Most PMS complaints often arise after your thirties and after you have had children. But they also appear at a younger age. Very annoying, but there are a number of solutions to ease the suffering.
About 5 percent of women between the ages of 15 and 45 suffer from PMS complaints. Think of irritability, breast tenderness, abdominal pain, headache, depression, anxiety… With these four solutions you can do something about your PMS complaints.
Read also: 'Dossier:living according to your cycle'
Too many fluctuations in your blood sugar levels lead to afternoon dips, where you feel weak and lifeless. Around your period, mood swings and irritations can also become considerably worse. Therefore, make sure that your blood sugar level remains as stable as possible.
Spread your meals throughout the day and have one to two snacks if you wish. In addition, reduce your intake of fast sugars. They are found in white flour products, such as potatoes, pasta and white rice. Instead, eat sweet potatoes, spelled or whole wheat pasta and brown rice.
PMS has to do with an imbalance between the hormones progesterone and estrogen. The mineral magnesium helps your liver to optimally convert the excess estrogen and is therefore indispensable for a good hormone balance. In addition, it is an important driver of the happiness hormone serotonin.
You can take magnesium tablets or try to get more magnesium through your diet. Magnesium is found in grain and milk products, vegetables, nuts and meat. And in extra dark chocolate. A 25 gram piece with at least seventy percent cocoa contains more than fifty milligrams of magnesium. That is one fifth of the recommended daily amount!
Your menstrual cycle requires a lot of energy from your body. Especially in the week before your period, your body is working hard and you can compare the energy consumption with a day of intensive work.
Make sure you can get eight hours of sleep every night. Tired in the afternoon? Then take an extra nap. Make sure that you don't completely stop:by exercising intensively a few times a week, neurotransmitters are released, substances that ensure that you feel happy. Exactly what you need during your period. Enough sleep and exercise are also good for a stable blood sugar level, see tip 1.
If the first three tips do not help enough, you can also opt for treatment with medication. There are drugs that affect your hormones, or drugs that affect serotonin levels in your brain. The latter are also called antidepressants.
Most of the drugs prescribed for PMS affect your hormones. When treating PMS with medicines, it is a matter of trying which ones help you well. Taking a (different) contraceptive pill can also help to reduce the hormone imbalance. Ask your doctor for advice.
