How to improve your PMS symptoms to feel better
Photo by Kinga Cichewicz on Unsplash
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) can hit you out of nowhere. Symptoms can range widely in severity and in particular symptoms from person to person. You can feel irritated, bloated or just plain tired. Fluctuating hormones are often the cause of these symptoms. For example, low levels of serotonin can impact your mood, causing depression.
You don’t have to let it hold you back from everyday life. Maintaining a generally healthy lifestyle with frequent exercise, good sleep hygiene, and reducing stress are all important factors and can help you control the bloating, depression, irritability and mood changes associated with PMS. Here’s what you can do to feel better.
While you may experience cravings during your menstrual cycle, there are certain foods that can both reduce and aggravate the symptoms of PMS.
Eat a balanced, nutrient-rich diet
Smart food choices all month long and during the height of your PMS symptoms can provide relief. Eat a balanced diet, filled with lots of vegetables and fruit, especially leafy greens, which are loaded with iron and B vitamins. High intake of B vitamins lower the incidence of PMS. Reducing salt can also help alleviate some bloating, while limiting processed foods, refined sugar, alcohol, and caffeine can also support better sleep if you’re finding that sleep issues are a PMS symptom for you.
Reduce sugar and alcohol and increase foods like fish, avocado, and nuts (all filled with healthy fats), cruciferous veggies, and high-fiber foods may also help with estrogen metabolism and hormonal balance, which ultimately help with PMS symptoms.
Reduce salt
Reducing salt can also help alleviate some bloating. Salt, like sugar, is hidden in a thousand places. So go for home-made meals instead of ready to go choices to limit processed foods.
Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables
Focus on leafy greens and eat the rainbow, as different types and colors will give your body more nutrients. Vegetables like kale, turnip greens or Swiss chard are rich in iron and B vitamins, which can help ward off fatigue.
Get nuts
Instead of reaching for a bag of chips, snack on unsalted, raw nuts. Nuts are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and help you feel full longer. Choose from a variety of nuts like pecans, walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts. You can also sprinkle them on veggie-filled salads.
Go for complex carbs
Foods that have complex carbohydrates to keep your insulin levels stable, which will stabilize your mood and keep your cravings under control. Add sweet potatoes, squash, pumpkin, lentils, potatoes and unprocessed oats to your meals.
Eat whole grains
Swap processed grains for whole grains when it comes to bread, pasta, cereal and rice. It will increase the amounts of serotonin in the brain, which can affect your mood to avoid depression, anxiety or irritability.
Increase fermented foods
Some gut bacteria is specific to estrogen by producing an essential enzyme to metabolize estrogen. During your menstrual cycle your ovaries increase their production of estrogen. You can balance it out with foods that help metabolize estrogen. Eating fermented foods for a healthy gut will help eliminating excess estrogen.
Stay hydrated
Drink plenty of water. Drink at least 1,5 to 2 liters of water daily to help reduce bloating and help your digestion. If you don’t like the taste of water, you can flavor it with lemons, limes or cucumber slices. Don’t be afraid to get creative.
Limit alcohol
While it’s tempting to have a drink to help you relax, the reality is that alcohol can disrupt your sleep. The effect could result in sleeping too much or have trouble sleeping.
Limit caffeine
Too much caffeine can also disrupt sleep and contribute to PMS symptoms, too. Try to have your last cup of coffee about four to six hours before going to bed.
Personalized supplements that help
Vitamin and mineral needs are very individualized.
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B6 helps with both psychological side effects of PMS (like depressive symptoms) and physical ones (like discomfort). It is essential to support healthy progesterone levels. It also plays an important role in the production of hemoglobin, the synthesis of several neurotransmitters involved in mood (serotonin, melatonin and dopamine in particular), and contributes to the absorption of magnesium.
Vitamin D
Besides supplements, vitamin D is found naturally in foods like sardines, oysters and salmon. Increasing your vitamin D not only helps you when you are fatigued before your period, but on other days too.
Calcium
Calcium helps with mood-related symptoms. Note that a good assimilation of calcium by the body requires a sufficient supply of vitamin D.
Magnesium
This mineral is involved in 300 different enzymatic reactions in the body. Yet most people are deficient. During your cycle, magnesium is present on the uterus to relax the muscle lining during a period and thus reduces menstrual cramps and their frequency. Taking magnesium in conjunction with vitamin B6 is beneficial in reducing PMS symptoms.
Exercise three to five times a week
Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week or 75 minutes of intense aerobic activity per week. Aerobic exercise several times a week will boost your endorphins and your mood, improve your blood flow and lower symptoms like bloating, constipation, headaches, and nausea. Exercise can help reduce discomfort and increase endorphins and pain tolerance. Always listen to your body and how you feel. A walk or yoga are also good choices. The important thing to remember is to modify your fitness routine depending on how you’re feeling.
Sleep
Sleep is one of the most powerful tools to combat fatigue, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. A good night’s rest will determine how you feel the next day in terms of mood and energy. PMS has been linked to poor sleep quality due to a lower response to melatonin, in charge of your sleep-wake cycle. Implement good sleep hygiene to better regulate your sleep-wake cycle.
Reduce your stress levels
Stress can mess up your hormones in the body and can cause tiredness. Being aware of your stress and reducing it are super important. Exercise, meditation, breathing, Yoga, and other relaxation techniques can all help lower stress levels,
