Skipping cycles when raw?

[Katie P]

Is it unusual to skip cycles when your raw? I didn't have one last month but I'm thinking b/c raw is so clean that I don't have as much waste to get rid of.

[RawKnitster]

Your not pregnant or starting menopause? Back when I was having periods they were lighter and shorter on a raw diet. I think that is a common experience among raw women.

Skipping one period is not a cause for alarm. It has nothing to do with cleanliness or waste. It is caused by the flow of hormones being interrupted. Skipping three periods could be significant and you might want to address that by seeing a doctor.

I recently met raw nutritionist Vesanto Melina at an event. The (raw) group around her was talking about potential problems with a raw diet and how to avoid them. She brought up a something called amenorrhea which happened to 25% of a group of young women in a raw food study who ate 1,200-1,400 calories a day of fruit. I was curious and did some research.

It is called Hypotholamic Amenorrhea. The most common cause is nutritional deficiency. Among other things, it can be brought on by anorexia, excessive exercise, and stress.

Do a banana search. There is a long thread out there discussing periods. I'm sure there are plenty of rawbies who would disagree with me about it not being a good thing. But they would be wrong.