Daily turmeric and ginger beverage consumption attenuates physical menstrual cycle symptoms in sub-elite female footballers: a pilot study

PURPOSE: Female footballers frequently experience menstrual cycle-related symptoms, often most severe during menstruation, compounding exercise-induced muscle soreness, and impairing performance and wellbeing. Turmeric and ginger have anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties and may alleviate menstrual symptoms and reduce exercise-induced muscle soreness, but have not been studied as a whole-food combined beverage. This study investigated the effects of daily consumption of a turmeric and ginger containing beverage (TGB) on menstrual cycle related symptoms, post-match soreness, and markers of inflammation. METHODS: Six sub-elite female footballers completed a six-month protocol involving a 99-day control period without TGB consumption (CON), followed by an 89- day intervention period with self-administered daily TGB consumption (TGB). Each TGB contained juice from 35 g turmeric root and 6 g ginger root, with a black pepper mix (BioMax Uptake Blend®). Menstrual cycle-related symptoms were self-reported daily during menstruation, while muscle soreness (leg-specific and whole-body) and plasma concentrations of creatine kinase (CK), C-reactive protein (CRP), and intestinal fatty acid-binding protein (I-FABP) were assessed immediately after five competitive matches during each period. RESULTS: Physical menstrual symptoms were reduced 10% during TGB compared with CON (P = 0.013). No differences between trials were observed for psychological menstrual symptoms (P = 0.209), post-match soreness (leg-specific: P = 0.388; whole-body: P = 0.633), CK (P = 0.303), CRP (P = 0.917), or I-FABP (P = 0.322). CONCLUSION: This study provides preliminary evidence that a daily turmeric and ginger-containing beverage can reduce physical menstrual cycle-related symptoms in female footballers, providing scope for larger placebo-controlled trials to confirm efficacy.