Luteal Phase Carb Cravings and Menstrual Cycle Nutrition (Episode 556)

Full Transcript: Episode 556

Lisa Hendrickson-Jack:

This is the Fertility Friday podcast, episode number 556. In today’s FAM research series, I am diving into an interesting question. The title of today’s episode is “Overcoming Your Luteal Phase Carb Cravings.” This is something that many of us have experienced, where we’re going into the week before our period — so period’s coming soon — and here we are craving all these carbs, craving chocolate. And so I found a research paper that looked at this scientifically so that we can gain some insight into what the research is actually saying about this. Is this just an anecdotal experience that so many of us have had? And of course, not every single woman necessarily would report experiencing this the same way. But either way, it’s a very interesting question and I’m excited to delve into what the research has to say about it in today’s episode.

So I always say that the title of these episodes leaves something to be desired. The title is “Changes in Micronutrient and Food Group Intakes Throughout the Menstrual Cycle in Healthy Premenopausal Women.” So kind of a mouthful. But essentially the researchers are looking specifically at how these women are eating across the menstrual cycle. And so I do find that there are some very interesting takeaways overall. And I guess the overall thought that I want to share right here at the top is that there is truth to this. It’s not something — I think we all know this. I think if you are a menstruating woman or you’ve had a period before and you’ve had this experience, I think that it is helpful to know right off the bat that there is truth to this whole craving thing. But I think when we dive into the results, it does provide a little bit more nuance and background and basis that can help us in terms of how we’re going to organize our months so that we don’t end up totally binging on all the sugar and all the stuff towards the end of that time.

So the researchers decided to look specifically at this question because we know anecdotally that so many women experience changes in appetite and cravings. It’s one of those things, almost comical, that “Oh, it’s that time of the month,” right? So that’s one of the reasons why they’re looking at it. But I do really appreciate when we are diving into some of these topics in a more nuanced, specific way so that we can really gain a little bit more objective data on how much. When we say that there’s an increased appetite or increased cravings, how much does it really change? What does this really look like? And so not only did the study look at the change in the amount of food overall that women were consuming, they broke it down by macronutrient category and they even broke it down somewhat into micronutrients, looking at if there’s an increase or difference in the consumption of specific nutrients throughout the menstrual cycle, as well as the overall macronutrient intake — if there’s a change or difference in the amount of protein, fat, and carbohydrates specifically that women are consuming. But what they also did is they also looked at cravings to see if there was a change in the cravings that were reported across the cycle. So again, I think that this research study hit on a number of points that provide us with an interesting insight into what’s really going on here.

In order to gather this data, the study group was about 259 healthy women of reproductive age who were having regular menstrual cycles. They did questionnaires with these women, having them note down what they were consuming. And from that data, they were able to extrapolate the amount of food they were eating and do that comparison. In order to identify where they were in their cycle, they did use fertility monitors to measure urinary metabolites so that they could determine around when ovulation was taking place, so that they could more accurately identify where these women were in the menstrual cycle. They did note, of course, that when they’re tracking, there was a percentage of the participants who noted an anovulatory cycle, but they did define that based on the urinary metabolites. If the women were doing the urine testing at a certain time and the progesterone didn’t reach a certain level, then they would identify that as an anovulatory cycle.

Now, of course, as someone with a background in fertility awareness charting, whenever I look at these studies, I always think to myself, “Oh, it’d be so great if they had them chart.” And to do all this extra work — in order to gather this type of research, they do have to collect the data in a way that is most convenient and conducive to actually get the study done. It’s not something that’s always going to be exactly how we want it as fertility awareness nerds wanting all this data and information, because again, when I hear “Oh, it was an anovulatory cycle,” I often think to myself, well, is it just that there was a delayed ovulation and the study didn’t necessarily lend itself to being able to test at the right time? So that’s just putting that information out there. But it is always interesting to see how they define these types of things, because of course if you’re thinking about the cycle on a 28-day interval and you have 259 women that you’re testing, not all of them are going to ovulate within whatever period of time that you think that they are. And it does make for a complexity in a study because you wouldn’t necessarily be able to account for that small percentage of women who are going to have that delayed ovulation or potentially have levels of hormones that are not necessarily detectable on that particular day for that particular thing. Okay. That was just an aside. I just thought I would put that out there. But overall, I do think that the study design was solid.

Unsurprisingly, the researchers did find that there was a change in energy intake, particularly protein and fat intake, around the time of the mid-luteal phase specifically. So during that time in question — that week or so before the period actually starts — they did find that there was a significant increase in protein intake, animal protein intake specifically. And this coincided actually with an increase in zinc intake, because primarily our food sources of zinc would be animal protein. So interestingly, they did find that during that mid-luteal phase, we were eating more — we were eating more animal protein in particular, protein overall, animal protein specifically — and that lent itself to eating statistically significantly more zinc as well during that time because of that correlation. When compared to the follicular phase around ovulation, they did find that there were lower intakes of animal protein and protein overall compared to the intakes specifically during that mid-luteal phase.

