PREMENSTRUAL SYNDROME

PMS affects about 3 out of 4 women at some time and to some degree.  Some women have very mild symptoms that hardly affect their lives, whilst others experience symptoms that are severe enough to interfere with day-to-day life.  Perhaps about one in twenty women suffer so severely that they can experience violent mood swings and thoughts of suicide.  The range of symptoms can include any or all of the following: anxiety, irritability, mild or severe mood swings, nervous tension, violent feelings or behaviour, depression, crying, forgetfulness, confusion, insomnia, headaches, fatigue, dizziness, fainting, palpitations, fluid retention, abdominal bloating, weight gain more than 3lb, swollen extremities, breast tenderness, joint pain, backache, and skin eruptions.

All the emotional and mental symptoms mentioned above have a physiological basis.  Very often levels of oestrogen are too high with progesterone relatively low, but it can be the opposite.  Other hormones are involved, causing the fluid retention type symptoms and low blood sugar. 

Other conditions which can aggravate PMS include candidiasis, allergy, hypoglycaemia, poor carbohydrate metabolism, thyroid dysfunction, malabsorption and vitamin, mineral and essential fatty acid deficiencies.  It’s important to differentiate between PMS which is cyclical (Jekyll and Hyde) and other conditions which may affect a woman throughout the month.

If the suggestions below don’t help within a few months, consider consulting with a nutritionist who will be able to carry out hormonal screening and give individual attention.

Diet advice

	Eat a diet high in fresh vegetables and fruit.
	Eat whole-grains such as brown rice, millet, spelt, buckwheat, oats, rye, amaranth.
	Eat seeds and nuts.  It’s good to grind sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and linseeds (flaxseed) in a coffee grinder and use a tablespoon of fresh ground seeds with one meal per day.  This will help with hormonal balance.
	Eat oily fish, skinless turkey and chicken if not vegetarian.
	Avoid sugar, salt, white flour, white rice, junk and fast foods.
	Reduce or avoid dairy produce.
	Avoid coffee, cola drinks and excessive chocolate.
	Avoid or reduce alcohol.
	Drink at least 1½ litres of spring or filtered water every day.

Supplements    (click on a supplement to go there.)