Meat, salt, sugar and coffee can make menstrual pain worse for teen girls, research shows

HealthWatch: Over-the-counter hearing aids; foods to avoid during menstrual cramps; screen time afte

BOSTON - Millions of women suffer from painful and sometimes debilitating menstrual cramps each month and a new study says certain foods could make matters worse.

A review of multiple studies looking at the effects of diet on menstrual pain in teen girls found that certain foods can make it worse including red meat, oils, sugars, salts, and coffee.

Many of these are considered inflammatory foods which can increase the release of a hormone associated with menstrual pain.

On the flip side, researchers say a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids found in oily fish, seeds, and nuts could help reduce monthly cramps.

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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