Will intermittent fasting affect menstruation? Will intermittent fasting cause menstruation to stop?

I heard that intermittent fasting is very effective in losing weight, so I want to try it myself. But will intermittent fasting affect my menstruation?

Dieting or fasting will affect the normality of menstruation. The early or late menarche is mainly affected by genetic factors, but it is also affected by nutritional factors and weight. If you fast during menstruation, it will cause less menstrual volume, lighter color, low body immunity, easy to be affected by external pathogens, and even cause menstrual disorders, so it is best not to diet or fast during menstruation.

Weight loss can cause menstrual disorders, mainly for two reasons:

Not enough fat

On the one hand, this refers to insufficient body fat tissue content, and on the other hand, it refers to too little dietary fat intake. Adipose tissue can synthesize the estrogen needed by women's bodies, and essential fatty acids and fat-soluble vitamins in the diet are the raw materials or precursors for the synthesis and secretion of sex hormones. Therefore, fat has an indelible contribution to maintaining female physiological characteristics. In adolescence, girls must have at least 17% of their body weight in fat to have their first menstruation and maintain the regularity of menstruation once a month. Even after middle age, a moderate amount of fat is also a guarantee for maintaining normal estrogen levels in the body.

Nutritional anemia

Women who lose weight irregularly for a long time often experience pale skin, dizziness, shortness of breath, irritability, and decreased concentration accompanied by irregular menstruation, which is a manifestation of iron deficiency and anemia. Even people who eat normally are at risk of iron deficiency, and dieting is even more difficult to avoid.

If you have irregular menstruation, you should not consider dieting when controlling your weight. Only strengthening exercise is an active way to lose weight. At the same time, it is also an auxiliary treatment for irregular menstruation. In addition, people who are used to dieting should eat more iron-containing foods, such as meat, fish, poultry, tofu, legumes, and foods fortified with iron, such as biscuits and soy sauce, which are very helpful in preventing and treating iron deficiency anemia.

It is also common to have constipation during intermittent fasting. You must eat more foods rich in dietary fiber to relieve the symptoms of constipation. Dietary fiber can effectively promote intestinal peristalsis after consumption, and is very effective in preventing and relieving constipation. Intermittent fasting does not mean fasting. You should eat low-energy foods to meet the body's nutritional needs. Eating more coarse grains, such as oats and corn, can relieve constipation.

5-day intermittent fasting is harmful to people. In fact, the human body is a complete system that emphasizes the balance of income and expenditure. Normal people have just three meals a day, which can not only supplement nutrition but also meet the energy required for daily consumption. However, once you want to lose weight, some imbalances will occur. The body's supplemented nutrition will not keep up, and various diseases will naturally occur. Weight loss should be based on your own condition, and you should communicate with nutritionists and fitness trainers to develop a weight loss plan that suits your physical condition, rather than blindly looking for one.