The Shocking Revelation of How Fitness Affects Menstrual Health

Are you a fitness freak and it has been a long time since you got your periods? Well, this blog is exclusively for you. Ever wondered why you didn’t get your periods despite staying fit?  Many of us think that irregular periods are a problem of unfit, overweight women. What if we say that women of extreme fitness suffer from menstrual health problems? Scroll down to get insights on this condition called “hypothalamic amenorrhea”.

Hypothalamic Amenorrhea

Hypothalamic amenorrhea is a condition that primarily affects women who follow an intense workout regime and poor nutrition diet. The hypothalamus is in the center of the brain and it regulates sleep, hunger, body temperature, and menstrual cycles. Our human body produces a hormone from fat tissues called leptin and it signals the hypothalamus to start menstrual cycles. When you follow a strict diet and intense workout, your body suffers from a lack of leptin to start the menstrual cycle and stops it for months together. The causes of hypothalamic amenorrhea include:

• High intensive exercise
• Poor diet/ minimal eating
• Stress
• Genetics

Significance of Menstrual Health

We all know that irregular periods cause pregnancy problems but it also causes trouble in our day-to-day life. Regular menstrual cycles are essential not only for fertility but also for proper hormonal health. When hormonal health declines, one could experience some serious health issues. Some common problems are:

• Bone loss
• Dry hair/skin
• Digestive issues
• Heart disease
• Osteoporosis

Studies show the link between bone health, estrogen and progesterone. When you have hypothalamic amenorrhea, your bones get weak. Hence, it is necessary to have regular periods for proper menstrual health.

Fitness vs Menstrual Health

“Too much of anything is good for nothing”. The same goes for fitness too. When you exercise too hard to stick to fitness, you might start skipping your periods. This is because it produces a dip in estrogen level which adversely affects your menstrual health. Staying fit is not only about the numbers on the scale but also about leading a healthy lifestyle.

Recovery Mechanism

A simple and effective way to get back your lost periods is to keep yourself away from intense exercise at least for a while. Resume your workout, but not intense workout again, once you recover from amenorrhea. Practice these easy lifestyle rules to rescue yourself from Amenorrhea.

1. Invest in rest.
2. Reduce stress.
3. Eat adequate protein and calcium-rich foods.
4. Relish on some tasty carbs without worrying about the scales.

Nothing can be as joyful as this treatment for Amenorrhea. After all, it is like money for jam. Enjoy this precious period till you get back to regular menstrual cycles!!