Does Apple Cider Vinegar Help Menstrual Cramps?

Some menstrual women can experience menstrual cramps just before or during their period. These cramps are medically called as dysmenorrhea. There are some herbs and home remedies to treat this discomfort symptom. One of them is apple cider vinegar (ACV). But does it realty work to help ease and improve menstrual cramping pain?

The menstrual flow that you notice in the first day of your menstruation is a sign that there is no sperm that fertilizes the egg. As a result, the egg will move through your uterus and then disintegrate.

Then the thickening uterus lining that grows before and during ovulation will melt away. And to do it, your body releases hormones called prostaglandins. These hormones can trigger the smooth muscles of the uterus lining to contract, and your period starts.

But the contraction may cause cramps or discomforts around /in your lower abdomen. The degree of this discomfort can vary from woman to woman.

The production of prostaglandins is equivalent with the strength of contraction. In other words, larger amount of prostaglandins that your body releases means more painful and cramps you will experience.

Furthermore, experts also theorize that the amount of prostaglandins produced & released by the body before and during menstruation also plays a key role in causing other discomfort symptoms, such as abdominal bloating, diarrhea and constipation.

For women with menstrual cramps, these discomfort sensations can start about 1-2 years after their first period.

Typically, the cramps before and during period is common during adolescents (the phase of puberty) and early 20s. They usually improve naturally after the age of 25. They are also less common after giving birth.

How long they last? The answer can vary. While some women can get more than 2 days, others have it no longer than 2 days.

In general, they can start shortly before the first spotting of menstrual flow and then usually will last for about one to three days.

If this symptom last several days before your period, and then it last throughout the days of your menstrual flow, it may point to a certain mild or serious health problem. For this case, see a doctor to keep safe and to get more advice!

The following are some health conditions that are often associated with abnormal menstrual pain or cramps [1]:

1. PID or pelvic inflammatory disease, it is a kind of bacterial infection that affects certain parts of the female reproductive organs.
2. A condition that can lead to narrowing of the opening to the female uterus, such as cervical stenosis.
3. Unusual tissue of uterus that grows outside the uterus – this is medically called as endometriosis.
4. The unexpected growth such as cysts in the uterus.

Women that take IUDs or Intrauterine devices (a kind of birth control) are also greater chance of experiencing cramping pain.

Vinegar has a long history to be used for numerous of different functions, such as for killing weeds, dressing salads, making pickles, and many more. And nowadays, apple cider vinegar are increasing popular with it super nutrient contents.

Vinegar, including ACV is fermentation’s product. In essence, it is produced from the fermentation of sugars in a food.

The fermentation involves yeast and bacteria. In this process, the sugars are fermented and turned into alcohol. And then in the next step, alcohol is exposed to air, and then it will become what we know as vinegar [2].

And while vinegar can be produced from all sorts of foods such as grains, fruits, and even vegetables, ACV is fermented from pulverized apples.

Nowadays, the herbs and alternative medicine are increasing popular. And AVC has become a popular dietary supplement.

Check the back of a box of supplements, you will find lots of claims of health benefits from AVC. But unfortunately, most of these claims are not scientifically proven yet.

Nevertheless, some claims have been observed by some studies. But the results of these studies only come with a catch ‘AVC may work’.

Some studies observed the effectiveness of AVC to help treat numerous of health conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, weight loss, and even cancer. The results are promising – however these studies are all preliminary, much larger studies are required [3].

How about with menstrual cramps?

Like most things of health advantages associated with AVC, the claim of AVC that can help improve and treat menstrual cramps is also not scientifically confirmed yet.

However, many women say that their cramping pain improve after taking AVC. And some experts also believe that it works.

Since the confirmed health advantages of apple cider vinegar come from its great nutrient contents, the issue between organic and non-organic of this vinegar should be your major concern.

Non-organic AVC is made with pasteurization. In this process, the vinegar is derived from a high heating process which then can kill the bacteria. Yap – then this kind of AVC looks clearer and eye-catching, but actually it has lost the bulk of it essential nutrient contents [4].