When they tested for appetite and cravings — so specifically cravings for chocolate, sweets, salty flavored foods, and other food cravings — they found that women reported higher food cravings during that mid-luteal phase compared to the other parts of their cycle. So the way that the researchers explained this shift — of course, in appetite as well as shift in protein intake in particular — was that the hypothesis behind this is that progesterone may stimulate the appetite while estrogen may suppress the appetite. Either way, what they’re saying is that there is a hormonal influence on these changes. Due to the influx of progesterone during that post-ovulatory luteal phase, in that mid-luteal period of time, there is this impact hormonally that is causing us to eat more.

Now, what’s interesting about this is I wouldn’t want you to take this data — as I’ve talked about it so far — to this other level, to think that women are just consuming so much more food during this time to the point of ridiculousness. Because that’s not what the data showed either. When they’re looking at statistical significance, they’re looking at an impact that is consistent, showing that statistical level of significance. But it doesn’t mean by any stretch of the imagination that these women were doubling their protein intake or tripling it or eating thousands more calories during this time — that’s not what it shows at all. When we look at the actual data, they have a variety of different tables showing the comparison between the protein intake during the menstrual phase, follicular phase, and luteal phase. And what they found — in this table, they’re showing that the animal protein consumed in the mid-luteal phase was an average of 43 grams per day versus 40 — again, the average, 40-ish — during the follicular phase and menstrual phase. And similarly, overall protein intake was an average of 65 grams per day during the mid-luteal compared to approximately 61–62 in that follicular phase.

So this is something that I wanted to touch on a little bit, because the research is showing us that there’s definitely a statistically significant increase in protein intake. It doesn’t mean that these women are going out and just eating so much more food. There’s a subtle but significant increase in their overall intake during this time. I think that this is again why the research can really help us to look more deeply at these topics, and instead of just kind of talking out the side of our face, like “Oh, you know, it’s luteal, so I’m just going to load up on ice cream” — it shows us that really and truly, these women were just kind of living their natural lives and reporting what they were reporting, and there was an increase. But again, it was not what you might think, and hopefully that helps. I would imagine that for some of you, as I was talking initially, like “Oh, there’s this word — statistically significant increase — it must mean that they’re just eating so much.” But then the quantity of it, when we actually look at the data, is potentially less than we might have thought. Now, this is an average, so of course there would have been some participants that did consume significantly more or less.

Overall, there were a couple of things that I just wanted to highlight. One thing that I thought was interesting — that just may not be related at all — but when we look at the menstrual cycle, when we look at period pain, a pretty decent percentage of women do experience some level of period pain. And we know that zinc is a potent anti-inflammatory. So I did find it to be just of note that they didn’t find a lot of associations with micronutrients specifically. They were measuring a variety of different vitamins and minerals. But the only really significant increase or change that they found was in the zinc consumption. So they did note that there was a statistically significant increase in the amount of zinc consumed in the mid-luteal, but they didn’t really find that association with other micronutrients. I don’t know if it’s related or not, but I did think about that because zinc is a potent anti-inflammatory. There are a number of research studies that have shown that it has a positive impact on period pain. It can reduce some of that inflammation and reduce some of those symptoms. And I’m not saying that the amount that they consumed is enough to make this significant difference, but it was the one nutrient that was noted — women were consuming more during that time — and that corresponded to the increase in protein. And again, in this study, they did single out that they noted the increase in animal protein specifically, protein overall, and they compared to a variety of other macronutrients. There was not that statistically significant increase for the majority of the other nutrients of note. So for example, they did not find a significant increase in carbohydrate consumption in this particular study. It was limited to protein essentially.

They also didn’t find a statistically significant increase in fat intake based on the luteal phase only in this particular study. It was limited to the protein intake. So then the question I posed at the beginning — how does this affect us, and how could this help us to manage some of these cravings during the luteal phase?

I think that it is worth noting that the average protein intake, from what I have observed working with women over the years — especially women who are struggling with hormone balance, wanting to improve progesterone levels, wanting to reduce PMS symptoms — is that many women inadvertently undereat protein. So this result of the average intake of protein daily falling somewhere between 60 and 65 grams does not surprise me at all, and it does fall a bit lower than what I think it should. So in terms of managing some of those carb cravings around the luteal phase — I always say I’m a recovering sugar addict. When I was in high school, when I was a youngster, sugar was like a food group, and I would eat a lot of gummy candies. I’ve since recovered from this lifetime of eating all the sugar. But I can tell you a couple of things that helped me.

