Bowel habit and dietary fibre intake before and during menstruation

Abstract

The stool frequency, faecal form and dietary fibre intakes of 25 menstruating women were recorded during the 4 days just before menstruation and the first 4 days of menstruation. At the time of the bleed there was a significant increase (P < 0.01) in stool frequency, a significant decrease (P < 0.001) in faecal form and a significant increase (P < 0.01) in dietary fibre intake. There are indications that cyclical changes in fibre intake may have some bearing on differences in bowel function between the luteal phase and menses although other factors would appear to play a dominant role.