How to Help Period Constipation in 7 Steps

• The Gut-Period Connection|
• How to Help Period Constipation|
• Long-term Constipation Prevention|
• Something More Serious?|
• Next Steps|

Have you ever wondered why things seem to go haywire in your bowels the week before your period? The reason might surprise you.

It turns out that there’s a complex interplay between hormonal fluctuation and gastrointestinal activity. The conversation is a two-way street. That means poor gut health can have an impact on your period, and your period can have an impact on your gut and bowel movements each month.

The impact of hormones on gut health (and vice versa) isn’t talked about enough. It’s  likely because “period talk” (especially “period poop talk”) has been seen as taboo for a long time in our culture. But understanding your body empowers you to predict your symptoms and take measures to reduce the pain and impact of menstrual and premenstrual syndrome.Both constipation and diarrhea are often part of the monthly menstrual cycle. Let’s take a look at why that is, what the relationship between hormones and gut health is all about, and how to help period constipation and reduce the discomfort that goes along with this time of the month. I’ll also touch on when period constipation is a sign of larger issues.

The Gut-Period Connection

The interplay between hormonal changes and the digestive system becomes apparent as hormone levels rise in the late luteal phase of your monthly cycle. The luteal phase is the week leading up to your period. It’s when estrogen and progesterone levels are at their highest [1]. 

Progesterone’s muscle-relaxing effects can slow down digestive processes and lead to premenstrual constipation. Heightened estrogen levels may increase gut sensitivity and bloating [1]. As your period starts, these hormone levels drop sharply. This leads to increased muscle contractions that speed up the digestive system. As a result, you may experience diarrhea or more frequent bowel movements.

That’s why you may experience constipation right before your period, and diarrhea or increased bowel movements as you start your period [2]. This gut-hormonal boomerang reflects the complex interplay between hormones and digestive symptoms throughout the menstrual cycle [1]. 

How to Help Period Constipation: 7 Remedies for Relief

Although the cause for this particular type of constipation is hormonal, there seems to be evidence that the remedies for constipation before your period heavily overlap with the remedies for constipation at any other time of the month. Here are seven ways you can relieve constipation.

1. Exercise

Interestingly, exercise is a key recommendation from the research. For starters, it stimulates your abdominal muscles and promotes peristalsis (the movement of food through your digestive tract). It’s also been shown to reduce period-related cramping, breast tenderness, anxiety, and anger [3, 4].

2. Diet and Mineral Water

Regardless of the time of the month, foods with dietary fiber, like kiwifruit and prunes, help move things through. Not only do they relieve constipation in the moment, but they prevent it too. Eating these foods in the days leading up to your luteal phase could help stave off constipation and lessen the boomerang effect once your period begins [5].

Drinking enough water generally is a good piece of advice to reduce the risk of constipation. However, mineral water seems to have heightened benefits. In a study, mineral water was shown to reduce constipation by 46% compared to regular water’s 32% [6].

3. Fiber Supplements

Psyllium is a gentle fiber that’s most often recommended for those who need occasional constipation relief. A 2022 meta-analysis found that taking more 10 grams a day led to an increase of three bowel movements per week. If you try this, start with less than that and work your way up to as much as 25-30 grams per day, if needed [7]. 

Dietary fiber as part of a healthy diet is generally a better idea than supplemental fiber. But this is a great temporary option, possibly beginning on the first day of the luteal phase until you start your period. Talk to your healthcare provider before starting a fiber supplement.

4. Probiotics

Piles of evidence support the use of probiotics for all manner of health conditions, including constipation and diarrhea. Specifically, multi-strain probiotics that include Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium species can be helpful for getting things moving [8, 9]. 

Probiotics have been shown to be effective for [10, 11, 12]: 

• Reducing constipation
• Lessening pain during bowel movements
• Improving symptoms of incomplete evacuation
• Reducing abdominal cramping

Using all three categories of probiotics together is more effective than a single strain or species alone [13]. Always consult a medical practitioner before starting a new supplement.

