Preventing PMS through Diet and Exercise

Everything a woman takes into her body from sugar and salt to alcohol and drugs potentially affects how intensely she suffers from PMS symptoms. A preventive lifestyle begins with small, important lifestyle changes. At the top of the list are stopping smoking and reducing

alcohol intake.

Eat right despite your cravings! Eating more fresh fruits and increasing your intake of certain minerals and vitamins can sometimes mitigate unhealthy cravings for sugar or salt.

Exercise! Regular exercise can help reduce the bloating and fluid retention of PMS by improving blood circulation. It also reduces stress and tension and increases natural production of beta-endorphins, which can help prevent or combat mild depression. Aerobics, walking, jogging, bicycling, swimming and yoga are a few good ways to exercise.

Here are some helpful hints for preventing PMS:

The PMS diet, which is a good one for all Americans to follow, is also the recommended migraine diet because it helps balance blood sugar and avoid energy highs and lows. Women who suffer from premenstrual migraine headaches and want to follow a migraine diet may find that they feel better by eating five or six small meals at regular three-hour intervals.

Studies have shown that tolerance for alcohol decreases during the premenstrual phase, and that alcohol interferes with the normal production and balance of both male and female hormones. As a result, it can create irregularities in the menstrual cycle.

 

Alcohol can contribute to feelings of depression, which in turn exacerbates PMS. Alcohol is also high in calories and thus affects the body's metabolism. It can also lower blood sugar levels, which can increase irritability.

A 1996 report in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology said that regular alcohol consumption increased the duration and severity of cramps in women who suffered from cramping.

Nutritionists and many medical doctors recommend that women who have PMS drink at least six glasses of water a day and reduce their intake of fat, sugar and salt. In a healthy adult, drinking more water does not increase fluid retention—it actually helps flush fluids from the body.

A woman's body may have different sleep requirements at different times during her menstrual cycle, so obtaining adequate rest is important.

 

 

Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy, 17th Edition. Ed: Beers, M. H. & Berkow, R. Merck Research Laboratories, NJ, 1999.

 

Podell, R. (1993). Premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Retrieved August 15, 2002, from www.energywave.com/PMS.htm.

 

Russell, J. (2001). June Russell's Health Facts: Alcohol - Women. Retrieved August 15, 2002, from www.jrussellshealth.com/alcwomen.html.