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How to Induce Periods?: Natural Remedies, Methods, & Risks

Dr. Sreelekha Daruvuri

8 Min Read

Introduction

There are loads of reasons why women would want to induce their monthly period. But before getting into it, ask yourself, Why do I want to induce my periods? Are you worried that you’ve missed your periods and want to get back on track? Or perhaps you want to get periods out of your way to enjoy a holiday. If you have delayed or missed periods (amenorrhea), this article is for you. Remedies for inducing menstruation involve a combination of medical and natural home remedies.

In this article, we’ll cover

What causes missed periods?
Natural home remedies for missed periods (or amenorrhea)
Treatment for missed periods
Risks associated with inducing periods (when you are pregnant or want to prepone menstruation)
What happens to your body when you induce a period?
Should I induce a period?

What causes missed periods?

induce periods - causes of missed periods

Missed periods or amenorrhea is a medical condition where a woman of childbearing age goes without having periods for 6 months. It’s a rare condition affecting 1% of the population.

Amenorrhea can occur due to

Pregnancy
Stress
Low body weight
Obesity
PCOS
Hormonal medications
Chronic illness
Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI)
Thyroid disorders
Hormonal issues
Menopause
Extreme diet and workouts
Irregular sleeping patterns

Reasons for delayed or missed periods can be due to

Injuries to reproductive organs due to Asherman syndrome or cervical stenosis
PCOS
Hormonal imbalance, for example, abnormalities in FSH, Thyroid, pituitary and prolactin levels

Inducing periods for amenorrhea

Natural home remedies, on their own, aren’t very effective in treating amenorrhea. Therefore, doctors recommend medical treatment, lifestyle changes, and home remedies for holistic management.

Medical treatment

It involves treating diseases that cause amenorrhea or missed periods. These diseases are as follows.

PCOS:

what induces periods - pcos

PCOS or Polycystic ovary syndrome is a hormonal disorder that, among many other things, can cause delayed, irregular or missed periods.

Treatment for PCOS include

Making lifestyle changes
Birth control medication to help regularize period cycles
Medication to induce ovulation
Progestin therapy etc

Thyroid disorders:

Thyroid hormones play an important role in many bodily functions, including regulating the menstrual cycle.

Treatment for thyroid disorders include

Medication
Radioactive iodine
Lifestyle modifications
Surgery (rare cases)

Hyperprolactinemia:

induce periods - Hyperprolactinemia

It’s a medical condition involving excessive production of prolactin, a hormone responsible for the production of breast milk. This hormone is produced by the pituitary gland. Hyperprolactinemia causes milk production when not pregnant, missed or delayed periods, fertility problems, etc.

Treatment for hyperprolactinemia involves

Medication to reduce prolactin levels
Radiation therapy
Surgery to remove pituitary gland tumors (in extreme cases)

Premature Ovarian Insufficiency (POI)

It’s a condition wherein your ovaries stop working prematurely. i,e., before you turn 40. As a result, there’s a drop in estrogen levels, causing missed or delayed periods.

Treatment for POI includes

Making lifestyle changes
Estrogen therapy
Taking calcium and vitamin D supplements

Lifestyle modifications

It involves addressing the following.

Stress:

Stress is one of the main reasons that may cause missed or amenorrhea. It does so by interfering with the functioning of the pituitary gland. Pituitary glands secrete hormones that regulate the menstrual cycle.

Treatment for stress involves

Stress management
Getting more physical activity
A healthy balanced diet
Self-care
Socialization with family members and friends etc

Here are 8 effective ways to relieve and manage stress.

Weight issues:

induce periods - weight issues

Obesity or being overly skinny can cause missed periods. Being overweight can cause your body to secrete excess estrogen and abnormal hormone levels, causing missed periods. Similarly, when a person is too skinny, they may not have enough energy for other bodily functions affecting their periods.

Treatment for weight issues involves

A balanced diet
Regular moderate exercise at least 5 days a week
Adequate water intake and
Sufficient sleep

Extreme diet and workouts:

An extreme diet and workout regime can cause you to burn more calories than you are consuming. It may result in your body lacking energy for other internal biochemical processes that can cause irregular periods.

Treatment involves

A healthy balanced diet
Adequate rest and
Exercise

Irregular sleeping patterns:

Irregular sleeping patterns can affect your body’s internal clock, which regulates your hormone levels and important cellular functions. As a result, you may experience delayed menstruation.

Addressing irregular sleeping patterns involves

Reducing screen time, especially before bed time at night
Following a fixed routine
A balanced diet and regular exercise etc

Natural home remedies and supplements to induce periods

(1) Vitamin C foods

Vitamin C or ascorbic acid is known to elevate estrogen and lower progesterone levels. This causes the uterus to contract and the endometrial lining to shed, leading to the onset of menstruation. Foods rich in vitamin C are oranges, mosambi, tomatoes, broccoli, capsicum, spinach, and Brussels sprouts. Just make sure you don’t over-consume vitamin C. In doing so, you may overconsume other substances.

(2) Carrot

Carrot is rich in carotene. It can be consumed raw or as juice up to 3 times a day.

(3) Jaggery (gur)

how to induce periods in one day - jaggery

Jaggery mixed with sesame seed, ginger, and carom seed is an effective home remedy to induce periods.

(4) Pineapple

Pineapple is a fruit rich in bromelain, an enzyme believed to stimulate estrogen. Pineapples also have anti-inflammatory properties, which means that they could also be beneficial for treating causes of irregular periods related to inflammation. However, there’s not enough scientific evidence suggesting that pineapples induce periods.