One of them is, of course, blood sugar balance. When you are consuming breakfast, lunch, and dinner in a scenario that’s really carb-heavy and you’re not balancing that out with protein and fat, then that is a recipe for more cravings. When you’re not getting enough protein and fat to really fill that hunger void over the long term — kind of like the difference between the slow burn and the fast burn — if you are building a fire and you just put a ton of newspaper on there, that would be the carbohydrates in that metaphor. It’s going to burn fast, get a really big fire, really satisfying, but it doesn’t last very long. But if you were to get some good, significant pieces of wood or some coal, then you get this slower burn — the fire isn’t necessarily as exciting, but it does last longer, and you have that warmth and heat for a longer period of time. In that scenario, that coal and those larger pieces of wood would be more of the protein and fat in that slow-burn scenario. So organizing your meals, making sure that each meal and snack has a combination of protein, fat, and carbohydrates, goes a long, long way in terms of ensuring that you are satiated and satisfied. When you actually eat enough food, then the chocolate and the sweets become a true snack instead of what you’re doing because you’re hungry and you didn’t realize it. If you’re eating the whole chocolate bar, the whole tub of ice cream or whatever, you’re likely just hungry and you’re not necessarily eating enough overall. You just need to eat enough food so that you are satiated, and then the snacks can truly be a snack.

So if anything, this natural tendency to consume more protein specifically during the luteal phase is your body’s way of telling you that you likely need to prioritize that protein to stabilize blood sugar. I think that we can take that as a hint. Your body’s giving you a hint — you’re wanting more during that time. And so I think that we can take that information and apply it, and it doesn’t have to mean that “Oh well, this study proves that we have higher cravings during this time, so I just have to eat all this chocolate.” No, you don’t. You can actually make a decision as to how you’re going to manage that time.

There have been some hypotheses that maybe this natural kind of craving for chocolate is also this natural desire to consume more magnesium-rich foods. Again, maybe it’s your body’s way of combating some of that natural inflammation that happens at the time. Now, this is just not in the study — this is me sharing hypothesis, just to make us think. And if I do find some research on that potential tendency, I’ll certainly share it with you. But it is useful to think about it.

So I think that what the study tells us is that there’s definitely truth to it. It’s not in our head. Our menstrual cycle is associated with cravings at certain times. And again, not everybody experiences predominantly the carb cravings. There are different types of PMS. I talk about this in The Fifth Vital Sign — I have a whole chapter on PMS and the different types of PMS. One of the subtypes is the carb cravings. Another is anxiety and depression. Another is depression specifically. And hyperhydration or bloating is another. So there are four main types of PMS, and it’s not to say that the carb cravings subtype is one that everyone experiences. Some women more predominantly experience some of the other types, but many experience a combination of the main four types.

But again, it does show credence to this — there is some truth to this. The way that I look at it as well is that when our hormones are out of balance, that is what is associated and correlated with higher rates of these PMS symptoms. So it’s when your hormones are out of balance that you’re more likely to experience those carb cravings, or that anxiety, or the depression, or the hyperhydration and bloating. And when we’re able to balance our hormones, overall, the amount of PMS that we experience goes down — including the craving. So making sure that you are prioritizing sufficient protein, fat, and carbohydrates at each meal is a huge step in the right direction.

And if you are looking for more information and specifically more data on why that is effective, I would highly recommend grabbing a copy of Real Food for Fertility if you haven’t. My newest book, co-authored with Lily Nichols, that we released last year on Valentine’s Day — if you haven’t grabbed your copy, I highly recommend that you do so. We outline in great detail, especially in the earlier chapters of the book — chapters 2, 3, 4 — the nutritional foundations that you need in order to keep your blood sugar balanced and ensure that you are not racing to the chocolate bars or whatever it is when you are in your luteal phase. So even if you’re not actively trying to conceive, Real Food for Fertility was designed to support you to achieve optimal menstrual cycle health — because of course, our view on this topic is that a healthy menstrual cycle sets the stage for optimal fertility. And so even if you’re not trying to conceive, you still likely want that optimal, healthy menstrual cycle as your foundation.

You can grab a copy of the first chapter for free over at realfoodforfertility.com, and you can grab the book in paperback, ebook, and audiobook versions over at Amazon. The link, if you’re wanting to grab the audiobook, is fertilityfriday.com/realfood. So with that said, I want to wrap here. If you enjoyed today’s episode and you can think of someone who would benefit from hearing it, the share link is fertilityfriday.com/556. And with that said, I hope that you have a wonderful week — or weekend — whenever you’re tuning into the show. And of course, as always, until next time, be well and happy charting.