Timea Kiss Nutritional Therapy

Heavy Periods Aren’t Normal — Here’s What Your Body Is Trying to Tell You

If your period is so heavy that you’re planning your life around it, constantly doubling up on protection, or feeling completely wiped out after day two… something deeper is going on.

You’re not alone — but you’re also not meant to suffer like this.

As a Registered Nutritional Therapist and Functional Medicine Practitioner, I work with women who’ve been told for years that “heavy periods are just part of being a woman” or “it’s just how your body works.”

That’s outdated advice.

Heavy periods are not a diagnosis. They’re a symptom. And when you treat them like a symptom, not a life sentence, everything changes.

❗ What Counts as a "Heavy Period"?

Heavy menstrual bleeding (also called menorrhagia) isn’t just about how it feels. Medically, it’s defined as:

• Losing more than 80ml of blood per cycle
• Bleeding longer than 7 days
• Soaking through tampons or pads every 1–2 hours
• Passing large clots (larger than a £1 coin)
• Experiencing fatigue, dizziness, or iron deficiency

If that sounds familiar, let’s talk about why this happens — and what you can do about it.

🧬 What Causes Heavy Periods?

In my practice, I’ve found that the following root causes are the most common — especially when multiple symptoms are present:

1. Oestrogen Dominance
This happens when oestrogen levels are too high relative to progesterone. Oestrogen thickens the uterine lining — so if you have too much of it (or not enough progesterone to balance it), your periods will be heavier, longer, and often more painful.

🔍 Clues: PMS, sore breasts, mood swings, shorter cycles, spotting before your period.

2. Poor Liver Detoxification
Your liver is responsible for breaking down and removing excess hormones — including oestrogen. If your detox pathways are sluggish, you may be reabsorbing old oestrogen, keeping you stuck in a hormonal loop.

🔍 Clues: Headaches, skin breakouts, sensitivity to alcohol or smells, hormonal acne, fatigue.

3. Thyroid Imbalance
Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) can contribute to heavier periods. Low thyroid hormones slow everything down — including progesterone production and blood clotting.

🔍 Clues: Cold hands/feet, weight gain, difficulty losing weight, hair thinning, constipation, brain fog, fatigue.

4. Histamine Sensitivity
Histamine is a compound involved in immune responses — but it also plays a role in the menstrual cycle. When oestrogen is high, histamine levels can rise too, causing inflammation and increasing bleeding or cramps.

🔍 Clues: Itchy skin, hives, hay fever, anxiety, headaches, worse symptoms after eating fermented foods or drinking wine.

5. Nutrient Deficiencies
Low levels of iron, vitamin B6, magnesium, vitamin A, and zinc can affect how well your body makes and breaks down hormones. Iron deficiency can also worsen bleeding — creating a vicious cycle.

🔍 Clues: Fatigue, pale skin, breathlessness, heavy legs, brittle nails.

🌿 3 Things You Can Start This Month

You don’t need to overhaul your life to start feeling better. Here are three foundational steps you can start today:

1. Eat Your Cruciferous Vegetables*
Broccoli, kale, cabbage, cauliflower, rocket and Brussels sprouts contain compounds that support liver detox and oestrogen metabolism. Steam them lightly and include them daily.

2. Balance Your Blood Sugar
Fluctuations in blood sugar can disrupt your hormone rhythm and worsen oestrogen dominance. Build every meal with protein, healthy fat, and fibre. Avoid skipping meals or eating sugar in isolation.

3. Track Your Cycle
Your period is a monthly report card from your body. Use a tracking app like MyFlo, Clue, or a journal to note flow, symptoms, mood, and length. Patterns = clues.

💊 Why The Pill Is Not a Long-Term Solution
Many women are prescribed birth control pills or hormonal IUDs to manage heavy periods. While these options may offer short-term relief, they do not address the root cause of the bleeding.

Instead, they:

• Shut down ovulation, which means your body no longer produces natural progesterone, a key hormone that helps reduce bleeding.
• Override your natural hormone rhythm, often worsening the underlying oestrogen dominance.
• Mask deeper imbalances, like poor liver detox, histamine intolerance, thyroid dysfunction, or nutrient deficiencies.
• May deplete key nutrients (like B vitamins, zinc, magnesium) needed for healthy cycles.

When you stop the pill, symptoms often come back — and in some cases, they return more intense than before.

In functional medicine, we look deeper:
🔍 Why is the body bleeding excessively?
🔍 What systems are out of balance?
🔍 How can we restore healthy ovulation and hormone communication?

Restoring ovulation = restoring your body’s own ability to make progesterone = a lighter, healthier period, better mood.

🔬 Want to Know What’s Really Going On?
If you’ve tried supplements, seed cycling, or diets and nothing has worked long term — it’s time to stop guessing.

Using nutrigenomic testing and functional lab work, I help women uncover:

• How their genes influence oestrogen metabolism
• Why their detox pathways may be overloaded
• Where nutrient deficiencies are blocking hormone balance

I then create a tailored plan based on your biology, not a one-size-fits-all protocol.

❤️ You Don’t Have to Live Like This
If your period is running your life, it’s time to take back control!
You deserve to feel balanced, energised, and free in your own body.

Book a free discovery call HERE to explore natural, functional-medicine-based ways to rebalance your hormones — without masking symptoms with the pill.

References:
Torgrimson, B.N., & Minson, C.T. (2005). Sex hormone effects on physiology in women: estrogen and progesterone. Journal of Physiology, 31(3), 85–91.

Michos, E.D., & Manson, J.E. (2021). Vitamin D and Hormone Regulation. Endocrinology & Metabolism Clinics of North America, 50(3), 605–621.

NIH Office on Women’s Health. (2020). Menstrual disorders: Heavy periods.

Estrogen metabolism and detoxification: Implications for health and disease. Current Drug Metabolism, 2017.