Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)

17 steps to a slim body

1. Don’t eat potatoes with meat or fish. This is one of the things I found helped weight loss and is based on the practice of not mixing carbohydrates and protein in the same meal. If you can’t cut them out all together take half what you normally eat. You don’t have to starve. Add another vegetable to your dinner instead of potatoes. If you fancy potatoes have a baked potato with salad or stir fried vegetables or even baked beans.

2. Cut out the snacks between meals and late at night. If you regularly have crisps or chocolate go without for a set period, 2 days, three days, whatever. Then maybe treat yourself if you are desperate. But go without again but for longer this time.

3. Use as much fresh fruit and vegetables as possible, picking the freshest and ripest. Buy organic if you can.

4. Try and eat a least half your fruit and vegetables raw. A lot of the vitamins and minerals in food are destroyed by cooking. One tip – make one meal a day a raw food meal.

5. Cut back on salt. Use herbs and spices for seasoning. If you must have salt, use Lo-Salt which is a healthier option.

6. Use as many different foods as possible in your diet. Variety is the spice of life and the more varied the diet the wider and more balanced the level of nutrients in the diet.

7. Reduce the amount of fat in your diet, especially saturated fats. Also avoid trans fatty acids which includes margarines, salad dressings, processed foods, etc.

8. Use olive oil for frying or try stir frying in a little water and/or lemon juice.

9. Reduce your consumption of meats, especially red meats. They are high in saturated fats. As well as that risk, any chemicals ,such as antibiotics, used in the rearing of the animals, and toxins are stored in the fatty tissues. Three or four meat meals a week is plenty if you eat meat. At the same time try to reduce the portion of meat as well.

10. Eat more fish. But not fish and chips every night! though the occasional cod and chips is a treat. Try and eat oily fish where possible – sardines, salmon, mackeral.

11. Eat more beans, chick peas, red beans, white beans, etc.

12. Add nuts and seeds to meals. Maybe in sprinkles or nibbles as a substitute for crisps etc. No salted nuts or seeds though.

13. If you smoke, stop. Or at least start cutting down. As well as the usual health warnings you have had, smoking also blocks the absorption and the proper functioning of many nutrients.

14. Drink more water – just plain tap water if nothing else available, otherwise filtered water or bottled water is preferable. Drink 6 – 8 glasses a day. As well as food, your body needs water!

15. Start exercising more, even if it is only a 30 minute walk every day. Ideally an hours exercise every day is the aim.

16. Make time for yourself. Relaxation is as important as exercise.

17. Consider taking a good quality multi vitamin tablet. Take one that is suited for your type, e.g. the over 50’s or young who have different nutritional requirements. Also take a good fish oil tablet. More on supplements later.

Resource – “The Nutrition Diet and Recipe Book”, Author – Laurence Staff.

Regular physical training is useful for women

Regular physical training is useful for women at any age. Exercises strengthen all body systems, reducing the risk of numerous diseases and disorders, such as heart disease, oncologic diseases. Moreover, regular exercises positively influence on premenstrual syndrome (PMS), reducing pains and cramps.

Physical training is also good for the health of bones. Regular training helps to prevent osteoporosis. However, overtraining can cause the opposite effect, such as early bone loss.

Sometimes girls and women exercise excessively, and this leads to numerous health issues. There are a range of symptoms pointing at training too hard. They include:

