PREMENSTRUAL
SYNDROME
Browse books on 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
Often, a combination of
supplements may help in alleviating this condition. You may
wish to consult a nutritional therapist for personal advice.
Supplements that may be helpful in alleviating symptoms are
shown below:
(please
also read this important notice concerning supplement
medical claims)
Also
consider:
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