Decoding Your Period

Your period is more than just a monthly occurrence—it’s a window into your overall health. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), menstrual blood, or Heavenly Water (Tian Gui), reflects the body's balance and reproductive wellness. The color, consistency, and flow can offer clues about potential imbalances and how to support your body naturally.

What’s Considered Normal?

Healthy menstrual blood is rich red, smooth-flowing, and free of large clots. If your period is pale, dark, clotty, or watery, it may indicate areas that need support.

What Your Menstrual Blood May Be Telling You

🔹 Pale or Watery Blood → Blood Deficiency
Often linked to weak Spleen Qi, which affects digestion and blood production.
✔ Fatigue, bloating, dry skin/hair
✔ Light or scanty periods
✔ Long cycles

Support: Eat warm, nourishing foods like bone broth, leafy greens, and root vegetables.

🔹 Bright Scarlet Blood → Yin Deficiency with Heat
Often seen with hormonal imbalances and low Yin nourishment.
✔ Hot flashes, night sweats
✔ Thirst, dry mouth
✔ High follicular phase BBT

Support: Focus on Yin-nourishing foods like yams, goji berries, and tofu. Prioritize rest and hydration.

🔹 Dark Red Blood → Liver Qi Stagnation or Heat
Often linked to stress, tension, or inflammation.
✔ Mood swings, headaches, breast tenderness
✔ Heavy flow or irregular cycles

Support: Reduce stress, move your body, and avoid spicy, greasy, or inflammatory foods.

🔹 Dark Purple Blood with Clots → Blood Stagnation Due to Cold
Common in conditions like endometriosis or fibroids.
✔ Pain that improves with warmth
✔ Flow that stops and starts
✔ Cold hands, feet, or lower back

Support: Eat warming foods with ginger and cinnamon, avoid cold drinks, and try moxibustion or castor oil packs.

🔹 Brown or Watery Blood → Yang Deficiency
Indicates a lack of internal warmth and energy.
✔ Feeling cold, fatigue
✔ Low back pain, poor digestion
✔ Short luteal phases

Support: Keep your abdomen warm, eat warming foods like lamb and trout, and support digestion.

Balancing Your Cycle with Acupuncture & TCM

If your period isn’t ideal, acupuncture, herbal medicine, and lifestyle shifts can help restore balance. TCM works to regulate cycles, relieve painful periods, and support reproductive health by addressing stagnation, deficiency, or heat imbalances.

If you're ready to improve your menstrual health, let’s create a plan tailored to you.