What Vitamins Help With Pms

The Best Food And Supplements For Pms

Last updated on by Alisa Vitti

We grow into womanhood believing that PMS is an inevitable part of being female. Then so many of us experience it, we believe that must be true. We just accept that once a month for a few days, a week or even longer we feel crabby, angry, low, anxious, lacking in confidence, frustrated, as well as bloated, ravenously hungry, craving sugar, and covered in acne.

But PMS is not normal. Menstruating women are not destined to suffer before their period. You know what else? The solution isnt drugs. The Pill may seem to help, but it only masks symptoms all while the root causes of PMS continue to simmer under the surface. Its the same story with over-the-counter anti-inflammatories and painkillers, like ibuprofen. These drugs mask the pain. They dont treat the deeper root causes.

Its a myth that women have to suffer every month, and its a myth that drugs address the deeper hormone imbalances that contribute to premenstrual syndrome and period pain.

So what causes PMS? What helps erase the symptoms? Here is everything you need to know about PMS and natural strategies for easing premenstrual symptoms.

Why The Pill Make Pms Worse

Women with severe PMS are sometimes prescribed hormonal birth control to help ease symptoms. The pill stops ovulation and that can lead to reduced symptoms throughout ones cycle. But not ovulating causes its own problems.

Research has shown that consistent ovulation protects womens long term health, especially when it comes to avoiding issues like osteoporosis, heart disease, heart attacks, and breast cancer . Hormonal birth control suppresses ovulation. Suppressing ovulation for years, decades even, has long term consequences, even if ovulation returns shortly after you come off the medication. Exposure to synthetic hormones plus a lack of exposure to the bodys own hormone cycles, is the root cause. In short: ovulation is important and not just for when you want to conceive.

The pill poses other problems, too. Its been shown to disturb the microbiome, increase inflammation, and drain the body of essential micronutrients, among other things.

Finally, the pill paves over the root causes of hormone imbalance without directly addressing root causes. That means that whenever you come off the pill, your symptoms are likely to come roaring back, often worse than before.

Curious Where To Start

A list of seven PMS supplements can feel overwhelming and confusing. Where to start with supplements is the number one question I get both in my medical practice and from my readers. Here’s what I recommend.

If you’re a gal who is struggling with hormones or dreading your period every month then I want to share with you what I’ve found to be most effective in improving hormone health Balance, Adrenal Support, and MegaSporeBiotic probiotic.

Balance by Dr. Brighten supports healthy levels of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. Adrenal Support helps your adrenal glands work like a champ, while also improving your tolerance for stress. Plus, that added licorice can help you get those cortisol and testosterone levels in check. MegaSporeBiotic is a high-quality probiotic that supports healthy digestion. Remember, your gut health is pivotal to your hormone health.

Because these supplements are so important to hormonal health I have bundled them together into the Period Problems Kit.

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How Flo Pms Gummies Compare To Alternatives

A quick search on Amazon for PMS supplements returns several capsule and gummy products. Some have similar ingredient lists.

PinkStork Total PMS Gummies contain turmeric, ginger, and black pepper. These ingredients have anti-inflammatory properties, which can mimic the effects of taking over-the-counter pain medication and may lessen period discomfort. A one-month supply costs $26.99.

Several capsule supplements, including Happy Healthy Hippie Go With the Flow, Hum Moody Bird, and Olly Miss Mellow, also contain chasteberry extract and dong quai.

A one-month supply of these products ranges from about $20 to $30, which is right on par with the FLO gummies.

One thing that stands out to me about this category of supplements is the wide range of the amounts of active ingredients they contain.

The above-mentioned products contain 85400 mg of chasteberry extract and 100400 mg of dong quai per serving.

Each of the above-mentioned products lists the exact amount of each ingredient, which isnt the case with FLO.

If you prefer to avoid proprietary blends and want to know exactly how much of each active ingredient youre taking, one of the alternative brands may be a better choice.

Since the safety of dong quai is unknown, Id likely avoid products containing it in favor of more trusted ingredients. Id try the PinkStork gummies as a natural alternative to NSAIDs for dealing with period pain and cramping.

What Causes Pms Symptoms

You might experience PMS symptoms about a week before your menstruation. Thats about 2 weeks of the month full of discomfort, and irritability.

Other symptoms you might experience are:

• Bloating
• Trouble focusing and poor memory

But why do you experience PMS in the first place?

PMS symptoms have a lot to do with your hormones.

The level of hormones like estrogen and progesterone fluctuates. They are different during ovulation, right before your menstrual cycle, and during it.

After ovulation, if you dont get pregnant, these hormones drop drastically and you start feeling the typical PMS symptoms.

You can also experience discomfort if your estrogen levels are higher than usual, which is often caused by improper diet, obesity, liver diseases, some antibiotics, and hormonal contraceptives.

Your symptoms might be even more severe if you suffer from additional hormone balance issues.

