There are many euphemisms for the word ‘period.’ Can you openly say to someone, “I’ve got my period at the moment.” Or, are you comfortable in hearing, “I’ve got my period at the moment.”

Did you cringe, or even blush, reading that?

Young girls and women should be empowered by their period. Not ashamed of it. Its time that the period is normalized because the fact is, they are normal. Having a period is healthy, a period is feminine. In some cultures, menstruating women are considered strong, powerful, and sacred. Other cultures require women to complete rituals after their menstruation. Unfortunately, in other cultures, menstruation is considered impure, dirty, and taboo.

You might be in the minority of openly sharing or hearing about this magical gift over coffee just as easy as it is to talk about the events in your day. HIGH 5 to you!

But for the majority of us, you might only whisper about it, or completely disregard that women even have a cycle. SHHH don’t say the ‘P’ word! What, period? P.E.R.I.O.D.

And you are probably saying why? Well for one, you would not be reading this if your mother did not have a menstrual cycle.

But why don’t we talk about the monthly flow? ‘We’ do not just refer to the collective of females.  Males you need to listen up too; I’m sure you know of a female in your life that experiences her period.

Now the period (bleeding days) is a part of the female menstrual cycle that is extremely important. The menstrual cycle is not just a function to procreate the next generation. The two main hormones, estrogen and progesterone, are important for the female reproductive function but they are also important for metabolism, bone health, and mental function to name a few. EVERY woman will experience their monthly period sometime in their life. But many women may not if they have an underlying health condition (much love to you all going through this), manipulate your cycle with a pill, they have a device up their hoo-haa (vagina), they are pregnant, or they have reached menopause.

One other reason that I want to bring to your attention is that you might not have a period if you are not putting enough nourishing food in your body, in relation to the energy you are expending in the day. For example, if you are a frequent exerciser (this includes recreational to elite athletes) and you do not eat enough around your exercise/training sessions. It makes no difference if you are intentionally eating less or you are not aware of the nutritional imbalance. You could be doing yourself, and your lovely feminine body a disservice. You can read my personal experience about this.

What you end up putting your body into is a state of Low Energy Availability, the cause of a syndrome called Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S). When there is this imbalance of the food you put in your body vs what is expended in exercise, the body will shut down key body systems. One of which is the reproductive system and your menstrual cycle. Which could mean NO PERIOD.

Now for some, you may think, “Hurray, no period! Having my period is so annoying anyway, at least I’m saving money on sanitary items.” Or “There is so much admin if I have my period when I’m training or competing.” I get it. Yeah, I hear you, really, I do. But there are also many ways around managing these systems by tailoring nutrition, reducing stress, improving sleep, etc.

Another concerning comment I also hear from the exercising community is: “If you have your period, you aren’t training hard enough” (insert jaw drop emoji)

If this is YOU, listen up.

What if I said, if you don’t have your period, you are putting your body, your health and your performances in danger. And if you do not have your period, you’ll most likely have a hormonal imbalance, which has a knock-on effect of other body systems. For example, your skeletal system. If you don’t have your period, you could end up with brittle bones in the future. YES, this is true. ‘No bones about it’ is all I can say…

For some athletes I have worked with, they don’t care about putting their body or health in danger. The clincher for athletes is what this can do to their performance. Well listen up, did you know if you don’t have your period you could perform worse compared to those that do? A study conducted on young female swimmers reported that after three months of training, the swimmers who had normal menstrual function swam faster compared to swimmers that had menstrual dysfunction! More pies please! (jokes, pies are not the best food of choice for athletic performance).

What if I said you could use your menstrual cycle to its advantage, making gains in your training by using your physiology for you, not against you. F* YEAH! For example, most females feel strong leading up to ovulation (day 14 of the cycle). This would be the perfect time to focus on strength and power during this phase of the cycle. The female body is also better equipped to recover from hard sessions, so chuck more weight on! But to get the gains, you need to have your period, and regularly too. A healthy body is one that functions optimally. If you don’t have your PERIOD then you do not have a healthy body.

Ok, so I don’t have my period and I want it back. How do I get my period back? Well first off, you need to see a medical professional rule out other possible health conditions (e.g. thyroid disorders, polycystic ovary syndrome). And you also have to look at your diet. Are you eating nutritious food, and food that is calorie-dense? Seeing a nutritionist is a great idea. Another aspect to consider is ‘how do I feel about my body?’ Are you aiming to lose weight? What is the reason behind this? Do you worry about how you look? If so, speak to someone about this. Seek help as these issues won’t go away no matter how big or small you are.

Everyone is different, as is your menstrual cycle. Get to know your cycle! There are many period tracking apps that are simple to use. This way, you will know the length, timing, phases of your period. And if these change, you know something is up. Just like practicing a skill to get better at it, with apps, the more time you spend tracking, the more accurate it can predict your cycle. And SO helpful in understanding you and YOUR body.

So let’s champion the PERIOD, let’s bring it back to life and not hide behind the curtains. It is a natural thing to occur, just like pooping. There is no shame, there is no need to hide this glorious gift. We shouldn’t sugar-coat the period. And we certainly don’t need to make the period seem worse than what it is. Periods are a natural part of the female physiology. Why pretend what it isn’t? Why is discussing the wonderful female-specific physiological phenomenon a taboo topic?

Can we just all campaign for period positivity? And praise and encourage those who advocate the period, because it is bloody fantastic. I’m embracing it, clearly, and I challenge you should too.

#beintheknowwithSCHO