How to Soothe PMS

 You may think that PMS symptoms subside with age. Unfortunately, cramps, headaches, and other premenstrual pain can get worse into your mid-30s and 40s.  While many of us have accepted these symptoms as “normal,” they’re anything but normal. Your symptoms could also be the result of something more serious.  It’s not healthy to be in pain every month or to experience mood swings, fatigue, irritability, or even acne regularly.

There are reasons you might experience hormone imbalance in your 30s and beyond, and it has nothing to do with PMS.  What a lot of people do not know is that chronic stress, nutrient deficiencies, and environmental toxins all contribute to hormone imbalance. That's where we can really help.  With the muscle testing that we do we can identify those toxins, figure out what nutrients your body is missing and design a nutrition program just for you. One of the main toxins we find in women suffering from hormonal issues is plastic.

It’s great that the government recognizes BPA as a toxin that not only interferes with women’s hormones and fertility but also causes cancer among other health issues.  But BPA is not the only toxin in plastic and I don’t know how long it will take for the government to recognize it.  So we want to stay away from plastic whenever possible.  No plastic forks, spoons, straws.  If you love straws then you can buy stainless steel straws off Amazon.  No plastic water bottles.  I use a glass one called a flaska that I absolutely love.  You can use stainless steel water bottles too.  Do your best to avoid ziplock bags, saran wrap, tupperware.  To store leftovers, I use pyrex, glass containers with rubber tops and I just don’t let the food touch the rubber.  But if you buy a bag of frozen peas it is what it is, nothing you can do about it.  I always suggest to my patients to just do the best they can.  They will not be able to get rid of plastic 100%.  

The hormone disruptors in plastics even influence the way genes express themselves in people with reproductive disease and obesity to make it more likely that people pass the disorders onto their children. The study of how the cellular environment changes gene expression is called epigenetics.  I think it’s fascinating and for this reason we want the cellular environment to be as healthy as possible from all heavy chemicals, heavy metals and junk food so that the cell can create optimal gene expression for your health.  For more info on gene expression and epigenetics watch my video. 

Besides plastic other toxins that have been studied that cause hormone imbalance and can lead to PCOS and other issues are:

1. Pesticides - so eat as organic as possible

2. Phthalates (THAL-ates) are chemicals in plastic that make it soft and flexible. You can also find them in: Cosmetics and personal care products, from perfume, nail polish, and hair spray to soap, shampoo, and skin moisturizers.  To learn more about phthalates and how healthy your personal care products are go to ewg.org for more information.  The website is from the Environmental Working Group and it rates all personal care products and cleaning products on a scale 0-10, 0 being healthiest for you and 10 being the worst for you, meaning it’s researched to cause cancer.  It’s a great website with thousands of products rated so you can choose the healthiest ones and I love the research they use to determine the score they give each product.  

3. Phytoestrogens: a compound in plants that acts like estrogen in the body and if we eat too many then the hormones get imbalanced because the body thinks it has too much estrogen.  Foods that contain phytoestrogens include: soy and soy products, flax seeds, grapes, carrots, lentils, licorice, bourbon, olive oil, and oats.

4. Another big hormone disruptor we eat all the time is meat that contains hormones.  When animals are poorly farmed they are given hormones to grow and mature faster so they can reach the butcher faster and the farmer can have a higher turn around rate.  I think over the years farmers use more and more hormones with their animals is the reason why girls are hitting puberty faster.  It’s also a main cause of moodiness.  I think all women know what it feels like to be extra hormonal.  The last thing we want are extra hormones from the meat we eat so if you eat meat then do your best to eat quality meat without added hormones.

One particularly significant natural method of treating hormones is inositol, a type of sugar found in fruits, beans, grains and nuts.  The foods with the highest levels of inositol are cantaloupe and oranges.  Inositol influences the insulin response and several hormones, not just sex hormones but also several hormones associated with mood and cognition.  Multiple studies have shown that supplementation with inositol may not only improve insulin resistance but also decrease male hormones in the bloodstream, lower blood pressure and lower triglycerides which makes it really helpful for patients with PCOS (poly cystic ovarian syndrome).

Also inositol seems to promote ovulation, which, in turn, may support fertility. There was a study done where women who weren’t getting their period and then started supplementing with inositol, 86% got their period back whereas the control group who was taking a placebo only 6% got their period back. 

Another supplement that helps is vitamin D.  Between 67%–85% of women with polycystic ovary syndrome are thought to be deficient in vitamin D.  Adding vitamin D to a daily routine I have observed it to improve insulin sensitivity, increase weight loss success, slow the formation of ovarian cysts, regulate periods, minimize inflammation, reduce oxidative stress, lower cholesterol, lower high triglycerides and reduce male hormones in the bloodstream. 

Another thing people don't realize is that women of all ages are starting to experience the symptoms of estrogen dominance or estrogen deficiency—way before perimenopause or menopause begin.  Luckily, supplementing with the right nutrients can help.  That means fewer symptoms from PMS like headaches, cramping, and mood swings.  I love using red raspberry leaf to not only help with PMS but it's also great for perimenopause, menoapuse, infertility and ammenorhea too!  You can drink it as a tea or take it as a tincture.   The leaves of raspberry plant are believed to cure infertility in both men and women.  I also use red raspberry leaf tea to help regulate menstrual cycles when the cycle is too long or too short and it’s great while pregnant too because it helps tone the uterus, decrease nausea, and ease labor pains.  I also use it afterwards for breast feeding mothers because it helps increase milk production.

