For a subject that's still considered somewhat of a taboo in many — almost all? — cultures, there are sure a lot of urban myths or old wives' tales about menstruation! From the idea that exercise impacts menstrual flow to the belief that using parsley as a "kind of tampon" is a safe way to induce menstruation, and even stories that menstruating women can cause plants to die by touching them... it's high time to separate the "fake news" from the real facts.
One woman came to the SteadyHealth discussion boards to ask how drinking lemon juice might affect her periods:
"I've heard that drinking lemon juice may have an effect on the menstruation, as if enhances it, or make it "go away" faster... is any of truth in that or is it really stupid?? I appreciate your response, I've been looking for some answers on the internet but nothing has come up."
She — and now, probably, you — want answers. But you may also be curious what other women had to say on the subject. Let's go take a look!
Discussion highlights
Questions
Plenty of women descended on the thread to ask questions about lemon and menstruation:
- Do i just suck the juice out of the lemon or do I eat 2 lemons?
- How long will it take to stop and how long before it comes back?
- is any of truth in that or is it really stupid?
- Is lemon good for menstruation?
- Can small girls(say about 14-16) also drink lemon juice to delay thier periods.
- If so, should it be drunk in empty stomach?
- do you take the lemons during the week of your period or a couple days b4hand?
- How long did it stay away.
- how long does it take the lemon to go into effect?
- does it go away until your next period or just for a day or two?
- so i have to put a cup of water and squeeze a lemon and drink it fast in order for my period to pass right
- Is this method save for your body?
- My question is it good or not to our ovary?
- It can also release the pain?
- Do you still feel the symptoms of your period while dong this ?
- I am supposed to get my period tomorrow but I been drinking lemon juice since yesterday would it stop my period for a few day's.please let me know people who have done this before and it worked
- Did the lemon and green tea had some sort of reaction?
- Last2 month I drink lemon juice everyday and now I missed my period for two months and I fell hard on my stomach what is this ?
- How many days before your period do you start drinking lemon juice in order to achieve the 3-5 day delay?
- Also, what amount (eg, half a lemon, a whole lemon,.
- So if today is may 19 and i want it off by may 21st and i been drinking lemon since yesterday would it cut my period with no bleeding if you have sexual relationship
- does ur period came next month or the same month after 2-3 day break ?
- How many days did the lemon cut it short?:)
- If i stop drinking lemon juice, will my period start or resume regularly again?
- Did it come back after 2-3 days and finish the cycle or last longer?
Experiences
Some women weighed in with their experiences:
- i have been drinking lemon juice and water for a two months and now that i have my period i only see the blood (very little) wen i wipe with a tissue.
- It works a lot.For warm water should put lemon juice and should drink it helps a lot.Will get relax.It does not have any effect according to me.
- Yes it shortens your period I tried it alot and it helped
- yesit wil work just eata lemon every day while on your cycle and it shorten it .
- yes it does make your period go away if u drink it a couple of days be4 it will stay away for 2 to 3 days i have tried it!
- yes lemons do cut your period short!
- whenever im on my period and i drink or eat anything with lemon, my period gets lighter or goes away for a day or 2.
- but then it comes back and your period last a little longer.
- If anything, it would make your period occur sooner.
- It worked great.
- A few days before my period was due I started taking 20oz of water and putting some lemon juice in it, along with taking ibuprofen and it was delayed for a few days.
- lemon juice helps to cut your period short.
- Therefore, the period will be shorter, but its the same amount of blood that was suppose to come out anyways so no, it will not be heavier the month after.
- The concentration is different (short but heavy period instead of having longer but lighter period).
- was also on my period and now it has almost stopped.
- This is something my mum told me that her mum told her, you drink lemonade or have lemon on the first and second days of your period and on the third day, have none whatsoever and it'll go away.
- It's worked for me and obviously the women before me.
- I've heard that drinking lemon juice may have an effect on the mestruation, as if enhances it, or make it "go away" faster.
- i have been having sparse and missed periods for the last 2 years and about 2month ago started drinking lemon juice 3x a day and had the very opposite effect a heavier and more timely period not anymore painful infact.
- I do it all the time and my period goes away the next day.
- This really works il be eating an extra lemon today to be sure it doesn't come back this weekend
- It also delayed my menstruation for 5 days but it is not a heavy and painful one
- It does.
