Bloating, snappiness, exhaustion, cramps - between the ages of about 11 to 51 every month your body feels like it’s fighting you. We all know why it’s happening, your uterus has prepared itself for pregnancy and when it doesn’t happen it decides to throw a little tantrum.
According to research, PMS affects around 3 in 4 women, as many as 30% of menstruating people experience moderate to severe premenstrual syndrome with up to 8% of us suffering from such severe symptoms that it classes as PMDD (Premenstrual dysphoric disorder).
Unfortunately, research into this topic is greatly conflicting as so many people experience their “time of the month” differently. There isn’t really a universal set of symptoms and even from month to month depending on birth control, stress levels, diet etc (like your hormone levels) your personal experience can sometimes fluctuate.
However, no-one knows your body better than you, so the best way to soothe your PMS is to figure out your patterns and work out what solutions best work for you. From a classic hot water bottle to comfort food, you don’t always need science to know what makes you feel better. But knowing some of the evidence-backed solutions to PMS symptoms can’t hurt so here are some tips that should help you in the lead-up to ‘Aunt Flo’s’ visit.
1. Avoid Stimulants
While you may want to be drinking vats of tea and coffee to counteract the exhaustion and lack of sleep that you can experience during PMS it often does more harm than good. The blood sugar imbalances combined with the caffeine’s ability to increase anxiety and irritability can make your PMS symptoms worse.
Though it may be hard, try to limit your caffeine intake. Consider swapping out coffee, tea and stimulant-rich drinks for green tea (which has reduced caffeine) or even water.
2. Reduce Chocolate
This is pretty much the opposite of what you want to do when you have PMS but we promise it will help. According to research chocolate contains methylxanthines which can increase breast tenderness, so reducing your consumption of it can reduce this symptom.
In fact, your diet as a whole is really important when dealing with PMS. Some studies have shown that diets with adequate amounts of calcium and vitamin D reduce the risk of PMS and ones high in Vitamin B1 and B2 may also reduce the risk of experiencing PMS.
3. Balance your Water Levels
That horrible bloating feeling that can come with PMS that makes you balk at putting on anything with a tight waist is caused by water retention. The hormone changes that naturally come with your monthly cycle cause your body to retain excess water which gives you that heavy feeling.
Encouraging your body to remove that excess water can reduce the bloating and swelling that occurs. We recommend our Water Balance Formula which combines potent herbs and botanicals including Juniper, Dandelion, Kelp, Nettle, and Watercress which have all been shown to have diuretic qualities that help balance your body’s natural water levels.
4. Get some Fresh Air
The combination of stress and PMS has been shown numerous times to create a cycle of exacerbation. If anxiety, irritation or low mood is part of your cycle then it’s important to do activities that can calm your nerves and lift your spirit. We suggest stepping outside, if you’ve already read our blog about how nature affects stress then you know that we greatly champion its restorative qualities. Just half an hour outside with some fresh air and natural space will help clear your mind, calm your nerve and start to boost your serotonin levels.
If you need an extra boost why not boost your time outside by trying some yoga or breathing exercises?
5. Increase your Magnesium
Magnesium is the mineral that is often overlooked in the lists of “things that will make you feel better” but it really shouldn’t be. Magnesium is so important that a deficiency can cause tons of symptoms including anxiety, low mood, irritability, muscle weakness, bloating and headaches. Sound familiar? A number of reports and studies have suggested that taking a magnesium supplement can help relieve all the PMS-related symptoms that we just listed.
Our Essential Magnesium supplement contains 500mg of Magnesium Citrate per capsule so it can really target the areas it needs to. Magnesium Citrate more easily dissolves so it can permeate throughout the body and is more gentle on your digestion than some of the other magnesium compounds.
6. Exercise
Ok so this might be the last thing you want to do when experiencing PMS but it has been shown to help, we promise. As well as helping to prevent that weight yo-yo that can happen with your hormones changing, exercise has been well documented as a feel-good endorphin booster that can help to repress PMS symptoms.
It’s also important to not just exercise when you’re experiencing symptoms. An ongoing regular routine can help with premenstrual-related headaches, breast tenderness, bloating and nausea.
7. Try Natural Supplements
Last but by no means least, our Herbal Oestro Balance has been developed using tried and trusted natural ingredients, this women's focused blend helps to naturally balance hormones and reduce the symptoms of PMS. Including potent herbs such as:
Red Clover, Soy and Wild Yam - to help maintain a healthy hormonal balance, modulating the effects of oestrogen produced by the body. In some studies, these natural ingredients have been shown to halve the incidence and severity of hot flushes, as well as help to relieve other symptoms such as irritability.
Pfaffia and Sage Leaf - which have been widely studied because of their ability to alleviate hormonal symptoms of PMS, perimenopause and menopause.
Schizandra and ginseng - to act as energising nutrients that counteract the brain fog and exhaustion that can come with PMS.
Our science-backed traditional herbal ingredients come together to help provide support and relief when you need it most.
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