I have had PMS almost since the moment I started menstruating. When I was about 15 years old, my mother decided to put me on birth control pills “just in case”. I’m not really sure what she meant by that since I didn’t even have a boyfriend at the time but the doctor told me it would help with my acne so I was happy to get them. I stayed on the pill until I was about 24 years old. That was back when they encouraged you not to stay on longer than 7 or 8 years and I was approaching 10, but what harm could it do? The doctors kept telling me that if I stopped taking them, my PMS symptoms (which were pretty bad) would get much worse.

Shortly after I stopped taking the pill my PMS, especially my depression that often accompanied my period started to get better. But I still had a long way to go.

That experience got me thinking that there had to be more than what the doctors were telling me. Now I’d like to share a little with you about what I have learned in the 10 years since.

What is PMS?

Let’s break it down. Pre Menstrual, meaning before menstruation, typically indicates the week or two prior to the onset of menstruation (your period). Syndrome is a word used to indicate a series of symptoms that can not be identified as having any other source. These symptoms may include but are not limited to…

• breast swelling and/or tenderness,
• bloating or water retention,
• irritability,
• moodiness or depression,
• anxiety,
• food cravings,
• headaches,
• increased susceptibility to yeast infections,
• acne or other skin blemishes,
• constipation followed by diarrhea.

I Have PMS, What Can I Do?

PMS is actually rather simple to manage. As a result of a basic lack of good nutrition, PMS symptoms can be reduced or eliminated. Estrogen is the number one factor in most PMS symptoms. Decrease your levels of estrogen and you are likely to find immediate improvement in your life.

Where Do I Start?

There are many factors which contribute to women (and men) having an excess of estrogen. Here are some things you can do to reduce your estrogen levels.

• Start eating organic meats and diary, hormones are injected into animals to increase their output.

• Reduce the amount of plastics you use. Plastic food and beverage containers leak chemicals called xeno-estrogens that are stronger than the strongest natural estrogen produced by our bodies.

• If at all possible, find an alternative to hormone birth control methods such as the pill, shots or patches. These have a great deal of estrogen and even the “low dose” versions give your body more of what it really doesn’t need.

• Use natural home cleaners such as vinegar and lemon oil or tea tree. You can find many brands such as Seventh Generation or Earth Friendly that do not contain chemicals and do as good as and sometimes even better job. The chemicals in home cleaners and laundry products are also estrogenic.

• Avoid pesticides and herbicides.

Other Options

Sometimes all of these changes may not be possible. Here are some additional things you may want to consider.

• Increase your intake of fiber. Most adults need between 25 and 30 grams per day but only get 10 to 12. Fiber will bind with the estrogen to help flush excess from your body.

• Do a liver cleanse and continue to support your liver even afterwards. The liver is the primary location that estrogen is processed for removal from the body. If it is sluggish or under-functioning, the body will not remove the estrogen.

• Supplement with Indole-3-Carbinol. Derived from the cell wall of cruciferous vegetables, this supplement has very mild estrogenic effects which will prevent the uptake of stronger estrogens that cause the nasty symptoms. A side benefit of using Indole-3-Carbinol is that it is being shown to be effective for many different types of cancer prevention including breast and ovarian cancer.

While there are supplements available that will help alleviate various symptoms of PMS, wouldn’t it be nice if you actually had to check your calendar to see when you were due because you had no PMS alarm clock warnings?

Nicole Bandes is a Natural Health Coach whose passion is educating individuals about natural alternatives available to them. Nicole publishes a weekly column of health tips at http://www.naturemadeez.com

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