PMS or pre-menstrual syndrome can be dramatic but no matter what you’ve been told, you don’t have to just live with it. In fact, PMS is one of the easiest health concerns to treat naturally!
PMS doesn’t have to be only moodiness, but it can be any symptom that you experience before your menstrual cycle such as headaches, bloating, cravings, breast tenderness, depression, joint pain, etc. Your solution starts with providing a foundation of nutrition that enables your body to balance its hormones as it is intended to do. We now have the science to know how to do this naturally. Good nutrition and dietary supplements can foster a balance at key times throughout the month.
Susan, a mother of 3 small children, came to see me 6 months ago complaining of a terrible case of PMS which for her lasted up to 14 days before her period. Besides some easy nutritional changes, she also needed a small amount of progesterone cream which she would use only on the 2nd half of her menstrual cycle. She felt relief almost immediately!
The 3 most common hormonal imbalances to cause PMS are as follows: low progesterone, elevated estrogen/estrogen dominance, or elevated insulin. So your treatment will depend on your specific hormonal imbalance. For example, if your progesterone is low you may be prescribed vitamins, herbs or a cream to replenish the deficiency. If your estrogen is elevated, you may benefit from a detox and eating more liver foods (such as greens, artichokes, beets, carrots, water & lemon, etc). If your insulin is elevated, eating lower glycemic index foods may be what is best for you.
One of the first steps is to consider testing all your hormones. These tests need to be done on day 19, 20, or 21 of your menstrual cycle – during your luteal phase. Running the tests at this time is important to get the information you need to access your hormonal situation related to your PMS.
So don’t let PMS disrupt your quality of life by having to make abrupt changes in your schedule every month. It is possible to change your monthly experience without having to take harmful synthetic hormones like the birth control pill or a hormonal IUD which may only make your hormonal imbalance even worse in the long run.
Need help with your PMS? Give us a call to make an appointment; we would love to help you feel better.