At a glance
- Cravings during your period are tied to falling estrogen and progesterone, which shift serotonin and appetite, not a lack of willpower.
- Research links specific patterns, like fat and chocolate cravings, to cycle phase, and inflammation markers may play a role too [1, 2, 5].
- Cravings usually peak the day or two before your period and ease within a few days after it starts.
- Eating protein or fiber first, and not restricting food, tends to help more than trying to white-knuckle through a craving.
- If cravings come with a week of disruptive mood symptoms every month, that pattern is worth tracking and mentioning to a doctor.
Strength of evidence
Limited evidence
Most craving-specific studies are small (27 to 259 participants) and observational. Only one trial tested an intervention (swimming) directly against food cravings and found no effect [4]. Hormonal, serotonin and inflammatory mechanisms are plausible but not fully disentangled [1, 2, 3, 5].
Why do you get cravings during your period?
Cravings during your period are common, and they have a physical cause, not a lack of willpower.
In the days around your period, estrogen and progesterone drop sharply, which affects serotonin, the brain chemical tied to mood and appetite.
Research points to specific patterns:
- Women with PMDD wanted fatty foods more in the days before their period than afterward; desire for carbohydrates alone didn't shift the same way [1].
- A study of college women found a specific pull toward chocolate during menstrual flow itself, stronger than at any other point in the cycle [2].
Low-grade inflammation may add to the picture. Research tracking 259 women across two cycles found certain inflammatory markers in the blood were linked to moderate or severe cravings at different cycle points, even after accounting for hormone levels and stress [5].
Hormones, brain chemistry and inflammation can all pull in the same direction at once.
How long do period cravings last?
For most people, cravings build in the day or two before bleeding starts and ease once the period gets underway or within a few days after.
The college-student study found cravings for chocolate were highest during menstrual flow itself, higher than any other point in the cycle, including the days just before it [2].
More on timing:
- Cravings in the luteal phase covers the earlier window, before your period even starts.
- Cravings before your period goes into more detail on timing.
If cravings stay intense for most of the month rather than easing after your period, that's a different pattern. It points to something other than the usual cycle-linked craving most women describe.
Is it linked to PMS or PMDD?
PMS can include food cravings alongside physical and emotional symptoms in the one to two weeks before your period, all of which usually ease once bleeding starts.
A trial of 70 women with PMS who took up regular swimming found it eased anxiety, depression, tension and mood changes, but made no measurable difference to food cravings, irritability, crying or insomnia [4]. That split suggests cravings don't move in lockstep with the mood side of PMS. They follow their own pattern.
| PMS | PMDD | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Physical or emotional symptoms, including cravings, in the one to two weeks before your period | A diagnosis needing at least five symptoms, including one mood symptom such as irritability, low mood or anxiety |
| Timing | Eases once bleeding starts | Final week before your period, easing within a few days of it starting |
| How it's confirmed | Recognized by pattern, no formal test required | Daily ratings over at least two cycles |
| Role of cravings | A symptom, but doesn't track with mood symptoms | A recognized symptom; the diagnosis rests on the mood change |
Start with what you're feeling if you're not sure which pattern fits. If cravings show up alongside rage, despair or anxiety that feels out of character, PMDD cravings covers how that overlap can look.
What helps right now?
A few things help while the craving is loud:
- Eat something with protein or fiber first, like yogurt or a handful of nuts, then decide if you still want the craving.
- Have a smaller portion of the food you're craving instead of skipping it.
- Drink a full glass of water first.
- Move, even briefly.
One study found restrained eaters given a sedative sometimes used for PMS and PMDD symptoms ate 26% more calories premenstrually than on placebo, so white-knuckling through a craving isn't a given win [1].
Dehydration can feel a lot like hunger, and exercise won't stop a craving, but it can ease the anxiety and tension that often ride alongside it [4].
For a longer-term approach to eating around your cycle, see diet for cravings during your period. If the craving is tangled up with frustration at yourself or a slide toward eating past full, the urge to binge covers what to do in that moment specifically.
If what's loud right now is less about food and more about a feeling you can't shake, Niyora is a PMS and PMDD support app. Its Moon feature lets you write down what's going on, see it from a calmer angle, and decide what you actually want to do next instead of acting on the feeling.
When should you see a doctor?
Cravings on their own, even strong ones, aren't usually a medical problem. They matter more when they're one symptom among several that show up every month and interfere with work, relationships or sleep.
A few cycles of tracking symptoms, alongside cravings, mood and energy, can show whether there's a steady PMS pattern, a more disruptive one that fits PMDD, or something unrelated to your cycle altogether.
What does the research say?