Causes of hormonal imbalance other than your menstruation cycle might be:

• Poor diet
• Thyroid issues
• Excessive alcohol consumption

To end the discomfort before and during your period, you might be reaching out for some staple painkillers like ibuprofen and aspirin. But these traditional drugs alleviate your symptoms temporarily, numb the pain, and just cover up the real problem.

To end the hormonal pain once and for all and address the source of the hormonal imbalance you can use some powerful natural PMS supplements that can help you achieve balance.

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Vitamin C And Pms Why You Need Them

PMS is something many women suffer from and there is a strong link to vitamin levels and PMS symptoms that can be avoided.

One of the most important vitamins in the body is vitamin C. Vitamin C is talked out frequently in the news and health articles it is found in our foods and added as a supplement to many other foods and drinks. Many people do not realize what role vitamin C plays and how it can help women fight their PMS symptoms easily and effectively.

Buh Bye Pms And Hello Period Bliss

These were seven of the best supplements for PMS, helpful for any menstruating female. Whether you’re dealing with PMS, PCOS, fibroids, or wanting to offset the negative effects of hormonal birth control. This is what I recommend women keep in their medicine cabinet and make a part of their daily routine.

If you’re a woman who feels like you’ve been doing everything right with your diet and lifestyle choices but are still not getting the hormone results you were hoping to achieve, I recommend considering adding supplements to help your health and reinforce those positive diet and lifestyle changes you’ve made.

In my clinical experience, supplements can be like rocket fuel to help you reach your hormonal goals.

PMS supplements help keep your healing momentum and not backslide when you get hit with an unforeseen stressor, endocrine disrupter, or any of the things that we encounter every day that wreak havoc on our hormones.

If you’re ready for some blissful periods, to ditch your PMS, boost your energy and have an amazing mood, then it’s time you put some supplements and introduce them into your daily routine.

If you’re looking for the highest quality, doctor-approved supplements that are non-GMO, gluten and allergy free, without any weird food coloring or dyes, or any garbage that you don’t want to have in your supplement, check out what I recommend in my store.

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Vitamins That Help With Menstrual Pain

So lets take a look at all the various vitamins that can have a positive effect on preventing and treating the symptoms of pms.

VITAMIN B:

On one of his television shows Dr. Oz recommended a series of steps to control pms, including the use of vitamin B.

According to Dr. Oz, Vitamin B helps with moods swings caused by fluctuating hormonal levels. The recommended level of Vitamin B6 that Dr. Oz recommends is 100 mg.

Foods that contain a high level of Vitamin B in cashews, peanuts and hazelnuts.

In order to make sure you have enough Vitamin B in your system before your cycle starts in order to prevent or decrease pms symptoms. On his web site Dr. Oz sells a Vitamin B product designed specifically for pms issues.

This product called Energy Revitalization System with B Complex contains several other vitamins along with the B complex vitamins. These vitamins are A, C, D, E, and K as well as the B complex. It does appear that the B complex vitamins are the most important ones in respect to helping to relieve and reduce the symptoms of pms.

B12 is always a part of any B complex compound. B12 is also known as cobalamin. B12 is known mostly for the treatment of anemia but it is also involved with preventing damage to nerve endings. It is this quality of B12 that make it useful in the relief of insomnia and anxiety that comes with pms.

Vitamin A:

Vitamin C:

What is oxidative stress?

Vitamin D

Vitamin E

Vitamin K

Ingrown Hairs In My Armpits

The official name of ingrown hairs is folliculitis, which is swelling of the hair follicle. They can be super painful and are very much like cystic acne in your armpits.

I tried stopping shaving my armpits and wearing deodorant to see if it was my razor or deodorant that was causing my ingrown hairs. But neither my razor or deodorant seemed to make a difference. However, when I stopped taking the FLO gummies, the bumps would go away within 2 days. Every time I started taking FLO again, I would literally get ingrown hairs the next morning.

The interesting thing is that these ingrown hairs are often related to hormone imbalance. Does this mean that these gummy vitamins were making my hormones worse, not better?

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Take Magnesium For Mood And Physical Symptoms Of Pms And Pmdd

Because of large-scale farming and soil depletion, our vegetables dont take up as much magnesium as they did hundreds of years ago. Most Americans are magnesium-deficient, which is bad news because magnesium plays a huge role in the way our cells function, head to toe.

Vitamins and minerals can make a big difference. A good supply of magnesium supports our hormones, which affects menstruation and PMS. Researchers found that women who experienced PMS had a lower magnesium concentration in their red blood cells than women who did not experience PMS. This also applied to study participants who experience menstrual migraines they had a lower blood concentration of magnesium than the general population, and supplementing reduced the frequency and severity of menstrual migraines.

Magnesium supplements have been tied to reduced PMS symptoms in general, and supplementing relieved mood swings.

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Proprietary Herbal Blend 111 Mg

Chasteberry extract

FLO claims chasteberry extract, which comes from the fruit of the chasteberry, can be used to decrease hormonal acne and mood swings.

Two recent systematic reviews have found that chasteberry extract significantly improves various physical and psychological PMS symptoms, including cramps, bloating, and mood swings.

