Under active thyroid gland.

Apart from causing heavy menstrual bleeding, this condition can cause irregular periods. It can inhibit ovulation, and if ovulation doesn’t occur, progesterone cannot be produced. There is a great deal of helpful information in our book Your Thyroid Problems Solved.

Nutrient deficiencies can cause heavy bleeding, especially of iron and zinc.

Having heavy menstrual bleeding will usually cause iron deficiency, but being iron deficient also makes the period heavier. A good quality iron supplement that doesn’t cause digestive discomfort or constipation, or an iron infusion can be an excellent solution. Zinc deficiency can cause heavy bleeding and many of our female patients are deficient because zinc is mostly found in red meat and seafood. A high fibre diet can bind with zinc in the intestines and prevent its absorption. Correcting zinc deficiency helps to lower prostaglandin levels, and this can also reduce period pain. Magnesium may help relieve muscle cramps and premenstrual tension.

Insufficient progesterone.

Women with polycystic ovarian syndrome are typically low in progesterone because they don’t ovulate each month. Uterine fibroids, endometriosis and adenomyosis are all conditions that are typically downstream manifestations of progesterone deficiency, and once present can make uterine bleeding worse. Mild progesterone deficiency in young women can sometimes be corrected through correcting nutrient deficiencies, reducing stress (because it causes progesterone to be converted into cortisol) and cleansing the gut and liver (because not excreting oestrogen thoroughly causes it to build up and create oestrogen dominance). In perimenopausal women, flooding can happen where women lose up to 250 mL of blood in one period. Anything more than mild progesterone deficiency requires a prescription for bio-identical progesterone cream or capsules. This corrects the imbalance with oestrogen and progesterone also has anti inflammatory properties. If you require more information about prescription natural progesterone please feel free to call us on 02 4655 4666.

Dairy products make menstrual bleeding heavier for many women.

This is because the protein (casein) in milk can increase the production of inflammatory chemicals and histamine for some women. Mast cells of the uterine lining release histamine as well as heparin, which is a natural blood thinner and can make menstruation heavier. Even without knowing this, through personal experience many of our patients have found when they stop consuming dairy products, their period gets lighter. It may take 2 or 3 cycles to notice the change.

Insulin resistance is a common cause of heavy menstrual bleeding.

This is especially the case in women with PCOS and those with a family member who has type 2 diabetes. It is also more common in perimenopausal women because the older we get, the poorer our tolerance for carbohydrate and the more insulin we need to secrete to control blood sugar. Insulin is a growth promoting hormone. There are only two times in life you’re supposed to be insulin resistant: 1) while a child and teenager and growing rapidly and 2) if pregnant, to encourage growth of the foetus. Insulin resistance causes abnormally high blood levels of insulin and that causes the uterine lining to over grow. This can cause heavy menstrual blood loss and clots. The cure for insulin resistance is a lower carbohydrate diet, less inflammation and stress and better sleep. There is lots of helpful information in our books I Can’t Lose Weight and I Don’t Know Why and Diabetes Type 2: You Can Reverse It.