ArticlePhysical activity and nutrition2026
Daily turmeric and ginger beverage consumption attenuates physical menstrual cycle symptoms in sub-elite female footballers: a pilot study.
Article in Physical activity and nutrition, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
purposeFemale 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.
methodsSix 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.
resultsPhysical 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).
conclusionThis 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.
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