Your menstrual cycle involves a complicated routine of hormone production to stimulate your period and subsequent shedding of your uterine lining. Your body uses the foods you eat to make the hormones, blood cells and tissues that go into your menstrual cycle. While eating or not eating a certain food group is unlikely to cause you to skip your period, not eating enough food entirely can result in menstruation cessation.
Foods and Your Period
The most common cause related to food affecting your period is not eating enough. If you are malnourished, your body cannot manufacture the hormones required to stimulate your menstrual cycle. Skipped periods can sometimes be an indicator of anorexia nervosa in women. This is a condition where you become obsessive about your weight and eat very few calories in an attempt to control it. This condition can cause more than a skipped period -- it also can weaken your heart and even result in death. If body image and control over your diet have become an unhealthy focus for you, contact your physician who can help you get the care you need.
Premenstrual Syndrome
While eating certain foods may not make you miss your period if you are eating enough, certain foods are associated with a reduced risk of premenstrual syndrome, or PMS, associated with your period. Foods that contain vitamin B-6, like fish, soy products, broccoli, bananas, cantaloupe and spinach may help to reduce some PMS symptoms, according to Family Education. Try to get B-6 from whole foods, however. Taking excess amounts of B-6 via supplementation can be harmful.
Eating "Right"
The amount of calories it takes to maintain your normal menstrual cycle varies from woman to woman. However, if you skip your period and have experienced fast weight loss related to significantly reducing calories, or are losing muscle mass, these can be signs you are not eating enough. While eating "wrong" or junk foods occasionally should not affect your menstrual cycle, make healthful eating a priority. Eating whole grain, lean proteins, fruits and vegetables can help you achieve this nutritional goal. Without enough calories in your daily diet, your body cannot maintain normal functions, including your menstrual cycle.
Considerations
While skipping a period occasionally can be normal for any woman, talk to your physician if you have missed more than one. This can indicate an underlying medical problem, that you are eating too little or that you are exercising excessively, according to NetDoctor. Your physician can help you pinpoint the cause, work on ways to address skipped periods and help get your body back on a healthy track.