• Irregular periods or the absence of periods for some time. If training too hard, over the norm, women can experience amenorrhea. This is a common symptom for girls who are going in for active sports like track.
• Looking extremely thin. Usually girls and women even don’t notice they look unhealthy. But if someone tells you this, pay attention to such comments.
• Heavy weight loss, when it is lost too quickly or too much.
• Frequent intensive exercises. Don’t risk your health by combining an hour on a treadmill, an hour of aerobics workout, weight lifting exercise complex and an hour in a swimming pool. Everything needs measure.
• The feel of impossibility to miss daily exercises even once.
• Exercising even when it is your day off and you don’t need to train yourself. For instance, exercising when feeling sick, during holidays, etc. Even professional sportsmen have days off. Arrange yourself some days off otherwise you will exercise too much.
• Strange behaviour regarding food. Different eating disorders point at training too hard. If you don’t eat when someone else is near, if you eat very little, always go to bathroom right after the food intake, worry too much about eaten calories, these are symptoms of emotional problems and overtraining.
• Being extremely concerned about your look, body shape, the opinion of other people about the way you look.
• Being extremely concerned that some circumstances can make your exercising impossible.
• Stresses, depression or other emotional problems based on diets, calories count, weight loss, etc.

Healthy diet

There are many claims and counter claims regarding a healthy diet. Nutrition has become complicated and more and more a science. Yet the basis of a healthy diet is simple and easy to follow without getting involved in the science. If you want to delve more into the technicalities of food and nutrition etc, good, but here I try to keep to basics.

The healthy diet should be based on the foods provided by nature: fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, dairy products, eggs, fish and meat. The use of meat and diary products should be restricted to a smaller portion of your meal and even missed out some days.

The healthy diet should be limited to:
- about 15% protein (meat, dairy products, eggs, beans, peas, lentils, soya etc.)
- about 20% fat (polyunsaturated – nuts, seeds, oily fish and/or monounsaturated – olive oil)
- about 65% carbohydrate (the bulk of the meal from fruits, vegetables, grains, rice, pulses, cereals, bread, pasta, etc).

As well as the content of the diet the rules for a healthy diet are simple.

Food should be
- Fresh and natural
- Nutritious (organic if possible)
- Tasty, varied and balanced.

A balanced wholefood diet without overeating is the basis for a long term healthy diet. But as I said keep it simple. Don’t worry too much if you are out for the day and have fish and chips or burger and chips. Perhaps the next day you could make sure you avoid heavy food altogether and have a fruit and vegetable day.

It is generally agreed today that there is a link between diet and disease andthat diet and lifestyle contribute to the diseases of today – high blood
pressure, heart disease, cancer, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, digestiveproblems and many more. Also some nutrients, vitamins and mineralsactually act to protect from disease. The following are just a small snapshot of how nutrients can help protect from disease.

Vitamin C – colds and flu, cancer, high cholesterol levels
Vitamin D – Arthritis, osteoporosis
Vitamin K – helps absorb fats
Calcium – arthritis, joints, allergy complaints
Choline – (a B vitamin) – atherosclerosis, stroke, high blood pressure

This means however, that it is vital to ensure a good intake of nutrientsfrom a wide and varied source to help protect your health.

We are all different and what suits one person does not necessarily suitanother. But most basic dietary needs are the same for all. A balanced dietis necessary whatever our personal likes and dislikes.

There are common rules for the nutrition diet:

- reduce calories going in (eat less) and increase calories going out by
exercising more.
- eat lots of fruit and vegetables (including as snacks)
- avoid fats in the diet
- eat a wide variety of foods
- only eat when you feel hungry
- take your time over eating and chew food thoroughly
- ration what treats you allow yourself
- drink plenty of water
- walk more often and try to take additional exercise
- try using smaller plates and portions of food
- have a low calorie starter such as soup or a salad
- plan meals and their content including snacks
- take healthy snacks with you to avoid buying unhealthy snacks when out
- Try to learn more about food and nutrition (this book is a start)
- stay positive and allow yourself a treat without feeling guilty

The basics of the healthy diet then may look like this:

Breakfast – cereals and or fruit poached or scrambled eggs on wholemeal toast

Lunch – vegetables (salad) + protein

Dinner – vegetables + starch + protein

Snacks – fruit, raw vegetables, nuts and seeds

Drinks – water, green tea, fruit and vegetable juices, herbal
teas

Part of a healthy diet today should include some sort of supplement. As we have seen even a good diet can lack some nutrients due to poor soils and artificial growing conditions. Plus other everyday things like storage, cooking etc which further depletes already lower levels of nutrients. So a good multi-vitamin, extra vitamin C and a Omega 3 fish oil supplement is recommended to ensure and enhance your nutrition uptake – but not as an excuse to carry on eating the wrong foods.

