Ladies, we all know menstrual cramps are painful, for some more than others, but we shouldn’t be doubling over in the middle of the office, school, street, or at a party. It doesn’t look very pleasant and it’s actually quite embarrassing.

Some of us can’t bear with the pain at all, and have to stay home in bed, but you can’t be absent on a monthly basis because an unexpected “friend” came into town.

So what do we do?

Well, there’s always medication like Ibuprofen, Aleve, Midol, and Advil that will work as pain relievers, but doesn’t always last.

If you want the pain to go away, for starters, you need to get yourself out of bed, because as much as you’d like to believe so, that bed won’t be any help to you.

Go for a walk, exercise usually eases the pain.

Buy yourself some bananas, they are filled with potassium, which you may be lacking in your diet, this will help ease your muscle cramps.

Get yourself a Gatorade or Vitamin Water, anything that has electrolytes will help. Electrolytes are responsible for the electrical activity in your muscles. Electrolytes will help the tensed muscles return to their resting position, easing the pain.

Keep hydrated at all times. You tend to lose a lot of fluid and blood during your menstrual period, which is why you may often feel weak.

As reported in WebMD, studies have shown that chamomile tea contains compounds that may relieve menstrual cramps, so have a warm cup of chamomile tea, it will also calm you, which is always good for premenstrual syndrome (PMS).

Eat foods that are rich in calcium such as milk, yogurt, beans, greens, and nuts. As reported in Women’s Health it has been found that calcium reduces the ‘menstrual pain,’ which, by the way, is medically referred to as, primary dysmenorrhea.

There is large percentage of magnesium deficiency in America, and you may be lacking it. According to The University of Maryland Medical Center, one study showed that, women who increase magnesium in their diet have fewer complaints during their menstrual cycle.

Try aromatherapy, there are some great essential oils that you can apply to ease the pain, such as peppermint, rosemary, and roman chamomile. These oils act as an analgesic, which helps to relieve pain.

And last but not least, use the good old fashioned, rubber hot water bottle or heating pad.

Don’t have one?

You can substitute it with a bottle or a doubled zip lock bag filled with hot water, but be sure to wrap a paper towel, or two, around it, you don’t want to burn yourself.

What to avoid?

As hard as this may sound, you should consider staying away from sweets, as they will make your body weaker than what it already is. According to Women to Women, sweets are signs of hormonal imbalance caused by a lack of healthy nutrition.

Stay away from refined sugars such as white bread, rice, and pasta.

Avoid salt as well, as sodium makes your body retain water, which may increase bloating.

Avoid caffeine and alcohol, keep in mind that they both act as diuretics, which will only add to your loss of fluids and cause you to dehydrate.

I know, all the “good” stuff, but you want to feel better right?