Common Causes of PMS

Do you experience these symptoms like clockwork, every month?

● Mood swings
● Food cravings
● Irritability
● Anxiety/depression
● Bloating
● Excess fatigue
● Difficulty sleeping
● Breast tenderness
● Headaches/migraines

Check, check, check?

PMS while common, is NOT normal.

PMS (premenstrual syndrome) refers to a group of symptoms women commonly experience a week or so before their period.

75% of women experience PMS, and other issues before starting their period each month. Most of us unconsciously accept this because we’ve been conditioned to believe it’s “normal”.

PMS is not an inevitable side effect of beginning your period, even though society would let us believe otherwise.

It DOESN’T have to be this way‼️

To think that 75% of women have an inherent design flaw that occurs EVERY SINGLE MONTH is crazy

Yet, why is it that some women’s PMS is so much worse than others? Why do some women experience it every single month while others breeze through life with little to no symptoms (YES – there are women who don’t experience PMS).

So what determines how severe PMS symptoms are?

One of the biggest factors lies in the fluctuation of hormones that occurs every month:

● How quickly are estrogen and progesterone falling?
● Is progesterone falling more rapidly than estrogen?

Progesterone buffers against those symptoms associated with PMS. Yet when there is too little progesterone in relation to estrogen (frequently known as estrogen dominance), this can lead to PMS symptoms.

Other factors that can exacerbate PMS:

Chronic stress

Feeling stressed leading up to your period can increase risk of experiencing more severe symptoms of PMS.

Focus on decreasing stress, especially in the second part of your cycle. Find stress reducing activities such as journaling, meditating, yoga, breathing, walking, etc that can help mitigate the overall stress placed on the body.

Exposure to xenoestrogens

Research has found that chronic exposure to endocrine disruptors such as BPA, phthalates, and parabens can lead to an increase in PMS symptoms.

Actively reduce exposure to xenoestrogens by decreasing exposure to plastics, choosing clean beauty & hygiene products, and using natural cleaning products.

Excess inflammation within the body

High levels of cytokines, which are produced during the inflammatory process, in the second of the menstrual cycle can lead to an increase in symptoms, especially those related to mood.

Reduce excess inflammation in the body by avoiding highly processed foods, excess alcohol, and sugar.

Nutrient deficiencies

Nutrient deficiencies such as Omega 3s, magnesium, zinc, vitamin B6, selenium and calcium are all correlated with an increase in PMS symptoms.

Focus on foods rich in in these nutrients:
Omega 3s: organ meats, flaxseeds, fatty fish, pumpkin seeds
Magnesium: Almonds, dark leafy greens, avocados, pumpkin seeds, dark chocolate
Zinc: Seafood, oysters, meat/poultry
Vitamin B6: red meat, poultry, eggs, and leafy greens

Selenium: seafood, organ meats, brazil nuts, eggs
Calcium: Winter squash, sardines, almonds, leafy greens

Blood sugar dysregulation

Chronic spikes and crashes in blood sugar are bad news for your hormones.

High levels of insulin resistance are linked to:

● increased testosterone production from the ovaries
● decreased levels of sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), which can lead to an excess
of estrogen within the body (estrogen dominance)
● a downregulation of the production of estrogen leading to low estrogen levels

To help bring blood sugar into balance, focus on eating regular meals full of healthy proteins and fats, go for a walk after each meal, and reduce the consumption of simple carbohydrates.

Feel like you can’t catch a break with your PMS symptoms? Find out how we can help you find the root cause of WHY you’re experiencing symptoms in the first place. The first step is to schedule a session for an initial functional health consultation with me, Schedule here