FEMALE HORMONE FUNCTION:
7 OF MY ‘SECRET’ NATURAL REMEDIES TO THROAT PUNCH YOUR PMS
PMS, affectionately shortened for Premenstrual Syndrome is a term used for a collection of symptoms that range from mildly inconvenient to severe life-altering symptoms termed premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)
Our bodies are designed to be cyclical, so it’s not the swing of estrogen and progesterone that cause symptoms of PMS. It’s the excessive rise and fall of the swing that throws us out of whack.
Classic PMS symptoms include:
- Abdominal Pain
- Acne
- Anxiety
- Bloating
- Brain Fog
- Breast Pain
- Constipation
- Cravings
- Depression
- Headaches
- Hot Flashes
- Irritability
- Joint Pain
- Mood Swings
- Sleep Disturbances
- Weight Gain
Estrogen and Progesterone when working perfectly should function like a see-saw. When Estrogen is up Progesterone is down…. And vice versa.
Estrogen is awesome in the first half of your cycle. It enhances serotonin which elevates mood and metabolism. Some estrogen is great, while too much estrogen causes fluid retention, irritability, headaches, and breast tenderness.
The departure of estrogen the second half of your also has symptoms, when estrogen drops it brings down serotonin and dopamine (your peaceful happy brain chemicals) with it. The higher the estrogen upswing, the harder the drop (or crash). If you’re in a crash mode you may experience fatigue, night sweats, and migraines.
Now…. As your estrogen drops progesterone should come to your rescue as long as you’re making enough and your body is sufficiently sensitive to it.
When hormones go haywire, the modern day approach is to flat-line your hormones with HORMONAL BIRTH CONTROL!
Because let’s just be honest, finding the real cause takes time & effort with your doctors. It may also require your compliance in altering your current lifestyle to fix the problem. HBC stabilizes things, but not in a good way. You no longer have hormonal fluctuations because you no longer have hormones! More on that next week.
MY 7 TOP SECRETS TO LIVING PMS FREE:
1. DAILY DOSE OF HEALTHY GUT BACTERIA
Probiotics, fermented foods, kefir, or kombucha, whatever route you take to show some love to your gut, do it daily. Healthy gut bacteria helps to rid your body of excess estrogen safely. Cool huh?
2. AVOID ENDOCRINE DISRUPTORS
ED chemicals cripple your bodies ability to metabolize estrogen. This can promote estrogen dominance. More on the read my ED blog post.
3. REDUCE INFLAMMATORY FOODS
Alcohol, Wheat, Cow’s Milk, and Sugar are the top 4 foods to kick to the curb. These 4 foods are proven to cause inflammation in the body. The chain reaction looks like this if you lower inflammation, the body lowers histamine, which can reduce excess estrogen, and in turn relieves PMS symptoms
4. EXERCISE
Exercise makes everything work better. Increasing heart rate and circulation work magic for your hormones and brain chemicals. Make it your goal to do moderate exercise, 30 min, 4x per week.
5. MAGNESIUM & VITAMIN B6
This cocktail is a throat punch to PMS symptoms! Magnesium is even so vital in this process that some researchers believe that being deficient in magnesium can even cause PMS symptoms. Magnesium works to: Reduce inflammation, lower stress response, relieves pain and headaches, promotes sleep, balances blood sugar, works to prevent PMS constipation, and so many more.
Dose: take 200-300 MG Magnesium Glycinate every pm before bed
Vitamin B6 works to aid in the production of neurotransmitters serotonin (controls sleep, hunger, and mood) and dopamine. (happy brain, controls pleasure and satisfaction) B6 also decreases inflammation, aids in decreasing bloating, and water retention. It is crucial for the production of progesterone and GABA. B6 also helps to detox extra estrogen.
Dose: Take between 20-150 mg daily. Excess of 200mg supplementation daily can cause nerve damage.
6. EAT PHYTOESTROGENS
I know, I know, this goes against everything that we’ve heard for a while. However recent data shows that phytoestrogens reduce estrogen because they block estrogen receptors and speed up estrogen metabolism. They do this by making a weak bond to the receptor and blocking you from the ups and downs of the stronger estrogen estradiol. The list of foods includes legumes, flaxseed, grains like oats, pomegranates, and vegetables.
NOTE: If you know that you’re estrogen deficient skip this step.
7. CHASTEBERRY/VITEX
Vitex agnus-castus or chaste berry is a powerful flowering herb that has been proven to outperform conventional antidepressants for PMS and PMDD. It works on the pituitary gland in the brain to alter prolactin which in turn enhances ovulation and progesterone. Chasteberry relieves mood, fluid retention, calms the nervous system.
NOTE: If you know your progesterone is low, use this herb!
DOSE: 500-1000 MG daily
VIP: For your convenience, I’ve added a PMS box to my ‘KIT’. When adding supplements to your daily regimen make sure that you only add one at a time… use for 3-5days without issues before adding another.
LV's KIT