(5) Ginger

Ginger is a traditional home remedy for inducing periods. It’s believed that having ginger increases heat around the uterus to induce periods. However, there is no strong scientific evidence to prove the same. Additionally, ginger has anti-inflammatory properties that can help relieve stomach pain and menstrual pain.

How to use it?

Ginger can be consumed in tea or fresh ginger juice with honey. Drink a cup of fresh ginger juice with water (2:1) every morning on an empty stomach for a few days before your menstruation.

(6) Parsley

Parsley has been used traditionally to induce periods. They contain apiol, myristicin, and vitamin C, which may help stimulate uterine contractions. However, apiol can be toxic. Therefore, if you are pregnant or have kidney disease, it’s better to avoid parsley.

How to use it?

Parsley can be had as tea. Just add a couple of tablespoons of parsley into a cup of boiling water and allow it to steep for about five minutes before having it.

(7) Turmeric

Turmeric is another traditional home remedy believed to induce periods. They do so by stimulating estrogen and progesterone levels.

How to use it?

Turmeric can be consumed by adding it to rice, curries, veggies, and milk.

(8) Dates

can dates induce periods

Dates are also known to induce periods. Eat dates a few days before your due date to induce periods on time.

(9) Pumpkin

Carotene present in pumpkin is known to induce periods.

(10) Salmon

Fatty fish such as salmon is one of the most nutritious foods out there, believed to induce periods. It’s packed with proteins, fats, vitamin B12, vitamin B6, selenium, niacin, pantothenic acid, thiamine, and phosphorus.

(11) Almonds

These nutritious nuts are rich in fiber, protein, and omega-3 fatty acids. Almonds are believed to play a role in balancing hormones and inducing regular periods.

(12) Yogurt

Yogurt has a cooling effect on your body, and it helps regulate the menstrual cycle.

(13) Eggs

Eggs are rich in proteins, fats, cholesterol, iron, vitamins, minerals, carotenoids, lutein, and zeaxanthin which helps regulate and induce periods. These food options can be tried but they’re not backed up by enough scientific research.

Other non-food options for regular periods

Avoid caffeine and aerated drinks

Aerated drinks and caffeine can interfere with your menstrual cycle, and it’s best to avoid them as much as possible.

Birth control

A long-term solution to irregular periods is to use hormonal contraceptives. By regulating the levels of hormones in your body, these contraceptives can bring about a degree of certainty in your menstrual cycle. But, these can come with side effects. Therefore, you should speak with your doctor about it.

When to see a doctor?

An occasional late period could be a result of something minor. However, please note that delayed or missed periods could also be a symptom of an underlying health condition. You should see a doctor if

You suspect you may be pregnant
You’ve missed three periods in a row
You still have periods after 55
Your periods stop before 40
You experience bleeding between periods
You experience bleeding after sex

Consult a gynecologist: Doctor for women’s health now!

Dangers of trying to induce a period if pregnant

Substances that induce periods are called emmenagogues. However, some emmenagogues can also be abortifacients, meaning they can cause miscarriage or abortion. Also, certain herbal substances can cause Liver or kidney damage. Therefore, if you are pregnant, it’s best to seek medical help before trying any of the herbs or substances mentioned above.

Kindly consult a doctor for more information.

So, why would you want to induce a period?

Regular periods are a sign of good health. Conversely, irregular or missed periods can indicate an underlying problem. Therefore, you’re bound to feel anxious if you’ve delayed or missed your periods. But otherwise, women induce periods for medical, social, or personal reasons. Inducing periods can be safe, and there are many options for inducing periods.

Is it sensible to induce a period?

If you are young and haven’t started menstruating or if you want to support your fertility, then it’s good to have a discussion about inducing periods. However, for this, you need to consult a doctor who’d be able to talk you through the right options for you. It may include medications and other diagnostic tests to assess your condition.

how to induce periods in one night

What happens to your body when you induce a period?

When you induce a period, it can affect

The nature of your menstruation
The flow
Your period cycle and
The regularity of your periods

What are the risks associated with inducing a period?

If you are having an irregular period and want to induce a period, it’s always worth trying to get to the root of the problem causing irregularities in the first place. Treating the underlying cause is the best way to get your periods on track.

Should I induce a period?

It’s best not to induce a period and let nature run its course. But there are times when you may want to induce a period for an important life event such as a holiday or a wedding. You may also want to induce a period if you have an underlying medical condition. Therefore, it’s totally dependent on you, your body, period, and cycle. However, keep in mind that if you are doing it, do it under the supervision of a medical doctor.

Summary

Inducing a period: natural home remedies and more. Depending on what the cause is, the following things induce periods:

Medications and natural home remedies
Lifestyle changes
Balanced diet and
Exercise

References

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/home-remedies/safe-and-natural-ways-to-induce-period/articleshow/50494081.cms#:~:text=Jaggery%20when%20mixed%20with%20ginger,home%20remedy%20to%20prepone%20periods.&text=Boil%20a%20spoon%20of%20turmeric,days%20before%20your%20expected%20date.&text=Dates%20are%20known%20to%20generate%20heat%20in%20the%20body.
https://www.healthline.com/health/womens-health/induce-period
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/diet/how-to-bring-your-period-on-faster-with-home-remedies-menstruation-8-foods-which-can-help-induce-periods-faster-naturally/articleshow/80215954.cms
https://mycarmesi.com/blogs/f/10-natural-ways-to-induce-a-period
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324830
https://greatist.com/health/how-to-induce-period
https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/body/health/a34959903/induce-period/
https://www.ndtv.com/health/irregular-periods-5-superfoods-that-can-induce-menstruation-2143388
https://pharmeasy.in/blog/10-effective-home-remedies-for-irregular-periods/
https://bebodywise.com/blog/how-to-get-periods-immediately-to-avoid-pregnancy/