No matter what age you are I see time and again how hormone balance also means better health long-term.  It truly is that important.  For more info listen to our podcasts on Fertility Help and PCOS.

Healing Arts Food Pyramid

I have helped people get healthy for the last 17 years by showing them ways to personally change to a healthy lifestyle including their relationship with food.  I have taken those 17 years of experience and boiled it down to one diagram, a Healing Arts Food Pyramid.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words and our food pyramid is worth that and more.  It's a foundational step in creating the healthy life you want.  There is 7 parts to it and if you read this blog and decide there's no way you can follow our food pyramid then start with one part at a time.  Make the change for 3 weeks before starting a second part.  I want 21 days of a change before you make another change and that way you can build on it vs. doing your best for a little while and then deciding it's too hard and not doing it ever again. True lifestyle changes are for a lifetime.  Healthy habits equals a healthy life.

I will start at the bottom, 8 glasses of 8 ounces of water.  So for the average person I suggest 64 ounces of water at least.  More if you work out, drink caffeine, decaf coffee, or alcohol, or sweat more than the average person. Those five things cause dehydration.  Dehydration is the number one reason for headaches and muscle cramps plus is capable of adding to so many other problems that can go wrong with the body.  Water is so important that if I could put it in pill form I would to make it easier for some of my patients to get their 8 glasses in a day.  Until then, we will just have to drink up.  

Next is to eat is 5 servings of veggies a day.  That is not a typo. Thinking about how many servings of veggies is what made me create my own food pyramid.  I always hated bread at the bottom with 6-11 servings of carbohydrates on the original food pyramid that the USDA put out and used 1992-2005.  However, I do agree with the food pyramid’s vegetable serving of 3-5 servings a day and want you to push for at least 5 servings a day.  What is a serving size?  You might be surprised to realize 1 cup broccoli and 12 baby carrots is a serving size.  In general, 1 cup for raw vegetables and 1/2 cup for cooked vegetables. So what does that look like for me? 1.5 cups of spinach in the morning in my pea protein (I love Kachava, here is a code for $15 off) or collagen smoothie (I use Garden of Life). I need to alternate to keep my body happy.  Click here for the full Green Smoothie recipe. 2.5 cups arugula for lunch and 1 cup arugula for dinner.  I keep it simple and obviously love arugula with whatever protein I am going to eat.  You may want to get interested in different vegetables.  I think the key is to find a way to have a serving at breakfast.  There is no such thing as breakfast food, so maybe start with a cup of leafy greens with eggs or hide it in a smoothie like I do.

Also at every meal should be a protein and healthy fat. I do believe in eating 3 meals a day for most people.  So breakfast should have a protein and healthy fat.  Protein can be beans, lentils, eggs, animal protein, and hemp seeds.  I think of other seeds and nuts to be in the healthy fat category along with avocados, coconuts, olive oil, butter, and tahini.  It's not for everyone but dairy would go in the fat category too.  I only buy A2 whole milk and full fat yogurts.  With the fat comes the enzymes that naturally occur in the milk to help the body digest it.  It's the 2% and fat free milk products that the body does not recognize as food.  They truly are just a product and not real food and should not be consumed.

Complex carbs is only 2 servings a day which means one meal a day (assuming you are having 3) will not have a carb.  Oats, quinoa, sweet potato, rice (wild rice is the best), Ezekiel bread can be included in the category.  Less complex carbs would be white potato, corn, and white rice which turn to sugar easily in the body and spike insulin which you don't want so complex carbs are healthier.  Best thing to do is get muscle tested to figure out what carbs are best for your body.  

Fruit does have to be limited to 1 serving a day.  There is a lot of vitamins and minerals in fruit but the fruit sugar can cause stress on the body.  Too much sugar in the body causes stress on the pancreas but fruit sugar in particular (known as fructose) puts extra stress on the liver too.  Also with genetic modifications and our soil being depleted of minerals an apple today contains more fructose and less minerals than 50 years ago.  Our food unfortunately isn't as nutritious as it used to be. 

At the top of the pyramid is minimal sugars.  Minimal sugars include honey, stevia, real maple syrup, and coconut sugar.  Other natural sweeteners can be agave but I wouldn't do that if you have blood sugar concerns or monk fruit but that would count as a fruit serving as well.  Maximum allowed is a serving a day and better if you were to have it only once a week. Again, you can get muscle tested for your specific natural sugars that work for your body.  Stay away from white refined sugar, brown sugar, or cane sugar to the best of your ability even though they are hidden in ketchup, salad dressings and sauces.  Sugars like those are very inflammatory to your body and can wreak havoc on your health.  Nancy Appleton has a list of over 140 reasons not to eat sugar.  

Follow these food guidelines and I truly believe you can create a healthy life no matter what you suffer from.  I have seen great results with asthma, arthritis, insomnia, depression, infertility, constipation, anxiety, PMS, thyroid concerns, menopause, bloat, acne, eczema and so much more using these food guidelines.  It is amazing, food can really be medicine and we can help!