Meat and the menstrual cycle– for women only!

I have to tell you that at 46 years of age, my periods are at times like Moses parting the Red Sea. They are not something that one ignores or takes lightly, or is ever unprepared. I pray for a swift and painless menopause, but I know realistically, I have years to go.

As some of you know already, I have been vegan for several weeks now, I think the count is 5 weeks and still going. I know that this is only a temporary thing, and I will add some quantity of fish and eggs back into my diet in the future. Add yogurt, preferably the Greek kind.

But there is something I have noticed and it might be interesting to some of you who also undergo monthly suffering: my 2 periods since I have abstained from all animal products have been light. No, really. I have not had to run to the ladies’ room at all. No watching my watch or making pit stops “just in case”. They have literally been non-events. I can only think that it has something to do with the exogenous estrogens, the added hormones in the meat and dairy, although my dairy has been organic for a long time now. I did not make a practice of eating organic meat because of the price, but I do choose supposedly hormone-free varieties. But I have read in the papers that even supposed hormone and antibiotic free meats, unless they are certified organic, still have these things added to them on the sly. Don’t ask me how, but Tyson chicken, for example, adds antibiotics to their chicken eggs, not when they are actually little chickens, so they get away with it there– until the NY Times exposed them last month. Just be aware, not all is at it seems.

Anyway, if you are plagued by the red plague each month, I encourage you to do your own experiment, and remove all meat products for 1 month and see how it goes. I hope you will be as pleasantly surprised as I am. Let me know how it goes for you.

Peace, Diane