One of the most frequent complain I hear from clients is the unbearable time before the monthly period… the dreaded PMS!
While there is never one size fit all solution in natural health, there is a lot that you can do right now to naturally initiate your healing.
PMS, as in case of all health issues, needs at total lifestyle approach: Body, mInd, Heart & Soul. Let’s start with the physical body. Here are 10 ways you can control and manage PMS symptoms:
1. Balance your blood sugar level (BSL):
2. Support your hormonal cycle:
The easiest way to naturally balance your hormonal cycle is to use seeds. Flax seeds are great estrogen booster. They are perfect for the first half of your cycle (from day one to 14 starting the count from the first day of bleeding). Hemp and sunflower seeds are also great at this time of the cycle. All you need is 1 tbsp per day. Sprinkle it on your salad, mix with yogurt or blend with your morning smoothie.
During the second half (day 15 to 28) you need to calm down the estrogen and boost progesterone release. Use pumpkin seeds, sesame and chia seeds, 1 tbsp pre day.
3. Detox your environment:
Synthetic estrogen (xenoestrogen) is all around us. It is especially found in plastic products and can easily leach into your food and wreck havoc with your hormones. Use glass containers for food storage, you can recycle old glass jars. Never use plastic in the microwave, even if it is labeled ‘microwave safe’. It is safe for the plastic not for you!
4. Support estrogen detox in the liver:
Cabbage family (cruciferae) like broccoli, cauliflower, kale, collard, Brussels sprouts… are great liver detox boosters. Button mushrooms are also great for estrogen detoxification in the liver. Make sure to integrate them into your daily diet.
5. Eat Good fat:
Avocado, hemp heart, nuts and seeds, fish… are greta anti-inflammatory and have host of other health benefits you don’t wanna miss. They are immune booster, counteracts aches and pains and balance your hormones and metabolism.
6. Eat berries:
For your sweet tooth, try using berries instead of high sugar snacks and desserts. The sugars in berries has much milder impact on BSL and is way more gentle than refined carbs and sweets. They are also great antioxidants and cardiovascular system support.
7. Herbal teas:
Use 1 tsp of cinnamon per day during your period - make it as tea or sprinkle it on your smoothie or berries. It is a warming herb, great for soothing muscle cramps, it also fights candida yeast and balances BSL.
Other soothing teas are chamomile, fennel, anise, peppermint and ginger.
8. Big bowl of salad:
Dark green leafy vegetables are packed with chlorophyll, magnesium, potassium, and B vitamins They support liver detoxification, adrenal functions and nerves.
Colored vegetables like carrots, bell pepper, tomatoes… are great anti-inflammatory, detoxifying agents and anti-oxidants.
9. Exercise:
Simple 20 minutes walk three times per week is proven to boost the mood and uplift the spirit. It is also great for blood circulation and the smooth flow of your period.
10. Slow down and breathe:
Stress is a major cause of hormonal disturbance and PMS troubles. Simple 5 minutes of quiet breathing twice a day is sure to calm down the nerves, turn off the fight and flight mode in favour of rest and digest counterpart.
While there is never one size fit all solution in natural health, there is a lot that you can do right now to naturally initiate your healing.
PMS, as in case of all health issues, needs at total lifestyle approach: Body, mInd, Heart & Soul. Let’s start with the physical body. Here are 10 ways you can control and manage PMS symptoms:
1. Balance your blood sugar level (BSL):
- Eat 3 meals and 2 snacks a day
- Eat protein with each meal and snack - eggs, beans or cottage cheese with breakfast. Nuts and seeds or yogurt with your berries for snack. Left over chicken, tuna, lentils or quinoa on your lunch salad. And, high quality protein for dinner.
- Avoid refined sugars and carbs
- Add fibres to your diet - whole grains, leafy green vegetables or sprinkle psyllium husk or ground flaxseeds on your salad.
2. Support your hormonal cycle:
The easiest way to naturally balance your hormonal cycle is to use seeds. Flax seeds are great estrogen booster. They are perfect for the first half of your cycle (from day one to 14 starting the count from the first day of bleeding). Hemp and sunflower seeds are also great at this time of the cycle. All you need is 1 tbsp per day. Sprinkle it on your salad, mix with yogurt or blend with your morning smoothie.
During the second half (day 15 to 28) you need to calm down the estrogen and boost progesterone release. Use pumpkin seeds, sesame and chia seeds, 1 tbsp pre day.
3. Detox your environment:
Synthetic estrogen (xenoestrogen) is all around us. It is especially found in plastic products and can easily leach into your food and wreck havoc with your hormones. Use glass containers for food storage, you can recycle old glass jars. Never use plastic in the microwave, even if it is labeled ‘microwave safe’. It is safe for the plastic not for you!
4. Support estrogen detox in the liver:
Cabbage family (cruciferae) like broccoli, cauliflower, kale, collard, Brussels sprouts… are great liver detox boosters. Button mushrooms are also great for estrogen detoxification in the liver. Make sure to integrate them into your daily diet.