5. Magnesium and Senna

Magnesium is a mineral with muscle-relaxing properties, and senna is a stimulant laxative herb. Both have been shown to be more effective than placebo for constipation relief [14].

I don’t recommend taking both of these together to start with, as you may only need one to do the trick. I generally advise my clients to start with a magnesium supplement before graduating to something like senna. 

Senna is quite strong (and could lead to dependence if you take it too often). So if you’re already experiencing painful periods and cramping, this herb might make things worse, even if it does solve the constipation problem. Magnesium, on the other hand, may help reduce period pain, with virtually no side effects [15]. Check with your doctor before giving these a try.

6. Abdominal Massage

I like this one because it’s a self-administered treatment that you can do as needed, and it’s free. Research shows that regular abdominal massage may help with [16, 17]: 

• Reducing abdominal pain
• Reducing flatulence

• Reducing constipation 
• Reducing excess stomach fluid
• Reducing abdominal distension while improving bowel movements. 

Longer-term massage showed the best results with no adverse effects. It may work by stimulating peristalsis (gut contractions) and altering abdominal pressure to improve motility [17].

7. Over-the-Counter Options

Conventional solutions may include stool softeners and laxatives. Some of these products can be habit-forming, so you shouldn’t prioritize these or rely heavily on them to reduce constipation. Talk to your doctor before using laxatives, especially.

Long-term Constipation Prevention

Many of the longer-term solutions for preventing constipation are good advice generally for women’s health and overall wellness. Some of them, I’ve already mentioned as potential solutions for acute constipation (and diarrhea). This includes lifestyle changes like daily exercise, eating well, drinking plenty of water, reducing stress, and getting quality sleep.

I mentioned eating fiber-rich foods before, but this strategy should be part of your ongoing healthy lifestyle to keep your hormones balanced and reduce the impact of hormonal fluctuation as you move through your monthly cycle. PMS symptoms like severe cramping may also lessen with these healthy lifestyle changes.

Here are examples of foods that are high in soluble or insoluble fiber [18, 19].

Foods higher in soluble fiber:

• Fruits and vegetables
• Legumes
• Pulses
• Nuts
• Seeds
• Wheat
• Rye
• Onions
• Garlic 
• Artichoke
• Kashi
• Millet
• Oats
• Cooked and cooled pasta
• Potatoes
• Rice

Foods higher in insoluble fiber:

• Skin-on fruits and vegetables
• Wheat bran
• Whole grains
• Rye
• Brown rice
• Whole meal pasta
• Potatoes
• Quinoa
• Flaxseed
• Nuts 
• Seeds

NOTE: Although these foods are listed as higher in either soluble or insoluble fiber, most of them contain both soluble and insoluble fiber. Insoluble fiber is generally recommended for constipation since it has a slightly irritating and laxative effect on the large intestine. The exception is psyllium husk, which is more soluble and great for constipation [20].

Could Your Period Constipation Be Something More Serious?

Plenty of healthy women experience constipation around their periods. However, if the problems are severe, and extremely painful, and you don’t get adequate relief as your cycle continues, it might be a sign of something else. You may want to talk to your doctor about gastrointestinal conditions like IBS or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) like Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. These conditions likely require additional medical attention.

Studies show that women who have IBS or IBD are far more likely to experience constipation or other gastrointestinal symptoms during the luteal phase of their period than women who don’t [1, 21]. This is why taking care of your gut is so important.

Diet, exercise, a daily probiotic, and possibly introducing a specialized diet to allow your gut to heal for a period of time could do wonders in reducing extreme GI events around the time you start your period.

Take Your Next Step

Sometimes it can feel overwhelming to see so many different avenues of action for a problem that’s already occurring at a time in the month where you feel overwhelmed. That’s ok—we’re not asking you to make all these changes at once. Pick the action item that seems the easiest to implement for you.

For some, that might mean picking up a high-quality probiotic. For others, that might mean trying abdominal massage. Still others might find time for a brisk 20-minute walk after a meal. Just start somewhere.

We’d love to help you get to the bottom of your hormonal and GI challenges. Reach out to our clinic to find a time that’s right for you.

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