HEALTHY LIFESTYLE· JULY 2017
specific things that trigger it: if
you’re stressed out, you drink
a lot of alcohol, or you don’t
exercise regularly, or you have a
lot of caffeine. Also, consuming
anything cow: beef and dairy
can worsen it because of all
the hormones (I don’t know
about other kinds of milk). Not
to mention “xenoestrogens” –
chemicals found in numerous
personal hygiene and household
products, things like parabens in
skin products – and pesticides
in foods. These affect your
estrogen levels. There are too
many xenoestrogens to list here
but here’s a link to more info.
Another major factor is whether
or not you eat organic fruits and
vegetables. PMS is effected by
the toxins you absorb.
PREVENTATIVE PMS:
HOW TO PROTECT LOVED ONES
AND BALANCE YOUR BOD
This is for those who suffers gnar PMS. I know girls
who don’t go out when they’re PMS-ing because
of how dangerous it is for others. It can be
confusing and rob you of yourself! I hope to give
you some background info about how to prep for
PMS. If you’re a severe sufferer, you likely know
all this stuff, but hopefully, you’ll read something
helpful or at the very least– guilt-relieving.
PART 2: THE WHY
Some look at the female cycle as a natural purging
method – when all the unvented emotions are
flushed out. So these emotions are “real” but
unknown: the cutoff parts of ourselves. I’m not
sure if I’d agree entirely with this concept since
hormones can make you believe opposite things.
For example, there’s an episode of This American
Life called Testosterone that this all about how
PART 1: THE WHAT
the hormone changed one person’s entire focus in
Intense PMS and hormonal shifts that make you
life while transitioning. It changed her personality
feel crazy. Hormones are a mess. They can make
because of what her body was driven by sex. So
you feel out of control in all sorts of situations –
I’d say think of PMS as your body and emotions
from feeling attached and in love – to bawling your on the extreme setting. Just like hormones can
eyes out for what might or might not be a good
make you bond with a baby, they can make you
reason– to screaming at someone you care about, hate a spouse. Sure, on some level it’s anger that
for a made up situation.
has been unvented– however, it is exacerbated
because of the imbalances. Like your anger on
It compromises your rational, cool, calm, happy
crack. It doesn’t mean the feelings don’t exist, or
self to a position that feels, well, borderline
they’re not from you – but they are heightened to
dangerous. I know people who don’t go out when extremes that otherwise wouldn’t exist.
they’re PMS-ing because of how dangerous it is for
others they love. So here is some background info For a lot of people, PMS tends to get worse as
about it – including all the info I could find on the
you get older. It often comes with gifts like acne,
internet. If you’re a severe sufferer, you likely know weight gain, water-weight gain, depression, fatigue,
all this stuff, but I will include some other stuff that anxiety, cravings, severe bouts of rage followed by
you might not know. So hopefully something good crying. What’s happening is your hormones are
or at least guilt-relieving will come out of this.
doing loopy-loops – your estrogen levels go up,
your progesterone levels go down. And there are
21 HEALTHY MAGAZINE
This is all super important
especially when you get into
adulthood because your
hormone regulation is weighted
more heavily in your adrenal
glands. You want to support
your adrenal glands by balancing your body before
you are in a state of PMS. Stress is a big one
because cortisol taxes your system and therefore
your other hormone production is compromised.
It’s also dangerous for reasons
tied to illness – they call it estrogen
dominance, and it can lead to things
like cancer. You want to make your
hormones stable and not crazy –
so no crash dieting around your
period, either. You can get tested for
estrogen dominance at your doctor’s
office or a naturopath’s office – it’s
a saliva test – and if you test for
estrogen dominance, you can take
more dramatic steps to regulate it.
PART 3: THE HOW: THE TOOLS
(These are super basic.)
01 EXERCISE.
At least 30 minutes, 4 to 5 times a week.
Long enough to get your heart rate up.
02 TAKE PROBIOTICS.
Your gut bacteria helps you balance
out and shed the impurities. Constipation and
imbalances in the gut bacteria can worsen the
situation, because they lead to the reabsorption of
estrogen from the gut back into your blood, even
after your liver has tried to get rid of it. These
are hugely helpful for just balance in general. And
they help you rid yourself of toxins. My favorite
brand is Flora Udo’ s Super 8 (what my naturopath
recommended).