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Dietary calcium and manganese effects on menstrual cycle symptoms
1Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center, United States Department of Agriculture, Grand Forks, ND 58202.
Objective:
This exploratory study was designed to determine whether dietary calcium and manganese affect menstrual symptoms in healthy women.
Study Design:
Ten women with normal menstrual cycles completed the Menstrual Distress Questionnaire each cycle during a 169-day, live-in metabolic study of calcium and manganese nutrition. Women were assigned in a double-blind, Latin-square manner to each of four 39-day dietary periods: 587 or 1336 mg calcium per day with 1.0 or 5.6 mg manganese per day. Responses were analyzed by repeated-measures analysis of variance.
Results:
Increasing calcium intake reduced mood, concentration, and behavior symptoms generally (p < or = 0.05), reduced pain during the menstrual phase of the cycle (p = 0.034), and reduced water retention during the premenstrual phase (p = 0.041). In spite of increasing calcium intake, lower dietary manganese increased mood and pain symptoms during the premenstrual phase (p < or = 0.05).
Conclusion:
Dietary calcium and manganese may have a functional role in the manifestation of symptomatology typically associated with menstrual distress.