However, both reviews from 2017 and 2019 note that the existing studies are potentially biased or not of high quality. More research is needed.

The average dose of chasteberry extract used in trials is 150200 mg per day. However, since the exact amount in FLO gummies isnt provided, its hard to know if its enough to provide any benefit.

Summary:

There is evidence that chasteberry extract can relieve PMS symptoms, but the quality of research varies. It is not known if the amount in FLO PMS Gummies compares to the amount used in trials.

Lemon Balm

Lemon balm is an herb. FLO claims its useful for reducing menstrual cramps and stress and improving gastrointestinal symptoms experienced with PMS.

Research has found supplementation with lemon balm can enhance feelings of calmness, which can reduce anxiety and may improve sleep.

Several studies have examined the effects of lemon balm on PMS in teenage girls.

A 2018 study reported female teens who took 1,200 mg of lemon balm daily had reduced PMS-related anxiety and depression compared to those who took a placebo.

Summary:

Dong Quai

Summary:

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What Are Flo Pms Gummy Vitamins

Gummy vitamins have exploded onto the supplement market in recent years. Chewable, candy-like gummies are tasty, convenient, and reminiscent of the fun and fruity chewable multivitamin you loved as a kid.

Gummies are especially useful if you have an aversion to swallowing tablets.

FLO makes gummy supplements specifically for women. Their PMS Gummy Vitamins are strawberry flavored, contain vitamin B6 and a blend of plant-based ingredients.

They are claimed to alleviate cramps, hormonal acne, and mood swings related to that time of the month.

FLO also makes a gummy vitamin to support immunity.

PMS is short for premenstrual syndrome, which refers to changes in a womans body and mood in the days just before her menstrual cycle.

According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, PMS symptoms can include:

• Depression
• Gastrointestinal symptoms

These symptoms can also occur during a womans period.

FLO claims that taking the PMS Gummy Vitamins daily for two menstrual cycles can improve symptoms.

How do the gummies work for PMS, and how do you know if they are right for you?

How The Intervention Might Work

Deficiencies of certain vitamins and minerals including vitamin B, vitamin D, calcium, and magnesium may play a role in PMS. This hypothesis is based primarily on the high incidence of PMS in populations with low levels of these micronutrients .

Magnesium is essential for the brain’s dopaminergic synthesis. Dopamine imbalance can affect mood and can lead to overwhelming anxiety . Previous studies have reported decreased circulating magnesium concentrations during the luteal phase among women with PMS, suggesting that magnesium deficiency may be a key factor in the aetiology of PMS .

conducted a substudy of a prospective Nurses Health Study, which found that women with high intake of vitamin D and calcium carried lower risk of developing PMS compared with those in the group with low intake, with a risk ratio of 0.59 0.40 to 0.86) and 0.70 , respectively. A previous study noted that a calcium deficiency during the luteal phase among women with PMS was secondary to the disturbance of calciumregulating hormones that follows the rise in ovarian steroid hormone concentrations and vitamin D deficiency .

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Make Organic And Clean The Main Part Of Your Life

When youre standing in the grocery aisle or at the makeup counter and the clean products and organic foods are more expensive than the conventional option, it can be easy to make the wallet-friendly choice. But what you need to keep in mind in these moments is the true cost of the choice youre making. The toxins in these foods and products come into direct contact with the body and alter endocrine function, making period problems like PMS worse. You may save at check-out, but you are ultimately paying with your health. Eat organic and clean whenever possible.

Treatment For Menstrual Symptoms

Discomfort with premenstrual symptoms can be alleviated through medications and lifestyle changes. Medications such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors can help with depressive symptoms. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and diuretics can reduce water retention and cramping. Contraceptives such as oral birth control alter ovulation and provide PMS symptom relief.

Lifestyle changes can help manage and improve PMS symptoms. Eating smaller meals throughout the day can reduce bloating. Skipping meals will only increase irritability. Avoiding salty foods will help with fluid retention. Calcium-rich foods can help reduce occurrences of PMS. Eating a well-balanced diet all month long is better than changing dietary habits during menstruation. Cravings such as sugar may arise due to hormonal changes. Indulging somewhat is fine but dont overload on sugar. Alcohol can increase depressive symptoms.

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Managing Your Menstrual Cycle

Most women dont look forward to that time of the month. But there are strategies to decrease PMS symptoms and painful periods. For additional treatments for dysmenorrhea, speak with a healthcare provider. Always consult a healthcare provider or pharmacist to learn more before starting a new supplement.

Helpful Vitamins And Minerals

Specific vitamins and minerals can reduce your risk of developing PMS and treat the symptoms when they occur.

Calcium and vitamin D work together to treat PMS and may also prevent it. Calcium eases mood swings, headaches and bloating. Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium.

Magnesium and vitamin B6, when taken together, significantly reduced PMS symptoms in women and is recommended as a treatment, says research shared by the National Institutes of Health.

Magnesium regulates serotonin levels, which can impact your mood. It is also known to reduce bloating and breast tenderness. Vitamin B6 helps the body use serotonin, which can ease depression.

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