Christiane Northrup, gynecologist and author of Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom
Give up ice cream, cottage cheese and yogurt; many women get relief from menstrual symptoms from a dairy fast. She also recommends omega-3 fatty acids (found in fish oil), 1,000 mg vitamin B6, and magnesium supplements for cramps.

 

Sandra Chiu, practitioner of Chinese Medicine
Avoid anything cold. CM sees menstrual cramps as an accumulation of cold in the abdomen, and coldness is thought to obstruct the flow of blood and qi (the body’s energy source).

Sandra recommends you forgo foods like ice cream, ice-cold drinks and raw vegetables; swimming in cold water; and exposure of the belly (like wearing crop tops or hip-huggers in cool weather.

She also recommends the application of heat (through warming herbs and acupuncture) to restore the balance of hot and cold in the body.

Melissa, crampologist
My personal method for dealing with menstrual cramps is simple: On the first day of my period, when my cramps tend to be the most vicious, I take a couple of ibuprofen (it’s recommended that you do this before the cramps set in) and climb into bed with a heating pad applied to my pelvis. In the past, I’d given in to the cramps, deep-breathing them away for as long as I needed. Now I’ve found that after an hour of heat, I feel better if I get dressed (they make heat packs you can stick to the outside of your underwear – genius!) and go about my day.