Decoding Your Period: What Your Menstrual Blood Reveals
What Your Menstrual Blood Says About Your Health
The color and consistency of your menstrual blood can reveal so much about your overall health and reproductive wellness. Along with your cycle length, flow patterns, basal body temperature (BBT), and other symptoms, your menstrual blood is like a window into the inner workings of your body.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), menstrual blood is called Heavenly Water (Tian Gui). It reflects the balance of your body and its ability to support optimal reproductive health. Let’s dive into what different colors, textures, and patterns may mean and how you can support your body.
Normal Menstrual Blood
Healthy menstrual blood should be rich red and have a consistency similar to blood from a wound. Anything outside this—whether pale, watery, clotty, or dark—can give insight into imbalances that may need addressing.
Common Patterns and What They Mean
Pale or Watery Blood
What It Means: Spleen Qi and Blood Deficiency
When your blood is pale and watery, it often points to weak Spleen Qi, which impacts your digestion and the production of blood.
Other Signs to Look For:
Fatigue and poor appetite
Bloating or heaviness, especially before your period
Dry skin, hair, or eyes
Light, scanty periods with longer cycles
What to Do:
Warm, nourishing foods like bone broths, organic meats, dark leafy greens, and root vegetables are fantastic for rebuilding blood and strengthening the Spleen.
Scarlet-Red Blood
What It Means: Yin Deficiency with Heat
Bright, scarlet-red blood can be a sign of Yin deficiency with empty heat. This pattern is often seen with hormonal imbalances and a lack of nourishment.
Other Signs to Look For:
Hot flashes or night sweats
Thirst or dry mouth
High follicular phase BBT
Scanty or acidic cervical mucus (which can make conception more challenging)
What to Do:
Focus on Yin-nourishing foods like duck, tofu, yams, and goji berries. Rest and avoid overworking—it’s one of the best ways to replenish Yin.
Dark Red Blood
What It Means: Liver Qi Stagnation or Heat in the Blood
Dark red blood, especially with clots, often indicates stagnation of Liver Qi or heat in the blood. Stress, emotional tension, and poor diet are common culprits.
Other Signs to Look For:
Irritability or mood swings before your period
Breast tenderness, headaches, or abdominal cramping
Irregular cycles or heavy bleeding
What to Do:
Move your body with regular exercise or yoga to smooth out the flow of Qi. Meditation can help ease stress. Avoid things that generate heat or stagnation, like spicy foods, greasy meals, alcohol, and smoking.
Dark Purple Blood with Dull Clots
What It Means: Blood Stagnation Due to Cold
When blood appears dark purple with dull, dark clots and is accompanied by pain, it usually means there’s cold stagnation in the uterus. This is often seen in conditions like endometriosis or fibroids.
Other Signs to Look For:
Pain that improves with warmth
Period flow that stops and starts
Cold hands, feet, or lower back
What to Do:
Eat warm, cooked foods and include warming spices like ginger and cinnamon in your diet. Avoid cold drinks or raw foods, and try techniques like moxibustion or castor oil packs to improve circulation and clear cold from the uterus.
Brown or Watery Blood
What It Means: Yang Deficiency
Brown, watery blood can indicate a lack of Yang energy—your body’s inner warmth.
Other Signs to Look For:
Feeling cold, especially in your hands and feet
Low back pain, fatigue, and poor digestion
Irregular cycles or short luteal phases
What to Do:
Warm foods like lamb, trout, leeks, and chestnuts are great for building Yang energy. Keeping your lower back and abdomen warm, especially during your period, is essential for supporting your body’s natural processes.
What Clots Can Reveal
Large, dull, dark clots: Blood stagnation due to cold
Large, fresh clots: Heat in the blood
Restoring Balance
It’s common to have mixed patterns of deficiency, stagnation, heat, or cold. By understanding the unique characteristics of your cycle, you can take steps to support your body. Acupuncture, Chinese herbs, and intentional lifestyle changes are powerful tools for addressing imbalances and improving your overall menstrual health. Acupuncture works to restore balance in your body by improving blood flow, reducing stress, and addressing underlying patterns of imbalance like Qi stagnation, heat, or deficiency. It’s a gentle, effective way to regulate your cycle, relieve painful periods, and optimize your reproductive health.
If you're ready to support your body and improve your menstrual health, I’d love to help > Book a Free Discovery Call. Let’s work together to bring your body back into balance.