5. Eat Good fat:
Avocado, hemp heart, nuts and seeds, fish… are greta anti-inflammatory and have host of other health benefits you don’t wanna miss. They are immune booster, counteracts aches and pains and balance your hormones and metabolism.
6. Eat berries:
For your sweet tooth, try using berries instead of high sugar snacks and desserts. The sugars in berries has much milder impact on BSL and is way more gentle than refined carbs and sweets. They are also great antioxidants and cardiovascular system support.
7. Herbal teas:
Use 1 tsp of cinnamon per day during your period - make it as tea or sprinkle it on your smoothie or berries. It is a warming herb, great for soothing muscle cramps, it also fights candida yeast and balances BSL.
Other soothing teas are chamomile, fennel, anise, peppermint and ginger.
8. Big bowl of salad:
Dark green leafy vegetables are packed with chlorophyll, magnesium, potassium, and B vitamins They support liver detoxification, adrenal functions and nerves.
Colored vegetables like carrots, bell pepper, tomatoes… are great anti-inflammatory, detoxifying agents and anti-oxidants.
9. Exercise:
Simple 20 minutes walk three times per week is proven to boost the mood and uplift the spirit. It is also great for blood circulation and the smooth flow of your period.
10. Slow down and breathe:
Stress is a major cause of hormonal disturbance and PMS troubles. Simple 5 minutes of quiet breathing twice a day is sure to calm down the nerves, turn off the fight and flight mode in favour of rest and digest counterpart.
This was the physical body, let’s talk mind, body and soul. In energy language, female organs are located in the 2nd chakra (the second energy center) in your body. This chakra is the center of your emotional needs and your creative powers and drives. When you experience blocked creativity or stagnant emotions, when your creative actions or emotional needs are striving to be ‘birthed’, or when you lack the drive towards the outer world, this chakra with all its associated organs and systems deeply suffer. Dr. Christiane Northrup sees fibroids (benign growth) in female uterus [and benign prostatic hypertrophy in males] as wake up calls from your body urging you to listen and tune in to your creative and emotional endeavours; so is a painful period or a torturing PMS.
Health in this area of your body entails listening to body messages. Women who ignore the repeated signs of PMS or the early disturbing symptoms of menopause are compromising their safety. Thousands of years back, elderly women were honored for their wisdom; and menstruating time was regarded as powerful enlightened time of the month when women are highly attuned and connected to their spiritual side. Ask your grandmother or great grandmother about these times of their life, they won’t mention anything about mood disturbance or uneasiness. Conventional medicine wants to convince us that PMS is a ‘normal’ part of female hormonal cycle, that we, women, shouldn’t be a ashamed of. Well, we shouldn’t be ashamed of, for sure; but, the ‘normal’ bit is the part I totally disagree with. There is nothing normal about getting crazy, angry, shouting and yelling at the kids and the poor husband just because ‘it’s this time of the month’. If your PMS is disturbing you, heed the warning, your body is trying to deliver a message. You need to listen!!!
I’ve met tens and may be hundreds of women suffering from PMS symptoms and met tens who barely notice their period approaching. There was only one thing in common among those who didn’t suffer from mood alteration: They were all leading a highly creative and meaningful life. This doesn’t in anyway mean that they didn’t have any problem or challenges. Of course they did, but they were always seeing the Big Picture, they had a clear vision and a well established mission, they stepped out of their comfort zone and added challenges and liveliness to their life. They lived with passion!!!
Stop for a while and consider: What is your passion? What will make you jump out of your bed every morning looking forward for the new day? Do you have a clear vision of your future, your ambitions, your mission in life? If not…then it's time to Listen to your body before it begins to 'shout' !!!
I’ve met tens and may be hundreds of women suffering from PMS symptoms and met tens who barely notice their period approaching. There was only one thing in common among those who didn’t suffer from mood alteration: They were all leading a highly creative and meaningful life. This doesn’t in anyway mean that they didn’t have any problem or challenges. Of course they did, but they were always seeing the Big Picture, they had a clear vision and a well established mission, they stepped out of their comfort zone and added challenges and liveliness to their life. They lived with passion!!!
Stop for a while and consider: What is your passion? What will make you jump out of your bed every morning looking forward for the new day? Do you have a clear vision of your future, your ambitions, your mission in life? If not…then it's time to Listen to your body before it begins to 'shout' !!!
- It is time to feed your soul
- It is time to ask yourself “what is missing in my life?”
- It is time to add little joys and pleasures to everyday experience
- It is time to add creativity to your life and find a creative outlet or adopt a new hobby
P.S. If you want to learn more about how to listen to your body and how to flow with the hormonal changes of every month, you will find more details in my new book Body Whispers. I wrote whole chapter on the health of the second chakra, its associated organs, hormones, emotions and feelings.
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