Food IS Medicine: Period Pain & Peaches

Period pain can be caused by three broad categories of problems inside the body. In Traditional Chinese Medicine we call these “syndrome differentiations”. The three main syndrome differentiations for period cramps/pain are: Blood Stagnation, Qi Stagnation, or Cold Stagnation. I won’t go into too much detail here but the important thing is that any time there is “stagnation” in the body there is going to be pain. Pain = stagnation. So to treat period pain, we need to move the thing that has stagnated or stopped moving. In the case of period cramps, that’s usually the blood.

Enter, the peach. Peaches are warming in nature, have moistening properties for the digestive system, and can move blood stagnation (ie. improve blood circulation). This makes peaches a good food to include in your diet if you get indigestion that easily leads to harder bowel movements or if you have regularly painful periods.

Don’t get me wrong, eating one peach while you have period cramps isn’t going to make them go away (although if you decide to test it for science sake, I’d love to hear about it). Foods aren’t as potent as an herbal formula or concentrated medication, that’s just how it goes. But what we eat matters, and nudging our bodies towards being more balanced is exactly what the food in our regular diet will do.

To use peaches to help regulate period cramps, try having one fresh peach everyday for 1-2 weeks leading up to your period. If fresh peaches aren’t an option, canned with the skin on is okay or use half a cup of dried peaches every other day. You can do this every month while keeping track of any changes you notice. If you regularly have very painful period cramps, consider seeing a TCM Practitioner or Acupuncturist for stronger treatment options.

TCM treatments using peaches

In Traditional Chinese Medicine there are two parts of the peach we can use to benefit our health: the kernel and the fruit. Don’t know what a peach kernel is? The next time you have a peach, take the pit and split it in half; you’ll find a pale-yellow-ish kernel inside that kind of looks like an almond without the skin.

This peach kernel goes by the name tao ren in Chinese herbal medicine texts and is part of the category of herbs used to regulate blood. It’s main functions are to invigorate the blood and dispel blood stasis, making it important for treating menstrual disorders like fixed, stabbing period cramps, traumatic injury, and (historically) Lung and Intestinal abscess with fixed masses. Basically, when blood is stuck in one place, especially if there is a fixed, stabbing pain associated with it, peach kernels can be used as part of the formula to treat it. Tao ren is also used to moisten the intestines and unblock the bowels… pretty self explanatory: use it for constipation.

HOWEVER, absolutely do not start self-medicating with peach kernels! TCM recognizes a degree of toxicity in this herb and it should only be used based on the specific prescribed dose of an experienced practitioner as part of an herbal formula. Overdosing can lead to symptoms of cyanide poisoning as the body breaks down the amygdalin in peach kernels. Dosage MATTERS and so does appropriate diagnosis before prescribing an herbal formula. Be safe people.

I could dedicate multiple articles to the treatment of menstrual pain with Chinese Medicine but the Cole’s Notes version is that acupuncture and herbal medicine work really well for getting rid of them (did I just date myself with that reference? probably). If that’s not an option, adding in certain foods like peaches can help too.

Nerdy herbal medicine talk aside, peaches are delicious! It is peach season in Ontario right now and I ate three baskets worth before I got around to writing this.

Peaches: Generally

These palm-sized balls of juicy sunshine are common across North America now but most likely originated in China where they are a symbol of longevity, immortality, and the warding off of evil (similar cultural themes also exist in Japan, Korea, and Thailand). Over time, peaches eventually made their way to this continent via Spanish colonizers and the fruits we enjoy today are a result of decades of selective breeding and cultivation by grafting.

While I can’t make any promises about immortality, peaches have lots of benefits in addition to the Chinese medicine stuff I already talked about.

Nutrition-wise, peaches have plenty of vitamins and minerals like fiber, vitamins A, C, E, K, potassium, and niacin, while also packing in plenty of antioxidants. The fresher and riper the better, BUT canned peaches have similar amounts of vitamins and minerals as fresh ones, as long as they still have the peels. Biomedical research has shown that peaches *may* help with digestion, heart health, protecting the skin, reducing allergy symptoms, although more research is needed to figure out the strength of each of these effects.

Grilled Peaches with Lime-Basil Sauce

Peaches are delicious by themselves, but maybe you want to tszuj them up a bit (where my Queer Eye fans at?). This recipe is perfect for that without being complicated. The original is from Epicurious.

Servings: 2-4

Time: ~1 hour (20 minutes active)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup brown sugar, extra for sprinkling
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, extra thinly sliced for garnish
vegetable oil
4 peaches (large), halved or quartered according to preference, and pitted
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Combine brown sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until dissolved.
Turn off heat, add basil leaves and lime juice. Let stand for at least 15 minutes (up to 1 hour), strain out the basil leaves. If you want to preserve a stronger lime tanginess, set aside some lime juice to mix into the sauce right before serving.
Heat up a grill/grill pan over medium heat, lightly oil. Lightly sprinkle the peaches with brown sugar and grill each side of the peach halves/quarters until they have dark brown grill marks. About 2 minutes per side. Using a regular frying pan here will still work, there just won’t be grill lines.
Transfer the grilled peaches to a serving plate and season with a little black pepper. Finish off by spooning the desired amount of sauce on top, garnish with fresh basil leaves and serve.