Guest post by Heather Green

When it’s that time of month, you may find yourself struggling just to do basic day-to-day tasks. You constantly feel bloated and crampy, dealing with other people proves to be more difficult, and all you want to do is lie in bed all day and eat horrible junk food. Fatigue is another crummy symptom of premenstrual syndrome, and it can really get in the way of normal life.

Whether you’re constantly struggling to deal with the symptoms of PMS, or even if you just don’t have the time to lie around all day, here are five different treatments that may help you survive through your dreaded PMSing stage.

1. Watch Your Diet

This point may seem fairly obvious, but it can’t be stressed enough. It was recently revealed in a scientific study that women who suffered from PMS were actually eating three times as much sugar, 62 percent more carbohydrates, 79 percent more salt, and nearly half as much iron. So if you can, try to avoid salty and fatty foods at all costs and stick to the healthy foods instead, (at least for a few days). Nutritious foods are better for your body, and they might actually help ease your PMS symptoms.

Try to eat foods that are high in Omega-3 fatty acids (such as salmon, albacore tuna, trout, etc.), protein (tuna, lentils, lean meats, and cottage cheese), whole grain (pasta, cereal and whole grain bread), and sources of magnesium (spinach, bananas, peanuts and cashews).

2. Drink Tea

Not only is tea a great substitute for caffeine when you’re PMSing, it’s also effective in soothing cramps and nausea as well. (Yup, some women do get nauseous right before their period.) Believe it or not, there is actually a type of herbal tea that is specifically for treating PMS symptoms in women. It’s actually labelled as “PMS Herbal Tea” or “Woman’s Moon Cycle tea.” If you can’t find this special PMS tea at your local food and health store, try drinking chamomile tea instead.

3. Chasteberry Extract

Studies have shown that Casteberry extract may in fact help normalize your hormones while you’re PMSing, and can even be comparable to the effects of Vitamin B6. The recommended daily dose is 20 mg of dry extract one to three times a day, or 40 drops of tincture once a day. Try looking around at your local health and food store to see if they sell Chasteberry extract in either tincture or capsule form.

4. Exercise

Doing exercise when you’re PMSing may seem humorous, but scientific studies have shown that women who exercise regularly actually experience less severe PMS symptoms than women who don’t. If you’re not feeling up to exercising when you’re PMSing, then wait a few days until you feel like yourself again and then try to exercise on a regular basis.

5. Natural Herbal PMS Pills

If all else fails and you still find yourself struggling to deal with PMS symptoms, then avoid purchasing over-the-counter drugs that could be damaging to your liver and try some natural herbal remedies instead. For example, some women find that evening primrose oil and chaste tree berry eases their PMS symptoms.

Just be forewarned that there are some herbal “PMS pills” on the market that are trying to scam you into buying their product, so be sure to read the reviews or even ask your doctor before taking any.

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Special Thanks to my Guest Blogger:

Born and raised in North Carolina, Heather Green has worked as a fashion and beauty consultant as well as freelancing for various wedding, fashion, and health publications. She currently acts as the resident blogger for Online Nursing Degrees where she’s been researching nursing anesthetist programs as well as forensic nursing programs.

 

 

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PMS or Pregnancy?
Get PMS Relief Naturally with Vitamin E and Fatty Acids
Menstrual Cycle May Affect Mammogram Sensitivity and Accuracy
Good Mood Foods: How to Relieve PMS