Are you tired of those days of the months where you can not zip up your jeans without having to lay down on the bed, breathing in, or jumping up and down to get into one leg? Then you get irritable to top it off? You are not alone. Ninety percent of all women suffer from different degrees of premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Marilyn Glenville, PhD, wrote in her book Natural Solutions to PMS that there exists up to 150 possible symptoms that can make you feel terrible and that there are ways to treat some of the most common premenstrual problems.
Mood Swings The idea here is to gain control of your blood sugar by eating small meals regularly. Failure to heed this advice allows your blood-sugar level to decrease and adrenalin levels to increase. The hormone, adrenalin, screws up your normal hormone balance resulting in mood swings. Eliminating caffeine and sugar from your diet will also help prevent irritability. After three menstrual cycles, you will notice a real difference. Keep a stash of health snacks such as nuts, oatcakes, and fresh fruit to minimize your craving for foods that will make you feel worse. Definitely, cut out potato chips and chocolate from your diet. To combat a mood swing, take a multivitamin containing large amounts of B vitamins. This helps to reduce stress and give you more energy. Bloating You need to stay hydrated. Not taking in enough fluids makes your body retain any existing fluid you have. This results in swelling, which makes it difficult to fit into your clothes. Minimize or eliminate your salt intake in the weeks prior to your menstruation to help reduce PMS bloating. Eat lots of watery foods, and cut down on your caffeine intake because it can dehydrate you thus worsening your problem. To deal with bloating, drink herbal teas containing natural diuretics like dandelion, watercress, and celery to minimize your body’s water retention. Fatigue Maintain your blood sugar. This is tantamount to ensuring there is enough gasoline in your car to keep it going. Eat snacks often so that you do not “crash” in the late afternoon. If you consistently feel fatigue, check with your health care provider to eliminate the possibility of anemia or thyroid disorders. To help eliminate fatigue, consider taking coenzyme Q10 (coQ10). Coenzyme Q10 helps to release energy by burning fat. It is a great vitaminomimetic (vitamin-like substance) in case PMS causes you to feel excessively sleepy or tired late in the day. Headaches and breakouts The liver is responsible for detoxifying all hormones your body makes when you are in the premenstrual mode. When the liver does not function as it should, symptoms manifest themselves in the form of skin breakouts or PMS-related migraines and/or headaches. Do not overwork your liver by drinking alcoholic beverages since alcohol will take priority in the liver’s metabolic functions over the hormones. To minimize headaches and skin breakouts, consider taking milk thistle which enhances liver function. Zinc supplements are optimal for the skin and general menstrual hormonal imbalances. Breast tenderness Water retention is primarily the cause of breast tenderness. In addition, there is a molecule found in coffee and chocolate called methyl-xanthines that can make the breasts feel very tender and uncomfortable to the touch. Get rid of these from your diet and concentrate on being properly hydrated. To help get rid of breast tenderness, vitamin E has been shown to be beneficial for premenstrual breast pain and swelling. Cramps Get regular exercise to relieve cramps. The endorphins released are naturally occurring opiates. You do not have to engage in strenuous exercise, but consider doing something mild like yoga or cycling to help increase blood flow to the pelvic area and relieve cramps in the abdomino-pelvic region. Exercise also helps with any vomiting, diarrhea, and/or constipation that are many times associated with menstrual cramps.
For supplemental solutions to cramps, try magnesium to help relax the blood vessels and muscles. Magnesium helps to open up blood vessels and promote blood flow to the pelvic region. A lack of magnesium in the diet can cause blood vessels to become spastic allowing PMS symptoms to get worse.
By: Fabiola Castillo
Posts Tagged ‘Mood Swings’
Women’s Health Solutions to Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS)
June 26th, 2010Women Need Multiple Vitamins For Menopause Health
June 9th, 2010
The best multiple vitamins for menopause should include appropriate amounts of calcium, vitamin D and magnesium, in order to help prevent osteoporosis. There are other vitamins, minerals, herbal supplements and plant components that may stop menopause night sweats and other complaints.
Whether shopping on-line or at your local drug store, you will undoubtedly find a large assortment of herbal remedies, multiple vitamins for menopause and combos that supposedly provide everything that a woman needs for a “healthy menopause”. There are products that are supposed to stop menopause night sweats, stop hot flashes and stop mood swings. The question is which one to choose. Choosing a health supplement of any kind can be difficult.
The Federal Trade Commission advises that while the benefits of some health products are well documented, others have no proven benefits and may even be dangerous. It is the responsibility of the health supplement manufacturers to insure that the products they sell are safe. These are general statements that apply to all health supplements, but apply to herbal remedies and multiple vitamins for menopause, as well. It is the consumer’s chore to evaluate the effectiveness of these remedies by “giving them a try” or by researching the product ingredients.
This brings up one way that a consumer can spot a questionable product. Manufactures that are confident in the quality and effectiveness of their products will provide a detailed list of ingredients. The best manufacturers will even provide information supporting the use of the ingredients for any given condition. Manufacturers that make broad, non-specific statements concerning ingredients are either unsure about what the product contains, unsure about the products effectiveness or trying to mislead the consumer by insinuating that the product contains substances that are actually not included.
