Premenstrual syndrome (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.