Udo's oil - odd side effect

September 23, 2015 7:10 AM

I recently started taking the Udo's Oil supplement, to see if it helped with athletic recovery (I am a distance runner). However, within a month of starting, it had another effect: my previously irregular menstrual periods became perfectly regular. Why?

(Udo's Oil is a mix of several omega 3-6 oils: flax, sunflower, sesame, coconut, etc. You can see the full ingredient list at the link above.)

I am a 37 year old woman. I have been menstruating since the age of 11. From ages 11 to about 16, I had perfectly regular periods - every 4 weeks on the dot. Since then, I have NEVER had a period start exactly 4 weeks after the previous one. Instead they have ranged from a little over 4 weeks to 6 weeks or occasionally even longer. There was no change in diet or exercise that corresponded to the lengthening of my cycles.

Within a few weeks of starting Udo's Oil, my periods have been exactly four weeks apart. This has been going on now for about 5 months! Can anyone explain this?

(Background health-related info: I eat a healthy balanced diet, and have for many years. I take a daily multivitamin. I have tried fish oil supplements in the past, but I haven't used them in a few years. I have been diagnosed with unexplained infertility - I have one child from an earlier fertility procedure, but was unable to conceive again despite trying IVF. I am not currently trying to conceive.)

posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (7 answers total)

Huh, there does actually appear to possibly be some correlation between omega (3) supplementation and androgen profile and menstruation in women with PCOS. So this is at least potentially a real thing.
posted by Lyn Never at 7:40 AM on September 23, 2015 [3 favorites]

It could be the evening primrose oil, which is associated with beneficial effects on all kinds of female reproductive organ things, to the point where it kind of comes off as a Lydia Pinkham type all purpose remedy/snake oil. But there is some evidence that there's some "there" there, too.

It also honestly could just be a coincidental "here's how your body is now" kind of thing.
posted by padraigin at 7:41 AM on September 23, 2015

The evening primrose oil jumped out at me. Like many herbal remedies, peer-reviewed evidence is hit or miss, but it comes up a lot for women's health issues. The NHS actually suggests it for breast pain, I think maybe some other menstruation/reproduction-related conditions as well.
posted by yeahlikethat at 7:41 AM on September 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

Completely anecdotal, but it could just be your age. My mom had severely irregular periods like you, and despite trying lots of treatments was unable to conceive. They adopted. Then, 8 years later when she was around 40, her periods suddenly regulated themselves for no reason. She got pregnant with me shortly thereafter.
posted by thejanna at 10:03 AM on September 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

Don't discount the possibility of coincidence. No matter when it happens, you'll be able to identify some change you think might be related.
posted by IAmBroom at 12:17 PM on September 23, 2015

Sesame and flax oils are suggested by naturopathic doctors to help balance women's hormonal issues (2 weeks of flax oil in the first part of the cycle and then 2 weeks of sesame with a fish oil used throughout). You can do this with seeds instead of oils and it's called "seed cycling".
posted by lafemma at 1:47 PM on September 23, 2015

Maybe as a distance runner, you run lower weight and have irregular periods from depletion. Maybe the calories in the oil are enough to give you 100 cals more per day and your hormones work better. Some hormones might be fat soluble. Just guesses.
posted by Oyéah at 5:26 PM on September 23, 2015 [1 favorite]