location/menstruation analysis

[jinian]

In Japan:
October: maybe a bit less bad than usual, no heating pad so argh
November: bizarrely easy
December: bizarrely easy, including getting chilled in Kanazawa and not having worse than discomfort

Back home:
January: bad with one unusually bad bout

Two easy ones in a row has never happened before, and these were really outliers, so I think something was up. What was it?

Possible factors:

Fitness level. Definitely went up while I was there, but I mostly kept walking a bunch once home and I certainly haven't completely regressed. My weight's always about the same, but the proportions of fat and muscle don't seem to have changed much since getting home, as my clothes still don't fit.

Stress level. This varied immensely between November (project going great, as lazy as I've been in my grad career, not very homesick) and December (tough experiments, socially difficult, everything failed). January has been back to medium level. Doesn't match the pattern unless there's a delayed effect.

Climate or water or something. Can't test this effectively, so ignore it for now.

Daily exercise. I am walking substantial distances once a day instead of twice (though nearly the same total time), and not every single day. Due to a cold I didn't really walk anywhere for a few days before my period or during it. Some effect is very likely, since period problems cause gut problems and walking definitely helps gut problems, but I don't think it's the whole story.

Allergies. The main difference is cats, and I tested not-allergic to them several years ago. Possibly there's enough conifer pollen already around to cause inflammation that could cause problems? I've never noticed a seasonal cramp correlation, though, and I don't feel itchy or sneezy. Nor has there been a clear correlation with different housing within Seattle.

Diet. There are three main suspects here.
1. Fish. Papersky suggested this, and I think of myself as eating a fair amount of fish anyway so I didn't think it had changed much. I was eating small amounts of fish probably 2-4 times a week in Japan. Since coming back, zero. Perhaps I do not actually eat as much fish here.
2. Vegetables. I got into the "vegetables are the meal, meat is delicious if you have it" mindset pretty well by the end of the trip. Some days here I have one serving of vegetables, or none. Not okay! I am doing something about this.
3. Soy. Lots of tofu and other soy products all the time in Japan. (Really good tofu, far better than I can find here so far. Asian market time.) Phytoestrogens. This would account for milder periods and for a worse one when I stopped.

For your amusement, here is the Food Top we found in a restaurant in Kanazawa. Maybe I should just obey it completely and see what happens. My life already revolves around water anyway.



Any other ideas?