PMS
Pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS) and its more severe form pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) are familiar to most women and girls.
In the luteal phase of your cycle, a week or two before your period (and sometimes during), progesterone levels rise and oestrogen levels fall. This can lead to unpleasant symptoms like:
- Feeling irritable, tearful or upset
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Bloating
- Lack of energy
- Sore breasts
- Spots and greasy hair
- Changes in appetite and sex drive
With PMDD, these symptoms are severe and can have a major effect on your mental and physical health. This can make work, socialising, sex, relationships and self-care very difficult. If your PMS symptoms are making life hard for you and/or you think you might have PMDD, talk to your doctor.
We don’t yet know exactly why some women get PMS symptoms and others don’t. Some women find they experience different degrees of PMS throughout their life; sometimes so mild it barely registers and sometimes so severe it makes life a struggle.
We do know that fluctuating levels of hormones certainly play a role, but there are lots of things that can influence any given cycle. Tracking your cycle is a good first step towards understanding your own cycle and seeing if any patterns in mood or physical symptoms emerge.
Sadly, there’s no magic cure for PMS but there are some things you can do to help make the symptoms a little better.
Magnesium
This mineral is involved in lots of functions in the body, including muscular relaxation but also the health of your bones, heart, kidneys and digestive system. Some small studies have also suggested that magnesium can help with sleep – essential to feel at your best.
You can get magnesium from green leafy vegetables, peas, beans, nuts, seeds and whole grains.
Up the water, ditch the salt
Salty foods can dehydrate you, and make bloating and water retention worse. Make sure you’re well hydrated by including plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables in your diet alongside water throughout the day.
It doesn’t have to be plain water – herbal teas, squash, sparkling and flavoured water all count!
Calcium and vitamin D
Helping to keep your bones strong and your whole body healthy, this pair of nutrients have also been linked to lower rates of PMS. Vitamin D helps your body absorb and use calcium, so be sure to include both in your daily diet.
You can find them in dairy products, kale, and fortified bread, dairy milk alternatives and breakfast cereals.
Bring on the broccoli
A veggie powerhouse, broccoli contains lots of vitamins and minerals that support health overall, and it’s a good source of fibre too. Fibre contributes to keeping your gut healthy, which may help reduce bloating, constipation and diarrhoea.
Struggling with PMS, bloating, mood swings and water retention can make you feel like hiding under the duvet with a family pack of crisps and the whole cookie jar. Add cramps and low energy into the mix, and it becomes even more difficult to resist those cravings.
But we humans are wonderfully complex, and your body knows what it needs. The trick is to meet those needs with nutritious, supportive, filling foods rather than quick-fix refined food, and not to be too hard on yourself if you need to relax the rules a little at certain times of the month.
Exercise to ease period pain
It may be the last thing you feel like doing, but exercise can be really helpful to make the symptoms of PMS more manageable. Regular exercise has been linked to a reduction in physical symptoms like pain and tiredness, and mental symptoms like feeling low or anxious. On top of that, being active helps to improve your overall well-being, which can help you deal with PMS better.