All the decades of emancipation have more or less levelled the rights of the sexes. To a certain extent, we women find it desirable to eliminate the dissimilarities between men and ourselves, in favour of success and career goals. Especially when we suffer under the monthly or even daily hormonal fluctuations. We are still bound to our biochemical making and that is not always a blessing. Especially in those times before our period: symptoms of irritability, fatigue, moodiness, and anxiety – all signs of Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS)– can feel more like a burden.
Realising that you are not exempt from the negative effects of the hormones that make you a women is much more comfortable once you know there is something you can do about the downsides of being female. But careful, with knowledge comes responsibility! Or the realization thereof…
So here some tips on how to avoid the mood and hormone roller coaster and improve your quality of life.
Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) and Diet
Did you know that a subdued mood and increased anxiety (usually caused by a low serotonin level) might be more connected to your intestines than your brain? In fact, about 95% of your serotonin is produced in your intestines and only 5% in your brain. This is one very compelling reason why diet is so important when dealing with any kind of moodiness.
- A calcium-rich diet – has been found to reduce the occurrence of PMS. For some reason however, just taking a calcium supplement doesn’t do the trick. This could be due to the fact that calcium-rich foods (milk products) contain other substances that regulate the mood like tryptophan. If you do not drink cow’s milk, try goat’s milk. It is easier to digest, because it’s more similar to human mother’s milk. It also has calcium and possibly higher tryptophan levels than cow’s milk.
- Magnesium oxide – Magnesium reduces tension, therefore it counteracts cramping. Because it eases the nerves, it counteracts anxiety and depression.
- Beetroot, carrots etc. – Eat healthily; include colourful vegetables, fruits and salad in your diet. Yellow fruit (carrots), red fruit (beetroot, pomegranate) or blue fruit (blueberries etc.) reduce inflammation and protect your cells from aging.
- Complex carbs – Don’t skip breakfast hoping you could save yourself some calories, it might just make you more prone to cravings during the day. Instead, opt for complex carbohydrates like oats, millet, quinoa, brown rice, lentils and no sugar. Complex carbohydrates fill you up for longer and increase good mood neurotransmitters like serotonin in your body.
- Avoid sugar – it makes you feel bad about yourself and increases your appetite for more food. In times of PMS when women feel less attractive anyway the following might do the trick: with the intake of a glutamine supplement you can trick your body into thinking it just had sugar. This way, energy levels will recover. Glutamine has the additional effect of reducing inflammation in the small intestine’s lining.
- Tryptophan for more serotonin – When confronted with a subdued mood or increased anxiety, eat foods that are high in tryptophan. Antidepressants are a commonly prescribed medicine to counteract low moods in PMS. However, before resorting to chemical solutions, one may want to test if either tryptophan supplements (up to 1000mg) or the more bioavailable version, 5HTP, help to alleviate symptoms.
- Lecithin and eggs – Most people’s intake of lecithin, which can be found in eggs for example, is too low. If you opt for a dietary supplement, then the cheaper option is to buy lecithin granules, which are made of soy. Those however contain high amoints of phytostrogens and therefore I recommend sunflower lecithin. Lecithin has anti-inflammatory properties, and is possibly an anti-depressant because it increases the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in your brain. It is also good for your memory and may actually increase your IQ.
- Your skin and your intestine– Inflammation causes your body to stress and bring you into a bad mood or make you fatigued. Your skin is usually a good indicator for your intestinal health, and can highlight foods that may not be good for your body chemistry.
- Low histamine lifestyle – Should you suffer from hay fever or other allergies, or additionally from PMS, then you may want to consider taking antihistamines on a daily basis and watch out for cross reactivities (allergies against pollen can result in allergies against certain foods i.e. birch pollen –> apple). Migraines and very painful periods can be indicators that you would benefit from a low-histamine diet.
- Fatty acids – Omega 3 (Flaxseeds, flaxseed oil, hempseeds, fish) fatty acids can reduce inflammation and are anti-depressants.
PMS and Lifestyle
- Go outside – Make sure you spend enough time outside to boost your Vit. D levels. Light also increases your mood-boosting neurotransmitters.
- Exercise is a natural anti-depressant, because it increases the release of neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, and norephedrine. It reduces water retention and weight (that has been caused by ‘self-medicating’ low moods with sweets, chocolates and other foods).
- Stress – subdues mood. Assuming mother nature made us the way we are for a good reason, then think about this: stressed individuals get depressed, which causes them to have little motivation to leave their safe surroundings, which keeps them safe in times of danger. However, nowadays stressors are everywhere. Relaxation, breathing, yoga, self-hypnosis and meditation etc. reduces stress.
- Smoking – Women who smoke suffer more frequently from PMS (it might also be the other way around: women who have PMS tend to smoke). Smoking stresses the body, therefore it makes sense that women who smoke are more likely to have PMS.
- Avoid alcohol and caffeine – what a lot of people don’t know is that caffeine is in coffee and tea. Both caffeine and alcohol deprive your body of minerals and stress it, therefore they can make PMS worse.
Hypnotherapy can help with many of the lifestyle changes mentioned above like cutting out smoking, reducing caffeine, regulating your hormones with relaxation exercises and better stress management. In hypnosis your subconscious can even make adjustments to balance your hormones.
Apart from the struggles we women sometimes have with our emotions, physical ailments and effectively communicating with men, there are many truly pleasant sides to being female. So relax more and be aware of your own self-worth…aware of how you enrich other people’s lives as a flexible, perceptive, caring, intelligent and social being.
