Episode 206: Should I change what I eat across my menstrual cycle?

**Show notes **

Have you ever wondered if you should change how you eat during different phases of your cycle?
Do you get extra hungry the five to seven days before your period starts? Or does training sometimes feel a little harder during certain parts of your cycle?

In today’s episode, I talk about caloric and macronutrient needs during the menstrual cycle. I discuss the hierarchy of nutritional needs, how much you should eat, and the macronutrient requirements during the follicular and luteal phases of your cycle. I also share some key supplements that can help you train and perform across your cycle.

What you will discover

  • The Hierarchy of nutritional needs for female athletes
  • The different caloric and macronutrient needs during the menstrual cycle
  • Caloric intake considerations across the cycle
  • Carbohydrates throughout your menstrual cycle
  • Importance of Adequate Fat for menstrual function
  • Protein throughout your cycle
  • Do you need to supplement during your cycle?

Featured on the show

Referenced studies

Gorczyca AM, Sjaarda LA, Mitchell EM, Perkins NJ, Schliep KC, Wactawski-Wende J, Mumford SL. Changes in macronutrient, micronutrient, and food group intakes throughout the menstrual cycle in healthy, premenopausal women. Eur J Nutr. 2016 Apr;55(3):1181-8. doi: 10.1007/s00394-015-0931-0. Epub 2015 Jun 5. PMID: 26043860; PMCID: PMC6257992.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6257992/

Wohlgemuth, K.J., Arieta, L.R., Brewer, G.J. et al. Sex differences and considerations for female-specific nutritional strategies: a narrative review. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 18, 27 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-021-00422-8
https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12970-021-00422-8

Sixtus Aguree, Laura E. Murray-Kolb, Francisco Diaz & Alison D. Gernand (2023) Menstrual Cycle-Associated Changes in Micronutrient Biomarkers Concentration: A Prospective Cohort Study, Journal of the American Nutrition Association, 42:4, 339-348, DOI: 10.1080/07315724.2022.2040399
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07315724.2022.2040399

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