Can too much vitamin C consumption lead to early or delayed periods?

While most of us know when our next periods arrive, sometimes they surprise us by coming early or late.

There are a lot of factors that can influence our menstrual cycle. From medication, stress, antibiotics and vitamin consumption, anything can delay your periods or cause them to come early.

You might have heard your mom telling you that consuming too much vitamin C led to early periods.

But is it really true? Can vitamin C lead to early or delayed periods? Let’s find out.

Role of vitamin C
Vitamin C has an important role to play in health and well being. It improves our immunity, protects our cardiovascular health, keeps our eyesight healthy and skin glowing. Since the onset of the pandemic, people started consuming vitamin C daily to boost their immunity. But can consuming vitamin C regularly affect the menstrual cycle in any way? Here’s the answer.

Women get periods every month, which leads to blood loss. This leads to iron levels getting depleted. If the iron in the body is not replenished, it can lead to iron deficiency in the body and thus anaemia. This can also impact female fertility.

Vitamin C helps in the better absorption of iron. As per studies, people who are deficient in iron are also deficient in vitamin C.

Can vitamin C lead to early or delayed periods?
Vitamin C can influence hormones that play an important role in periods. Vitamin C can raise estrogen levels while simultaneously lowering progesterone levels. These hormonal changes can lead to uterine contractions and cause the lining of the uterus to break down, leading to menstruation. But still, there is no scientific evidence to show that vitamin C can influence the menstrual cycle and cause the periods to arrive early.
Menstrual changes
Your menstrual cycle can change due to a number of reasons. One common reason is the number of days in a month, which varies. This, over time, can throw off your periods by as much as a week. Weight gain can also affect your periods. Even significant weight loss can also disrupt your periods.

Hormonal imbalances, birth control pills, infections can also lead to delayed periods. Too much stress, anxiety and medication can also cause a delay in your menstrual cycle.