How can I manage PMS?
In this blog I break down my key tips to reducing PMS (premenstrual syndrome) which includes nutrition and lifestyle factors.
Firstly what is PMS?
PMS is a combination of symptoms that many women get about a week or two before their period. It is normal to experience some form of PMS, however that should not impact your quality of life and mean you need to take time off work or can’t do your normal day to day activities.
Common PMS symptoms can include:
mood swings,
tender breasts,
food cravings,
fatigue,
irritability,
constipation,
headaches.
It’s unclear what exactly causes PMS, however there are certain nutritional and lifestyle factors that can help to reduce the severity of PMS. For example:
Hormone fluctuations
Nutrient deficiencies
Thyroid issues
Lifestyle factors such as stress and exercise.
Here are my key tips to help reduce PMS each month:
Manage stress levels as best you can throughout the month.
When we are highly stressed it can prevent our bodies ability to make enough progesterone. Progesterone is a great hormone for lightening our periods, it can help with our mood swings as it has a calming effect and it is great for sleep.
To help manage your stress levels, adding in tools such as breathwork, yoga, meditation, nature walks can be great for calming the nervous system, but the key here is to find something you enjoy and can become a regular practice.
2. Movement is great for managing PMS.
Try and maintain movement of any kind throughout your luteal phase (the 2 weeks before your period is due) as this can help to manage stress and reduce inflammation.
3. Increase Magnesium rich foods in your diet.
Magnesium is a powerhouse micronutrient and is involved in 100's of different functions within our bodies. It also helps the metabolism of estrogen which helps reduce PMS symptoms and can help reduce migraines that can happen just before your menstrual bleed.
4. Include foods rich in Zinc.
Zinc is another powerhouse micronutrient for period health. It helps regulate your stress response, which we all need with our current lifestyle. It also helps promote ovulation and the production of progesterone, which helps to reduces PMS symptoms.
Foods rich in Zinc include: spinach, tofu, red meat, almonds, kiwifruit, broccoli, sweet potatoes (Kumera).
5. Last but not least is Iodine.
How much iodine women should take is a hotly debated topic. But regardless, Iodine is essential for your thyroid health and it can greatly reduce period pain, especially beast pain.
It also promotes ovulation which is how our bodies make most of our progesterone so that is an extra bonus to support a health menstrual cycle.
Iodine is found mostly in seafood but if you aren’t a seafood lover an easy swap can be to use iodised salt instead of table salt or pink himalayan salt which won’t have as much iodine in it.
