Got PMS? Here’s How You Can Eliminate It
Would you believe me if I told you that 75% of women suffer from PMS symptoms such as headaches, mood swings, bloating + other problems that threaten their relationships, work life and well-being?
It’s no wonder we feel these symptoms are normal — because almost every woman has it!
Good news: it doesn’t have to be this way!
PMS symptoms like mood swings, irritability, depression, anxiety, fluid retention, bloating, breast tenderness, sugar cravings, headaches and sleep disturbances affect the majority of women but some women experience them so severely they need medical treatment.
Even worse, some of those women have extreme symptoms it’s been given a label: Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD).
Here’s the hard truth — suffering related to menstrual cycles isn’t caused by genes or bad luck, but by poor lifestyle + diet choices, environmental toxins and stress.
But of course, we’re taught to shoot back drugs like Advil or Aleve to suppress the symptoms and we become reliant on them. Pharmaceutical companies want you to believe PMS is a part of “being a woman” because that is a huge part of their market. Where else would they get their money from?
I want you to know you can look forward to a pain-free period. It can come with ease and this is something my clients + Instagram followers have seen for themselves.
I want to share a story with you of a client of mine who had heavy, painful periods that kept her bed-ridden making her leave her schedule completely open so she could just lie in pain all day.
She was 29 years old, severely depressed, fatigued, anxious and suffered severe food cravings which led to overeating and weight gain.
She also had joint pain, breast tenderness, heavy bleeding, hot flashes, dry skin, acne, hair loss, memory problems, poor sleep, and no libido. She also complained of severe digestive issues like gas, bloating + fluctuating constipation/diarrhea.
Let’s chat about her diet.
She didn’t drink alcohol, but she was a big soda drinker. She also started her day with a bagel with cream cheese, ate lunch out everyday, snacked on chips in the afternoon and would come home and plow through whatever she had in the fridge. Afterwards, she would binge on “healthy” cookies she would make once every weekend.
This story is one that I hear all too often. But the good news is that I was able to offer her simple solutions that didn’t involve taking medication.
We know that artificial sweeteners, colors, stress, lack of movement and imbalanced blood sugar worsen PMS. It is also true that a diet rich in refined carbohydrates can worsen hormone imbalances because of the hard hit this takes on blood sugar without protein present.
So I asked her to change her food choices, eat more frequently + consistently, incorporate slow gentle movement, incorporate bedtime rituals, incorporate more sunlight — and within just one cycle, she noticed everything drastically change.
It’s as if all of her symptoms magically disappeared, she lost weight and dramatically increased her energy. Her mood stabilized and her acne and dry skin cleared up.
This client was severely imbalanced which caused a cascade of events to take place such as gut + hormone imbalances.
All she needed to do was give the body the right environment + tools to repair and regain balance. Once this is done, the body’s innate wisdom takes care fo the rest.
So what causes PMS again?
The real cause for PMS is simply this: your hormones become imbalanced, your estrogen levels increase and progesterone levels decrease, either relatively or absolutely.
Why?
Stress in some capacity such as those I discussed above.
There are many things that promote these hormone imbalances such as refined carbohydrates, stress, hormones in poor quality animal products, and toxins from pesticides and pollution. Alcohol also contributes to problems because it damages the liver + prevents it from excreting excess estrogen.
Constipation + dysbiosis in the gut can also worsen the situation because they lead to the reabsorption of estrogen from the gut back into your blood, even after your liver has tried getting rid of it making the estrogen even more toxic.
Your body also needs movement to have a healthy metabolism. Healthy metabolism = healthy happy hormones. So if you aren’t moving your body enough, it’s likely this is part of the problem as well.
Fortunately, good research shows that there are many ways to get your hormones back in balance — without medication.
Here’s what you do:
1. Focus on nutrient rich foods
- Stop eating refined carbohydrates + processed foods
- Stop drinking alcohol
- Balance blood sugar by eating protein + carbs together
- Eat every 3-4 hours and don’t skip meals
- Focus on high quality animal products
- Consider removing gut irritating foods such as gluten, nuts, seeds, legumes
- Eat lots of healthy animal fats containing fat soluble vitamins
- Eat organic food
- Movement is very important for balancing hormones. Aim for 30 minutes of aerobic exercise, 3-4 times a week!
- Dealing with stress is also critical. If you have trauma in your life, consider working with someone to work through it. This will take time
- Take hot magnesium flake baths at night
- Get massages
- Try yoga
- Learn deep breathing or meditation
- Try EFT
- Try EMDR
- Try myofascial release
If you still need more support, consider working with a practitioner in order to run the following tests: a HTMA (Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis), Full Monty Iron Panel, and DUTCH (Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones).
Stay tuned for the launch of my mini course called Period Restoration, giving you the step-by-step formula to having happy, healthy periods!
I look forward to hearing your success stories! Don’t hesitate to message me on Instagram!
In good health,
Kiara Marie
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