The State of Menstrual Health Report

We've Got a Period Problem. 

Along the way, Elix gathered one of the largest sets of data on period symptoms. Over the last three years 195,662 members have completed Health Assessments (with 115,775 assessments completed between January 1st, 2022- December 31st, 2022). The 50+ questionnaire Elix asks about lifestyle habits and menstrual cycle symptoms—from cycle regularity to cramping severity, to urine color. And what we’ve found is bleak.

Our community is seriously suffering

The Health Assessment assesses common symptoms like cramping, bloating, and acne, and even those that aren’t as easily recognizable as period symptoms like joint pain, low libido, and temperature sensations. 

Menstrual cramping was by and large the most commonly experienced menstrual-related symptom in 2022 at 93%, followed by bloating at 82%, mood swings at 77%, breast tenderness at 62%, and acne at 59%. 

80% of our community reported experiencing high levels of period pain, with around half of them rating that severity at 8-10 on a scale of 10.

Pain meds aren't cutting it

According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, “Painful menstruation interferes with the daily life of every 1 in 5 women and can be as serious as a heart attack."

42% of respondents reported relying on pain meds for relief during their menstrual cycle. There still isn’t much data on how painkillers can affect bodies that menstruate. That means many of the solutions that are readily available weren’t designed with us in mind. (Did you know Midol, the popular over-the-counter menstrual relief medication, was invented in 1911 to cure toothaches and hiccups?) 

These period symptom interventions work for immediate pain relief, and are an important tool for pain management. They are also a one-size-fits-all, band-aid to the problem, that can come with serious side effects especially when taken incorrectly, like kidney problems, liver damage, and stomach bleeding, according to the Mayo Clinic. These methods don’t treat where the pain or other symptoms are coming from, and so they don’t alleviate or heal period symptoms over time. 

Herbal healing: a solution as serious as its problem

Every period is unique and requires a personalized approach to heal. 

Elix has combined modern research with Traditional Chinese Medicine to quickly and efficiently identify patterns and create personalized formulas to heal the root cause of period symptoms. Elix’s health assessment utilizes a holistic approach known as Pattern Diagnosis, which examines the relationship between different patterns of imbalances to discover the root cause of symptoms. 

Many of the period symptoms people experience are due to an underlying hormonal imbalance. These imbalances can manifest differently for each person, and often period symptoms can be an indicator of other health issues. For thousands of years, TCM has relied on herbal remedies that reduce inflammation, move stagnant Qi and blood, and rebalance hormones. 

Elix relies on pattern diagnosis to easily and efficiently uncover each person’s hormonal imbalance and create personalized formulas based on those patterns. Everything is connected in TCM, and menstrual health acts like a window into the entire body’s overall health and wellbeing. There are questions on the health assessment that seem to have nothing to do with periods (What color is your urine?) but can actually point to the root cause of those symptoms. We found that darker urine– a sign of dehydration– actually correlated with higher levels of pain.

Clinically-proven support

That personalized approach has worked for thousands of years with TCM, and continues to relieve period symptoms today. Elix’s clinical trial showed that 90% of Cycle Balance users saw an improvement in their symptoms in just three months. Cycle Balance proved to support 15 common period symptoms including menstrual cramps, bloating, and mood swings.

What our community has to say: 

“Took a couple of months but now my cramps are almost non-existent! Getting my period doesn’t put a pause on my life anymore and I don’t have to use any hormones!”
-Caitlyn Austin

“I've been suffering from menstrual pain that has gotten progressively worse over the last 2 years. It got to the point that the pain was debilitating for the first couple of days of my cycle and I would dread it every month. I tried lots of different treatments and remedies, ranging from supplements to high-dose NSAIDs with only minimal relief….”

[cont’d] “...I was skeptical of Cycle Balance but I'm amazed by the results!  I've taken it for 3 months so far and it has made my menstrual pain manageable.  This is the only remedy that I've tried that has significantly reduced my pain, and it seems that each month I experience a little more relief. I mix it with water and I actually enjoy the taste. I'm soooo grateful for Cycle Balance - it's simple and effective!”
-Ashley Owyang 

“I’ve suffered from heavy, painful periods since it began 20 years ago…If you’re like me, trying to function on day 1 or 2 of your period as a working adult is frustrating. I am on month number 4 of using this. By my last cycle my period was not painful at all. I still had some bloating but I felt “normal” and couldn’t believe it.”
-Alasha Scrubb 

Click here to view: The State of Menstrual Health Report

This article was reviewed by Dr. Liem Le.

Dr. Liem Le is a Doctor of Chinese Medicine, Functional Medicine Practitioner, and Nutritionist Integrative Medicine Department at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center. He is a part of the teaching staff for the Masters program for the Functional Medicine and Human Nutrition program at University of Western States. Dr. Le is currently working on his fellowship in Integrative Medicine with the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine via a scholarship from the White House to complete the initiative.