Let’s look at an example of what to avoid, without giving any brand names. One internet company that sells multiple vitamins for menopause makes this statement, “formulated to deliver essential vitamins and minerals, as well as menopause discomfort relieving herbs and isoflavones.” The list of ingredients includes a number of vitamins, but no herbs and no isoflavones. Apparently this company is hoping that the consumer will read the description, but not the list of ingredients. A woman who is trying to stop menopause night sweats may find this product ineffective. While research has shown that vitamin E is somewhat effective, there are other herbs and plant components that are more effective for this purpose.
Most health care professionals recommend multiple vitamins for menopause health, when used in conjunction with a healthy, well-balanced diet and regular exercise. You may wonder why exercise is so important. You may think that if you take a calcium supplement you are protected from osteoporosis (a weakening and thinning of the bones), even if you do not exercise regularly. If you think this way, then you are wrong. Certain activities (or lack of activity, in this case) and substances have a canceling effect on vitamins and minerals. Lack of exercise cancels out the positive benefits of calcium supplementation.
The commonly recommended minerals, dietary supplements and multiple vitamins for menopause or the years leading up to menopause are calcium, vitamin A, C, D, E, K, B-complex, iron, manganese, magnesium, phosphorous, zinc, potassium, fiber, isoflavones and phytoestrogens.
Isoflavones are actually a well-researched form of phytoestrogens, but are sometimes listed separately. Phytoestrogens are simply plant compounds that have an “estrogen-like” effect on the body. Lessening levels of estrogen in a woman’s body are believed to cause both PMS and menopause related symptoms. The most common sources of isoflavones are soy and red clover. Clinical research has shown that either of these may stop menopause night sweats and relieve other symptoms associated with low levels of estrogen.
Dietary guidelines from the USDA recommend that people should get most of their vitamins and minerals from the food that they eat, but that in certain cases supplementation may be necessary. Specifically related to multiple vitamins for menopause are the recommendations that people over the age of 50 should add B-complex and D supplements or foods that are fortified with these vitamins. Vitamin D is necessary for the body to efficiently absorb calcium, as is phosphorous, magnesium, manganese, iron and vitamin C.
To learn more about multiple vitamins for menopause and how to stop menopause night sweats, please visit the Menopause and PMS Guide.
By: Patsy Hamilton
Why is Acupressure Such an Efficient Remedy For Women?
May 30th, 2010
Acupressure is one of the three main branches of Traditional Chinese Medicine and is similar to acupuncture except that here the therapist applies pressure to specific pressure points in the body with natural means rather than needles. Acupressure is often confused with massage, which is quite simplistic by comparison.
A growing number of data and scientific studies show why and how acupuncture and acupressure are efficient, and more and more studies explain and validate the efficiency of this natural healing art.
Acupressure is particularly suitable for women, so much in its essence (for women, body and mind, physical and psychological/emotional spheres are strongly intertwined), than in its modality (soft, non-invasive technique, received fully-clothed). Acupressure is a fit answer to women’s specific needs.
General health:
PMS, cramps, mood swings, menstrual cycle disorders, fertility, ovarian cyst, cystitis, hyperthyroidism, endometritis, breast mascosis, pelvic inflammation, bladder and vaginal infections, eating disorders, anemia, are common women ailments. Acupressure is an efficient complementary treatment that regulates the female genito-urinary system, and is a powerful tool to balance emotions.
Maternity Acupressure:
Acupressure helps dealing with the changes, risks and specific ailments related to pregnancy, from conception to delivery, and then during the delicate post-partum time.
Prenatal: relaxes, releases stress and tension, balances mood and feelings, strengthens the bond with child, relieves physical symptoms associated with pregnancy, such as bloating, water retention, muscular cramps, pain in the neck, the back, the hips, sciatica, headaches, nausea, blood pressure, bloodstream. Delivery: induces a late delivery, eases the expulsion process, relieves pain. Postnatal: strengthens the natural ability of the body to heal after a vaginal or abdominal delivery. Many women suffer from tension in the neck and shoulders, stress and fatigue, postnatal depression, lactation issues, genital disorders. Acupressure treatment after delivery helps decreasing those symptoms naturally.
Menopause:
Menopausal symptoms are the visible part of the hormonal storm that rages in the woman’s body. Because acupressure works on balancing, it helps calming the tornado, and supports the woman during this period.
Emotional release:
For many reasons, including biological, women are in close contact with their emotions, and need to manage and process them regularly. If verbalization is not possible, women can find in acupressure an efficient mean to rebalance their daily life emotional turmoil.
Low spirits, depression, suffering:
Statistics all over the world show that amongst people suffering from depression, there are twice as many women as there are men… Furthermore, women are more prone than men to atypical forms of depression, such as bulimia, hypersomnia, and compulsive buying. Of course, depression can be triggered by hormones (baby blues, menopause, winter…), but the experts agree that hormones do not explain everything. They think that women are not more prone to depression than men, it’s just that they express it more. It is true that women consult therapists, and generally express themselves more easily than men, but one has to admit that they also are subjected to heavy pressure and duties. It is a proven fact that stress affects the “hormones of happiness” – melatonin, noradrenalin, serotonin, endorphins – that regulate mood and well-being. Acupressure helps stimulate them, and resist.
Violence & harassment:
Violence, be it physical (assault, sexual abuse) or verbal (harassment, humiliation, emotional blackmail), leaves deep scars in tthe body and the mind. Acupressure, coupled with verbal therapies (psychotherapy), and practiced in a context of trust and compassion, proves a precious help on the long and difficult path to healing.
By: Anne Cosse