---
title: Does dietary calcium and manganese affect menstrual cycle symptoms?
description: Yes. Higher calcium intake reduced mood, concentration, behavior symptoms, pain during menstruation, and water retention before the period. The study was very
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/dietary-calcium-and-manganese-effects-on-menstrual-cycle-symptoms-1993/
---

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- Does dietary calcium and manganese affect menstrual cycle symptoms?

Non-randomised trial, 1993

# Does dietary calcium and manganese affect menstrual cycle symptoms?

Yes. Higher calcium intake reduced mood, concentration, behavior symptoms, pain during menstruation, and water retention before the period. The study was very small and done in a lab setting.

 Early or limited evidence

10 women with normal menstrual cycles

## What they did

10 women with normal menstrual cycles lived in a metabolic study for 169 days. They ate different amounts of calcium (587 or 1336 mg per day) and manganese (1.0 or 5.6 mg per day) in a double-blind, Latin-square design.

## What they found

Higher calcium intake reduced mood, concentration and behavior symptoms generally. It reduced pain during menstruation and reduced water retention during the premenstrual phase. Lower manganese increased mood and pain symptoms during the premenstrual phase, even with higher calcium.

## What it means for you

Calcium and manganese may affect menstrual symptoms, but this is a very small study done in a controlled laboratory setting. Results may not apply to how women eat at home.

10

women in study

169

days of observation

1336 mg

higher calcium dose per day

## About the study

Original title Dietary calcium and manganese effects on menstrual cycle symptoms Authors Penland JG, Johnson PE Journal American journal of obstetrics and gynecology Year 1993 Study design Non-randomised trial What was tested Dietary calcium (587 or 1336 mg per day) and manganese (1.0 or 5.6 mg per day) in different combinations Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/s0002-9378(11)90775-3](https://doi.org/10.1016/s0002-9378(11)90775-3)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Pain and headache](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-pain/)[Diet and nutrition](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-diet/)[Calcium](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-calcium/)

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Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

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