Resource – “The Nutrition Diet and Recipe Book”, Author – Laurence Staff.

The sufferer from menstrual disorders should begin with an all-fruit diet for about five days.

In this regimen, the patient should have three meals a day of fresh, juicy fruits, such as apples, pears, grapes, papaya, oranges, pineapple, peaches and melon. No other foodstuff should be taken; otherwise the value of the whole treatment will be lost. However, if there is much weight loss on the all-fruit diet, those already underweight may add a glass of milk to each fruit meal.

During this period the bowels should be cleansed daily with a warm water enema. After the all-fruit diet, the sufferer should adopt a well- balanced diet on the following lines:

Upon rising: A glass of lukewarm water mixed with the freshly squeezed juice of half a lime and a spoon of honey.

Breakfast: Fresh fruits such as apple, orange, grapes, papaya, banana and milk.

Lunch: A bowl of freshly prepared steamed vegetable such as carrot, cabbage, cauliflower, squash, and beans, two or three whole wheat chapattis.

Mid-afternoon: A glass of carrot juice or sugarcane juice.

Dinner: A large bowl of fresh green vegetable salad using all available vegetable such as carrot, cabbage, cucumber, tomatoes, radish, red beets and onion and mung bean sprouts.

Bedtime snack: A glass of milk or an apple.

Author: Joseph Then

Mango is widely known as the “king of fruit”, and that is not without a purpose. This fruit appears to be an antioxidant-rich health booster. Mangoes are a real nutritious treat, since they are high in minerals and vitamins, but low in calories. These fruit are rich in vital antioxidants and nutrients boosting immunity, offering protection from aging and promoting heart health.

Mango contains nutrients which boost health. As opposed to many other fruits, mango is rich in vitamin E. Besides, it contains:

vitamins: A (beta-carotene), C, B6 and K
calcium
potassium
zinc
phosphorus
copper
magnesium
iron
fiber

Health Benefit
One mango fruit contains more than 3 grams of fiber, which not only helps healthy digestion and lowers cholesterol, but is also reported to aid weight loss. Mangoes may also facilitate the weight loss efforts because they are high in water and prove a lot of food for relatively very few calories (135 per 1 fruit).

Mango is also high in vitamin C – 1 fruit contains 96% of the usual daily intake. The vitamins found in mango boost skin health and offer protection against premature aging and from eye and heart disease. Of course, vitamin C is also famous for being an immune booster.

Beta-carotene and vitamin E are very strong antioxidants. They help the organism fight the effects of free radicals. The studies revealed that diet rich in foods that are high in antioxidants may lower the risk of getting specific cancers, any cardiovascular disease and may even boost eye health.

These fruit are also rich in vitamin B6, which is well-known for boosting immunity, particularly in the elderly. Besides, it decreases the risk of cardiovascular disease and kidney stones in women and even enhances brain functioning. Moreover, vitamin B6 is also reported to help relieve the PMS symptoms.

Vitamin K is responsible for regulating normal blood clotting, as well as promoting bone health, since it reduces bone loss and the risk of bone fractures. Researches also suggest vitamin K is able to decrease the risk of blocked arteries.

Mangoes contain magnesium, which is vital for proper muscular, nervous and cardiovascular functioning. The researches suggest it may play a significant role in lowering blood pressure, reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome and promote weight loss.

Mangoes and blood sugar
Although mango is high in natural sugar, since it contains 31 grams of sugar in one fruit, at the same time it is low in glycemic load, which means it doesn’t affect blood sugar as opposed to many other fruits that are also high in natural sugar.

