Yes, period cravings are NORMAL.

Craving highly caloric foods during menstruation isn’t just about making yourself feel better. There’s way more science behind it.

I just spent the last week eating my way through Portland, Maine and I’m not exaggerating when I say it was probably the best culinary experience of my life. Maine isn’t all lobster and blueberries—although these things are, of course, incredible. But Portland is also home to a number of incredible restaurants that…honestly?…took me by surprise. I admit, when people say a city is a “foodie city” I hesitate because I feel like every city claims to be a foodie city these days, making the term completely meaningless. But after all of the buttery, fresh seafood and melt-in-your-mouth pork and crab noodle bowls, sugary donuts, duck fat poutine, wood-fired roasted chicken, crispy Maine-grown polenta, and tangy blueberry brews—from beer to kombucha—you could say I was thoroughly convinced.

And good thing we decided to go this week. The weather was absolutely incredible in Maine this week…and as timing oh so worked out, I am menstruating.

Why…in the world does this matter, do you ask? You see, in the week leading up to my period, I want to eat everything. Well, not exactly everything; I tend to gravitate towards foods that are deep fried, smothered in melted cheese, or topped with sugary frosting. So an escape to Maine was kind of ideal as my menstruation date got closer and closer because everything we’ve been eating pretty much fits the bill.

Now except for the days leading up to my period, I don’t experience cravings often. This is a result of feeding your body well. When you’re not restricting and actually providing your body with the energy (quite literally calories) that it needs, your body is less likely to crave those highly-caloric foods for quick energy fixes. Over the years as I’ve come to actually feed my body properly, my sugar cravings slowly disseminated, and I find myself desiring to eat a variety of foods—including fruits and vegetables—instead of only reaching for carbs because I feel utterly famished.

However, my period tends to be a different story. The cravings don’t last long (sometimes it’s just a day or so), but I tend to want to eat more than what is my typical MO for during the week. So of course, as I munched on wings and blueberry pancakes and oysters on the half-shell, I couldn’t help but wonder why that is. Is it actually possible that your body craves food when you’re menstruating, or is this just a, uh, me problem?

Cravings are a part of the 28-day cycle

Turns out, with many of these types of questions that I come across, there is some science to back this up. For a person who menstruates, their desire to eat food isn’t just out of comfort to feel better when their emotions or wacky or they’re feeling bloated and tired. It actually all comes down to the changing hormone levels that a person experiences when going through a 28-day cycle.

A brief overview of the 28-day cycle, because this shit is barely taught in schools: The cycle starts on the first day of your period as you enter the "menses phase.” Once your period has ended, you enter into the follicular phase up until ovulation on day 14 as your body gets ready for reproduction—the uterine wall thickens to prepare for fertilization, and the hormone tends to make you feel energetic and happy. On the day of ovulation, your body releases the luteinizing hormone, causing your ovaries to release an egg and may actually increase your sex drive (go figure). You then enter the luteal phase for the rest of your cycle and the hormone progesterone will slowly rise until you start the cycle all over again.

Why does all of this matter? Because that last bit—the rising hormone of progesterone—is what is causing that feeling of increased appetite. Both progesterone and testosterone are hormones known for stimulating appetite, and some experts say that the hormone changes happening within the body can even cause blood sugar drops, which will increase cravings. Seratonin—known as the “feel good” hormone in the brain—will also be lower. So when this happens, our bodies tend to crave carbohydrates for that increase in energy and a boost of this particular hormone.

Needless to say, your body will really be craving french fries. Bonus points if it’s smothered in gravy and cheese curds.

What about menopause?

Now I know not all of my readers are people who menstruate; some of you may even be experiencing peri-menopause or have gone through the menopause process already. We at least know that the menopause process starts somewhere between ages 45 and 55 when the body produces less of the hormones causing a regular menstrual cycle to happen, such as estrogen and progesterone. By the sound of it, you would think that producing less of that hormone would result in fewer cravings, but that’s actually not the case. The drastically changing hormone structure happening within your body can actually cause moments of intense cravings.

Estrogen is a hormone that actually inhibits appetite, so with less of it, you may feel hungrier. Hormones such as leptin and ghrelin are also affected. Leptin is known to suppress appetite and studies show how less of it is prevalent during peri-menopause, causing increased feelings of hunger. Ghrelin is quite literally known as “the hunger hormone” and also increases during this phase as well. So don’t feel ashamed if you find yourself hungrier during the peri-menopause phase—studies continue to prove that increased appetite is, in fact, normal.

You don’t need a “solution.”

It’s funny, as I was doing the research for this essay, I kept stumbling upon different “solution” articles showing me ways to take care of my hunger without eating. One of the major ones was exercise, followed by drinking water, or just eating “smaller meals” throughout the day to suppress the desire to eat more.

Silly, really. I mean, I know for myself that exercise benefits my menstrual cycle immensely; it helps with cramps, hormones, and even my level of blood flow. But I’m not turning to exercise as a way to suppress my appetite. Instead, I allow my body to feel the desire for extra calories, and give it what it needs. Now that I’m menstruating, I’m already craving significantly less and actually find myself dreaming of salads (maybe more of a result of eating rich, fatty foods all week, ha!), and I’m confident in knowing that this is just part of the cycle. Trying to suppress my desire to eat is actually suppressing the natural hormones my body is producing, and we all know where restriction can lead…