Cravings Before Your Period: Are They Your Body's Request or Just Habit?

A few days before your period starts, you find yourself opening the fridge more often than usual. First something sweet, then something savory, and again chocolate. Cravings before your period are so common that they are almost taken for granted, but science has something to say about them, and part of the answer was found by asking Spanish women.

We review what studies say about cravings before your period and why chocolate has a lot to do with culture.

Cravings Before Your Period Are a Recognized Symptom

The Mayo Clinic includes changes in appetite and food cravings among the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome, alongside mood swings, breast tenderness, fatigue, or irritability. According to their fact sheet on premenstrual syndrome, it is estimated that 3 out of 4 menstruating women have experienced some form of this syndrome.

The exact cause of cravings before your period is not known. The Mayo Clinic explains that symptoms change with hormonal fluctuations and that insufficient serotonin levels can contribute, among other things, to fatigue and food cravings. If you want to distinguish premenstrual syndrome from something more intense, we have an article on the differences between PMS and PMDD on the blog.

When Cravings Before Your Period Occur

A detailed study measuring this is BioCycle, published in the European Journal of Nutrition in 2016. It followed 259 healthy women aged 18 to 44 for up to two cycles, recording what they ate and administering questionnaires about cravings up to four times per cycle.

Appetite and cravings for chocolate, sweet, and savory foods increased during the late luteal phase, that is, in the days leading up to menstruation, compared to the period, the follicular phase, and ovulation. Additionally, dietary protein was higher in the mid-luteal phase than around ovulation. In other words, in this study, hunger before the period and cravings were concentrated in the days leading up to menstruation.

Not all studies agree, so the most reliable approach is to look at them collectively. A systematic review with meta-analysis published in Nutrition Reviews in 2024 combined 15 studies with 330 women and concluded that more is consumed in the luteal phase than in the follicular phase: about 168 kilocalories more per day on average. Of those 15 studies, 7 had not found differences separately, and the authors warn that the way diet and phases were measured varied greatly among them.

Chocolate cravings before the period, a cultural issue

Here comes the most curious data. In a study published in 2004, a research team asked Spanish and American women who usually craved chocolate when it happened. The study, published in the journal Appetite, found huge differences between the two countries.

When responding freely, only 4% of Spanish women placed their chocolate cravings around their period, compared to 40% of American women. When asked directly, the difference remained significant: 24% versus 60%. Outside of their period, Spanish women reported having more cravings for chocolate after eating or while studying. The authors concluded that the results point to a more cultural than physiological origin.

A study from the University of Albany published in PLOS ONE in 2017 on chocolate and cravings before the period went further. It surveyed 275 college women from different backgrounds: only 17.3% of those born outside the United States had cravings for chocolate linked to their period, compared to 32.7% of daughters of American parents and 40.9% of daughters of immigrants. Additionally, those born outside or daughters of immigrants who did have that craving felt more integrated into American culture than those who did not.

Does increased hunger before the period mean you expend more energy?

If you're wondering whether cravings before the period mean you expend more energy, the short answer is maybe a little, but it's not clear. A meta-analysis published in PLOS ONE in 2020, with 26 studies and 318 women, found a small increase in resting energy expenditure during the luteal phase. However, in studies published since 2000, that effect was smaller and became non-significant.

A systematic review from 2026 in Frontiers in Physiology analyzed the most recent studies: in 4 out of 7, resting energy expenditure significantly increased during the luteal phase, with estimated increases of between 30 and 120 kilocalories per day. In contrast, a study from the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance, conducted with few participants, found no changes. The results still do not align.

What to do about cravings before your period

Mayo Clinic suggests several dietary and daily changes to alleviate premenstrual symptoms, in their diagnosis and treatment page. These are recommendations for the range of premenstrual symptoms, including cravings before your period. Beyond avoiding caffeine and alcohol, none involve prohibiting a specific food.

As exercise, Mayo Clinic suggests walking briskly for at least 30 minutes, biking, or swimming. If bloating is what bothers you the most during those days, you might be interested in our article about bloating during your period.

Track your cravings before your period for a few months

Mayo Clinic recommends keeping a record of symptoms to identify when they occur and what triggers them. If you visit the doctor, they may ask you to note them for at least two cycles, including the day they start, the day they end, and the dates of your period. Also noting your cravings before your period will help you see if they follow a pattern.

The menstrual cup can help you complete that record. As we explain in the PapayaCup manual, using it frequently allows you to measure the level of bleeding and assess the color.

Frequently asked questions about cravings before your period