Have you ever felt that after you have eaten something you just have become hungrier than you had been before? That could be cakes, ice-cream or a bar of chocolate that you pick up to chew. Do you sometimes feel a need to eat a certain kind of food and can’t cope with your craving unless you do get it eaten?

If you do, then it’s a clear sign of you having a food addiction, which is actually a present-day term describing an abnormal disorder – the intrusive, immoderate craving for and eating food. Below are the top kinds of food addictions alongside with the side effects they cause:

1. Coffee/Tea. That takes the first place as the most usual addiction, which is also very hard to give up. The side effects are constipation, dry sallow complexion, anxiety and iron shortage.

2. Alcohol. It’s well-known to everyone as the social drink making us antisocial. All the side effects are known as well. So just take care of yourself to avoid getting addicted to it.

3. Chocolate and sweets. This one comes from our childhood, when we are brought up with rewards for behaving well: chocolate, juice, pastries, candy, sweet drinks and so many on. After such a long time the sweet tooth can become strongly addictive. The side effects of chocolate excessive consumption are constipation, weight gain, acne, anxiety, lipid and cholesterol problems and change of mood.

4. Ice-cream. Even those people who are resistant to sweets can still crave for ice-cream. Its side effects are change of mood and weight gain.

5. Snacks. That’s everything from crackers and chips to corn namkeens and nuts. The most vulnerable to this kind of addiction are women during PMS. The side effects include water retention, weight gain, mouth blisters and gas.

6. Cheese. It might sound weird, but lots of people who are fond of dairy products may easily get addicted to cheese. As it’s a great mood enhancer, cheese addiction is very hard to overcome despite it can cause an enormous weight gain. It can come in so many different forms such as cheese sandwiches, flavor snacks, cubes, spreads and pizza!

It has to be pointed out that such eating disorders often appear coupled with such other mental health disorders as drug or alcohol addiction, anxiety or depression. Those suffering from food addictions run the risk of heavy and even fatal health complications like kidney failure and heavy heart conditions. That’s why it is so important to recognize and treat them in time.

Every month, practically at the same time many of us feel disgusting. The world seems gray and hostile, but the feel isn’t even worth to speak … They say that in such moments, the beautiful ladies become angry and irritable … furies.

It is this mythological image aptly conveys the woman’s condition before the next menstruation cycle. And all the subsequent trouble specialists indicate with the term “premenstrual syndrome – PMS”, condition that affects 30-50% of women.

Causes of PMS symptoms

PMS symptoms appear 10-12 days before the next menstruation. If in the evening you were ok, but in the morning suddenly lifeless locks of hair hanging down, chin poured acne, swollen eyelids, you feel dizzy, pain in the chest and feet, nauseated, rest assured – you’re ahead “of the monthly women’s ailments “. These unpleasant symptoms disappear immediately after the onset of menstruation or during the first days.  Especially hard PMS occurs in women over 35 years.

In addition to the discomfort and pain, a set of psycho-emotional symptoms doctors seemed so significant that in 1994 the American Psychiatric Association felt it necessary to add PMS in the list of serious depressive disorders.

PMS is very unpleasant illness. And, perhaps, many women have noticed that during the PMS they suddenly increase appetite. They want to eat constantly, and it does not matter what to eat, just to finally get enough. But after a couple of hours, even after a hearty meal, the stomach is again beginning to stick to the back of starvation. So, what should we do in this case?

Nutritionists advise anyone who feels an uncontrollable hunger while PMS to eat as much as the body wants … But there are “right” foods that women’s need for calcium, magnesium, and vitamins E and B6. After all, these substances the body doesn’t have enough, because thanks to this, while PMS woman feel headaches, chest pain, and swelling…

Dietary recommendations to reduce pain while PMS

1. In order to balance your hormone levels decrease intake of saturated fats
Remember, that red meat and dairy products contain high amounts of saturated fats, which can cause the increase of estrogen level in the blood, thus making imbalance in hormone levels and this can lead to mood changes including irritability and depression.  Also, be attentive with trans-fatty-acids in food, because such food becomes to be difficult for the liver to process.

