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DISORDERS
(Their description, characteristics or symptoms,
causes, and complementary or alternative treatments)
Disorder: PREMENSTRUAL SYNDROME (PMS)
Description: One of the most common hormone-related conditions of otherwise healthy women is premenstrual syndrome (PMS). For one to two weeks before menstruation begins, women may experience a wide variety of symptoms that will last through two to three days of menstruation, sometimes longer.
Symptoms: Symptoms can include all or any of the following: abdominal bloating, acne, anxiety, backache, breast swelling and tenderness, cramps, food cravings, fatigue, headaches, insomnia, joint pain, nervousness, skin eruptions, water retention, personality changes such as drastic mood swings, outbursts of anger, irritability, and depression.
Incidence: Experts estimate that as many as sixty percent of menstruating women in the U.S. have some degree of premenstrual syndrome, or PMS. Women in their thirties and forties are more likely to get PMS than younger women. Approximately 5 percent of women have symptoms so severe as to be incapacitating.
Causes: One of the causes of PMS is hormonal imbalance – excessive levels of estrogen and inadequate levels of progesterone. Hormonal fluctuations lead to fluid retention, which affects circulation, reducing the amount of oxygen reaching the uterus, ovaries, and brain. Whether you experience PMS depends on a variety of factors, including your genetic inheritance, the amount of stress you are under, whether you drink alcohol or caffeine, and how much you exercise.
Treatments: There are many ways a woman can help reverse symptoms of PMS, including proper diet and nutritional supplements.
Nutrients:
Supplement Dosage Comments
|
Calcium And Magnesium |
1500 mg. daily. 1000 mg. daily. |
Relieves cramping, backache and nervousness. Deficiency may be associated with PMS. |
|
Flaxseed oil or primrose oil. |
1000 mg. 3 times daily |
To supply an essential fatty acid that is important in relieving symptoms and aiding proper glandular function. |
|
Vitamin B complex Plus extra Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) |
100 mg. 3 times daily. 50 mg. 3 times daily. |
B vitamins work best when taken together. B6 reduces water retention and increases oxygen flow to the female organs. |
|
Vitamin E |
400 IU daily. |
Good for sore breasts and other PMS symptoms. |
Herbs:
 | Wild yam extract contains natural progesterone, and is
helpful in alleviating cramps, headache, mood swings, depression, irritability
and insomnia.
| Angelica root, cramp bark, kava kava and red raspberry
may alleviate cramps.
| Peppermint, strawberry leaf, and valerian root help to
stabilize mood swings and tone the nervous system. | |
Recommendations:
| Proper diet is extremely important in treating PMS. Include in your diet plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grain cereals, beans, peas, lentils, nuts and seeds. |
Limit or eliminate the following from your diet:
| Animal products and fat, red meat, dairy products, processed foods, and junk food. Researchers have found that eating red meat and dairy products promotes the type of hormonal imbalance that causes PMS – excessive estrogen levels and inadequate progesterone levels. |
| Caffeine. |
| Alcohol or sugar in any form, especially during the week before symptoms are expected. |
| Get regular exercise. Walking, even if only one-half to one mile per day, can be very helpful. Exercise increases the oxygen level in the blood and also helps to keep hormone levels more stable. |
| To relieve cramps, use warm sitz baths, a heating pad, or a hot water bottle. Warmth increases blood flow to the pelvic region and relaxes the muscles. |
| See a physician to rule out an underlying medical condition that may be causing your symptoms, such as thyroid problems, endometriosis, or a genuine psychological problem such as clinical depression. |
| A food allergy test and a hair analysis to rule out heavy metal intoxication is recommended. |
Considerations:
| Wild yam cream, which contains a natural form of the
hormone progesterone, has been helpful for many women.
| Research at the University of California-San Diego
suggests that some women who suffer from PMS may be deficient in melatonin, a
hormone secreted at night by the pineal gland.
| Studies have shown that women who regularly consume
caffeine are four times more likely than others to have severe PMS.
| The amino acid L-glutamine may help to reduce food
cravings.
| Kombucha tea, an energizing and immune-boosting drink,
has been reported to be helpful to be helpful for some women who suffer from
PMS. | |
Vitamin For Life Recommended Regimen and cost:
|
Product No. 59618- |
Description |
Comments |
Cost |
|
112-17 |
Calcium Oyscal 500 mg. with D Tablets |
1 tablet 3 times daily. |
$5.75/120 |
|
232-15 |
Magnesium 200 mg. Caps. |
1 capsule 3 times daily, taken with calcium |
$4.95/100 |
|
111-15 |
Flaxseed Oil 1000 mg. softgels |
1 softgel 3 times daily |
$7.95/100 |
|
890-15 |
B complex 100 mg. tablets |
1 tablet 3 times daily |
$8.95/100 |
|
894-15 |
B6 100 mg. tabs. (Pyridoxine HCl) |
As directed on label. |
$3.65/60 |
|
234-15 |
Vitamin E 400 IU (D-alpha tocopheryl) |
1 softgel daily. |
$8.95/100 |
Sources:
Prescription for Nutritional Healing, 2nd Edition
By James F. Balch, M.D. & Phyllis A. Balch, C.N.C.
Prevention’s Healing with Vitamins, by the Editors of
Prevention Magazine Health Books
Alternative Medicine, The Definitive GuideCompiled by the Burton Goldberg Group