- It was just a bit of blood but then the lemons just cut it short.
- I usually suffer from severe period pain and heavy bleeding, curiously this month I only have light cramping and blood loss is dramatically less.
- Drinking lemon water was the only thing I have changed in my diet, and no other lifestyle changes.
- Last month, when I did not take iron with lemon everyday, my period was a few days late and almost no cramps and minimal flow and ended perfectly.
'Lemon doesn't work'
Other women, however, questioned the idea that drinking lemon juice could have any affect on periods:
- No, it sounds like this is just one of those wives tales.
- That wouldn't make sense.
- It does not work.
The SteadyHealth Team Reacts
Menstruation, the process through which the female body sheds the uterine lining if you didn't get pregnant that cycle, is a pretty unique thing — besides humans, only primates, some bats, and elephant shrews do it! An abundance of myths has arisen about menstruation over the course of human existence, but the idea that diet can influence the timing of your periods isn't a total fairy tale. The hormones estrogen, progesterone, and also testosterone help regulate menstrual cycles. Because your diet can affect your hormone levels, there's indeed some truth to the idea that what you eat and drink may delay or bring on periods.
Consider, for instance, that:
- Research has shown that drinking alcohol can mess with your menstrual cycle.
- A diet too rich in fiber can reduce estrogen levels, preventing ovulation.
- A diet rich in soybeans has been shown to reduce the surge in luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone typically seen around the time of ovulation.
You will also, of course, have heard that being malnourished can make the menstrual cycle grind to a halt.
So, does drinking lemon juice impact the menstrual cycle?
The person who started the discussion thread we're examining had heard that drinking lemon juice can reduce the duration of menstruation. Some others jumped in to share their opinions or experiences that lemon juice can make periods lighter or less crampy, while there were also those who were convinced that lemon juice does send menstrual flow packing — only to come back with a vengeance later, either in a few days or during the next cycle.
SteadyHealth's "in-house" doctor, Sasa Milosevic MD, shares:
"There are no large scientific studies which definitely prove the effects of lemon juice or other citrus on menstrual cycles in humans — but there are some interesting studies to consider.
The first two studies show some sort of interference between the normal estrous cycle and lime juice in animal models, probably by affecting the production of gonadotropin. The third study is an actual clinical trial which has shown that citrus aromatherapy can alleviate the symptoms of PMS, which also must be related with the interference with the levels of circulating hormones which regulate menstrual cycle.
However, given this low level of scientific evidence, it cannot be concluded with enough credibility that menstrual cycle can be altered by using citrus fruits."
Here, we have to consider the fact that rodents and humans are quite different — and estrous cycles and menstrual cycles aren't exactly the same thing. Finding relief from PMS symptoms by using citrus-based aromatherapy is nice, but that still doesn't mean drinking lemon juice delays periods or otherwise impacts menstrual flow.
Lemon juice: Good for periods after all?
There is, still, something cool you might want to know about lemon juice and periods, though — heavy and prolonged menstrual bleeding (medically called menorrhagia) can lead to iron-deficiency anemia, a condition in which your blood doesn't carry enough oxygen to your body. Anemia can leave you feeling fatigued, dizzy, weak, and cold. It can make you short of breath and give you chest pains, too.
Vitamin C — of course found in lemon juice — helps the body absorb iron better, and can thus play a role in preventing or alleviating anemia. Lemon juice may be good for women during menstruation after all, then, but not for the reasons suggested.
Why do some women think lemon juice lightens their periods?
That just leaves one mystery — why do some women swear that drinking lemon juice shortens, lightens, or delays their periods? We can only come up with one answer, and that's coincidence. Especially when you consider the fact that some of the women on the thread said lemon juice did the trick for them, others said it didn't work, and yet others were convinced that lemon lightened their current period but induced a heavier one next month, we've got one phrase for you. That phrase is "correlation doesn't equal causation". You may just have a lighter-than-normal period if you drink lemon juice, but that doesn't mean the lemon juice was responsible.
Links:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12875037
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2744625/
- https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/articleabstract/60/3/333/4731888
- https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/conditions/gynecological_health/menorrhagia_85,P00571
- http://www.hematology.org/Patients/Anemia/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20150029
- http://www.journalrepository.org/media/journals/I-SRR_27/2015/Feb/Dare322013I-SRR8709_1.pdf
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30057033