How Food Can Cause PMS
For many women, pre-menstrual symptoms are a big deal and lots of women struggle with them every single month. Bloating, headaches, fatigue, nausea, cramps, irritability and so forth are all big problems. This can be a debilitating condition and can mean lost time at work, trouble making it through normal activities and so forth. The solutions for many of these women have been severe drugs that can cause lots of problems later in life as well as change the very nature of the way their bodies work, increasing facial hair and acne, as well as making the voice sound deeper. Some of these drugs are quite dangerous and can even lead to osteoporosis in the long run.
So do the 75% of women that have these symptoms of PMS just have to resign themselves to the fact that they have this problem or take birth control constantly to ensure that they don’t suffer every time their cycle comes around? Definitely not - in fact just a few simple changes in their diets can make a big differences in the way they feel each months. The real cause of PMS is unbalanced hormones such as an increase or decrease in estrogen or progesterone and these hormones are easily thrown out of whack by a woman's diet. Things like a high sugar, refined carb diet, caffeine, dairy (and the hormones that are often found in dairy products and meat, stress, pollution, and alcohol can all lead to these hormones being out of balance. All of these things can contribute to PMS symptoms and if you have any imbalances in your digestive system it will only be that much worse because the bacteria in that part of your body can reabsorb estrogen that our liver has already tried to get rid of. Plus if you aren’t exercising you’re depriving your body of its natural ability to regulate it’s hormones.
The first step to putting your hormones back in balance comes with cleaning up your diet. Cut out caffeine and alcohol as well as refined sugar and processed foods. No more flour either. Eat protein for breakfast to balance your sugar and continue to eat evenly throughout the day but not within three hours of going to bed. Remove all dairy from your diet for at least a few months (if not permanently) and increase the fiber in your diet from nuts, seeds, vegetables, and whole grains. You also want to increase omega-3 fats and make a point of eating organic foods to avoid the estrogen type toxins that can be found in pesticides. You may also want to consider supplementing and possibly taking some probiotics to support the good bacteria in your system. On top of your diet you also need to exercise at least thirty minutes a day four times a week and you’ll want to be sure that you’re dealing with stress as best you can and preventing that from becoming a problem in your life.
It’s very possible to get rid of PMS symptoms but only if you’re willing to work at it and make sure that you’re living a healthy, natural, lifestyle. Good luck!