2. Manage blood sugar levels, consuming less sugar
Eating a lot of sugar you make processing estrogen more difficult for the body, thus increasing blood sugar level. This can lead to high insulin levels and retention of sodium in the body which can cause swelling in hands and feet.

3. Control salt intake in order to reduce bloating or swelling
If you have problems with bloating or swelling of your hands and ankles try to decrease salt intake. Keep in mind that processed foods contain large amounts of sodium. But don’t forget, while you reduce your salt intake; at this moment you should to increase your potassium intake (fruits, vegetables, and whole grains).

4. Eat as more vegetables as possible, it can balance your hormones
As you know, vegetables contain lots of natural fiber that binds to estrogen and aids in its elimination. If you replace the meat and saturated fats in your diet with more vegetables you will be able to balance hormones, besides you don’t have to worry about overweight.

5. To alleviate PMS symptoms you should decrease the caffeine intake
You will find caffeine in such products as tea (black and green) and chocolate. Caffeine affects mood in particular and also has an effect on breast tenderness and fibrocystic breast disease.

In relieving PMS symptoms great roles also play vitamins and minerals. In order to choose the right vitamin complex you should consult with naturopathic physician.  Magnesium, potassium and zinc may be recommended in the form of whole foods or as supplements to correct deficiencies when these occur.

In any case, we are what we eat!  So, watch out your diet and thus you’ll avoid a lot of health problems, including PMS.

Every month every woman feels emotional and physical symptoms of PMS (premenstrual syndrome). These may include depression, mood swings, anxiety, bloating, craving, abdominal cramps and breast tenderness.

The PMS is an essential part of life of every woman, no matter whether she wants it or not. Though it is not very pleasant, there’s no perfect medication which can bring an entire relieve to the periodic suffering that a woman experiences in the beginning and during her monthly period. But if she knows which kind of food to eat and which to avoid, it might be the best way to relieve the PMS pain.

Here are some of the tips for what can sooth the pain:
Try eating food which is rich in certain minerals and vitamins or taking food supplements helping relieve symptoms of PMS. For example, Vitamins A and D suppress the symptoms of PMS revealed in oily and acne skin. You may find them in raw carrots, spinach cantaloupe or cooked sweet potatoes. Vitamin D, besides being got from sunshine, can be obtained from cereal and enriched milk.

Another Vitamin – B6 – helps ease mood swings, bloating, premenstrual cravings, fluid retention and fatigue. This one can be found in the white meat of chicken and turkey, eggs, bananas, potatoes, nuts and fish.

You can also appease premenstrual stress by eating brussels sprouts, citrus fruits, broccoli, cranberry juice, bell peppers, cranberry juice and cantaloupe – in a word, everything that is rich in Vitamin C.

There are also certain foods which you should tend to avoid as they worsen the PMS symptoms. Here are most of them:
Fats. Avoid greasy and fatty foods like pork, lamb and beef. Substitute them for poultry and fish instead. Also would be nice to substitute butter for such polyunsaturated oils as flaxseed, corn and safflower.

Simple sugars. Rapid swings in levels of blood sugar, causing mood swings, may be triggered by candy and processed sweets. To stand against cravings for sweets, try eating complex carbohydrates like cereal, pasta, beans, rice and whole grains.

Salt. The changing estrogen levels during a woman’s period may cause water retention resulting in PMS-related headaches, breast tenderness and bloating. As salt aggravates water retention, it therefore should be limited to 50 mg per serving. Don’t forget that fast foods, snack foods and processed foods contain much salt.

Caffeine. It increases the estrogen levels, thus running the risk of fibroid tumors, ovarian cancer or breast cancer and premenstrual syndrome among others. It can be found in chocolate, colas, coffee and tea. Limiting or eliminating it relieves the breast tenderness during woman’s period.

Alcohol. It’s likely to increase premenstrual headaches and depression, so should be avoided as well.