The pattern shows up across several small studies:
| Study | Year | Sample | Finding |
|---|---|---|---|
| [2] | 1987 | 83 college women | Chocolate cravings rose during menstrual flow; cravings for high-sugar or high-starch foods didn't move with cycle phase |
| [3] | 2018 | 27 nutrition students | Food cravings differed between the follicular and luteal phases, though food intake and body measurements didn't change |
| [1] | 1999 | Women with PMDD | Fat cravings rose premenstrually; restrained eaters on a benzodiazepine sometimes used for PMDD symptoms ate up to 26% more calories premenstrually than on placebo |
| [5] | Recent | 259 women, two cycles | Inflammatory markers tracked with craving severity independent of hormones and stress, suggesting inflammation is another piece of the puzzle, not hormones acting alone |
None of this is settled science. Sample sizes are small, and researchers still don't agree how much is hormonal, how much is inflammatory, and how much is simply the food environment around your period.
What's consistent is that the craving itself is real and documented, even if the full mechanism isn't.
From the research library
Research on food cravings
179 studies in the library look at food cravings in PMS and PMDD. They were published from 1982 to 2026, and each one has a short summary of what was tested and found.
179
studies, 1982 to 2026
How strong the studies are
- Strong study design
- 7
- Moderate study design
- 70
- Early or limited evidence
- 102
Systematic review, 2026
Does vitamin D supplementation help PMS symptoms?
Vitamin D reduced overall PMS severity and particularly helped with physical symptoms and depression, but the certainty of this evidence is very low. We cannot be confident in these findings yet and more high-quality research is needed.
Strong study design
Cohort study, 2021
Are low antioxidant vitamins or high oxidative stress linked to premenstrual syndrome?
This study found that oxidative stress markers were linked to more depression and food cravings symptoms and more severe PMS, but antioxidant vitamin levels were mostly not associated with PMS symptoms.
Strong study design
Survey study, 2016
Is PMS or PMDD linked to eating disorders like bulimia and binge eating?
Yes. Women with PMDD had 7 times higher odds of bulimia nervosa and women with PMS had 2.5 times higher odds of bulimia, but neither was strongly linked to binge-eating disorder.
Strong study design
Randomised trial, 2011
Does a birth control pill reduce negative emotions, food cravings, and water retention in women with PMDD?
Yes, the pill significantly reduced all three symptom clusters compared to placebo in all three treatment cycles. The greatest improvements happened in the first cycle.
Strong study design
Review, 2001
What causes PMS and PMDD, and how are they treated?
PMS is caused by abnormal responses to normal hormone changes during the menstrual cycle. Treatment includes lifestyle changes like diet and exercise, and medications. SSRIs are the first-line treatment for PMDD, and calcium supplements may help.
Strong study design
Review, 1997
Does appetite and food cravings change during the menstrual cycle, especially in women with PMS?
Yes. Energy intake is higher in the second half of the cycle (luteal phase) compared to around ovulation. Many women with PMS report carbohydrate cravings before menstruation, possibly linked to changes in serotonin levels.
Strong study design
Clinical trials
Questions people ask
Is it normal to have cravings during your period?+
Yes, period cravings are normal. Dropping estrogen and progesterone around your period affect serotonin and appetite, and research has found real increases in craving for fat and chocolate during this window [1, 2]. Cravings alone don't signal a problem unless they come with mood changes that disrupt most of your month.
Why do I crave chocolate on my period?+
Chocolate cravings during your period are common. A study of college women found a stronger preference for chocolate during menstrual flow than during any other phase of the cycle [2]. The exact mechanism isn't fully settled, but falling hormones and shifts in serotonin are the leading explanation.
Do period cravings mean I have PMDD?+
Period cravings alone don't mean you have PMDD. PMDD requires at least five symptoms, including a mood symptom like irritability or anxiety, in the week before your period, confirmed by daily tracking over two cycles. Cravings can be part of that pattern, but mood change is what the diagnosis is built on.
Can exercise stop period cravings?+
Exercise doesn't reliably stop period cravings. A trial of 70 women with PMS found regular swimming eased anxiety, depression and tension, but made no measurable difference to food cravings [4]. Movement can still help your mood during your period, just don't expect it to turn off the craving itself.
How long do period cravings last?+
Period cravings usually run from the day or two before bleeding through the first few days of your period, then ease. One study found chocolate cravings peaked during menstrual flow itself, higher than in the premenstrual week or any other phase, then eased across the rest of the cycle [2]. If cravings stay intense all month, that's a different pattern worth mentioning to a doctor.
Sources
- 1.Food "cravings" and the acute effects of alprazolam on food intake in women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder, Appetite, 1999
- 2.Menstrual cycle and food cravings in young college women, Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 1987
- 3.Do Food Intake and Food Cravings Change during the Menstrual Cycle of Young Women?, Revista brasileira de ginecologia e obstetricia : revista da Federacao Brasileira das Sociedades de Ginecologia e Obstetricia, 2018
- 4.Effect of swimming exercise on premenstrual syndrome, Archives of gynecology and obstetrics, 2018
- 5.Association of inflammation biomarkers with food cravings and appetite changes across the menstrual cycle, Clinical nutrition ESPEN, 2023