise, at least power walk a day or two before you anticipate your menstrual cycle coming. It is critical to do this early in the morning. Aim for at least twenty-five minutes of brisk power walking. This will reduce menstrual cramping, bloating, and help keep your skin clear by removing toxins from your body (plus giving your skin a healthy glow). It's better to squeeze in more days of power walking, but at least power walk the morning before and the morning of your menstrual cycle.

Secret #3: A few days before you anticipate your menstrual cycle coming, eat fresh (preferably) or frozen cherries for breakfast. Eat as much as you want for breakfast, but be sure to eat them by themselves. You may drink water as you desire. You don't have to eat all the cherries in one time. You can eat a cup for breakfast and eat more when you get hungry again. Just be sure that when you're done eating cherries for the day, you wait at least 2 hours before eating other items. Do this for 2-3 days before your menstrual cycle begins for breakfast. This will help keep your skin clear as cherries are internal cleansers. They also have virtually no sodium so you don't have to worry about racking up unnecessary sodium content for the day.