PMS

I know I have a couple of days a month where I feel absolutely ferocious and for years my period would start and I would be caught off guard, not connecting the two. Some women might resonate with this while others may feel extremely emotional while reaching for a block of chocolate or bag of chips.  On a more physical side; headaches, migraines, bloating or a lack of spacial awareness might be the Premenstrual Syndrome symptoms that are experienced.

Premenstrual Syndrome effects 1 in 4 women and occurs a few days prior to your period starting when our Estrogen and Progesterone levels rise. We see an inflammatory response during this time and this is thought to be part of the cause of PMS symptoms. It can manifest itself in a physical and / or mental form and can be different for every woman.

Most commonly women can experience the following during this time;

• Cramps

• Bloating

• Back pain

• Irritability

• Weight gain

• Breast tenderness

• Change in appetite

• Tiredness

There are a few things we can do to help mitigate these side effects of PMS.

• Exercise has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties with light or moderate intensity exercise found to be particularly effective at this time; boosting mood and reducing the effects of PMS

• Include yoga, pilates or meditation to keep stress levels down

• Eat plenty of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant rich foods such as oily fish, eggs, nuts, fruit and vegetables, reduce your intake of processed foods.

Having an awareness of your body’s PMS symptoms in order to best be prepared to counteract them is key.  You can conquer this, you just need to know how!