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Thoughts from the Kitchen....

Food and Herbs for PMS

9/22/2018

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​The symptoms of PMS and PMDD (pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder) can be life disruptive for many women.  To learn more about PMDD, a severe form of PMS, see this link:  https://iapmd.org/about-pmdd/. Symptoms such as anxiety, irritability, mood swings, fatigue, lethargy, depression as well as bloating, GI upset, cravings, sore breasts, cramping, headaches, back aches, acne and edema plague many women. 
The primary hormonal disruption that happens with PMS is that estrogen is elevated and progesterone is reduced during the luteal phase.  The luteal phase starts after ovulation and goes for about 14 days until menstruation begins.  This change in hormone ratio leads to impaired liver functioning, reduced serotonin levels, lower endorphin levels, impaired Vitamin B activity and alterations in other hormone levels.
How can your diet help you ease the intensity of your symptoms?  Food recommendations for this time are to increase plants foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts and seeds.  Consume very little meat and dairy (eat a mostly vegetarian diet), reduce fat, especially saturated fat.  (Recommended is 4 to 6 oz animal protein per day and choose fish, skinless poultry and lean cuts of meat.  Reducing your white sugar intake, eliminate caffeine and lower your salt intake to ease PMS symptoms.   Eating organic will also help reduce the environmental estrogens you’re taking in by avoiding pesticides and herbicides.
When high sugar foods are eaten alone, blood sugar levels rise quickly, straining blood sugar control. Sugar, especially when combined with caffeine, has a detrimental effect on PMS symptoms.  Unfortunately, the most symptom producing food is chocolate.  Sugar also impairs estrogen metabolism.  Your body’s ability to metabolize or process excess estrogen is impaired with sugar intake.  As hard as it is to ignore sugar cravings, you are doing yourself and your body a favor by finding other sweet treats that don’t involve processed sugars.
Caffeine should be avoided during PMS, especially in women with breast tenderness and fibrocystic breasts.  There is strong evidence that caffeine is related to the severity of PMS symptoms.  It is significant in symptoms such as anxiety, irritability, insomnia and depression.
Excessive salt stresses the kidneys’ ability to maintain proper fluid volume. High salt intake can cause high blood pressure or water retention.  Both of these lead to uncomfortable symptoms that can be avoided by lowering your salt intake.
Supplementing with Vitamin B6 and Magnesium as well as a good quality multivitamin can be very helpful for women with PMS and PMDD.   The therapeutic dosage of B6 is 50-100 mg daily. Magnesium deficiency can contribute to PMS symptoms. Magnesium deficiency in PMS shows up in excessive nervous sensitivity, generalized aches and pains and a lower premenstrual pain threshold.  Better results are shown when Magnesium is combined with Vitamin B6.  Magnesium dosage is 12 mg per 2.2 pounds of body weight for women with PMS.  However, Magnesium can give you loose stools, so start slowly and gradually increase your dosage to bowel tolerance.  Magnesium aspartate, malate, succinate, fumarate or citrate are the preferred forms of supplementary Magnesium.
Calcium supplements at 1000-1336 mg daily show improvements in symptoms of PMS.  Nervous tension, headaches, fatigue, depression and insomnia were improved by Vitamin E supplementation.  400 IU daily is recommended as d-alpha-tocopherol.
 Herbs that can be helpful for symptoms of PMS are Angelica or Dong Quai, Licorice root, Black Cohosh and Chasteberry.  Dong Quai is helpful for painful menses, hot flashes, abnormal menstruation, amenorrhea.  Licorice is used to lower estrogen levels while raising progesterone levels. It is also useful in reducing water retention.  Black Cohosh is used for cramps and menopause symptoms. Chasteberry is useful for breast pain, infrequent periods or ovarian cysts.
Making sure your gut is healthy is vital to hormone balance.  Take a probiotic daily at 30 billion or higher CFU.  Work with a nutritionist on more serious gut issues.  For mood issues, about 90% of serotonin is made in the gut, so if your gut health is compromised, you will feel this in your moods.
Hypothyroidism or low thyroid function is common in women who have PMS.  For information about testing your thyroid, get the full panel of testing recommendations here: https://www.ultalabtests.com/thyroidpharmacist/Shop/Items/Item/TP-Root-Cause-Thyroid-Panel-1
Stress also plays a role in PMS.  Extreme stress triggers biological changes in the brain, mostly resulting from altered adrenal function and endorphin secretion.  Stress management through yoga, meditation, exercise can be extremely helpful for the symptoms of PMS and PMDD.
Studies have shown that women who exercise regularly don’t suffer as often from PMS as sedentary women.  Pay attention to your body and don’t over do exercise when you feel exhausted during certain times of your cycle. Gentle and regular exercise such as walking, yoga or other forms of exercise that you enjoy can be very helpful with managing symptoms.
Diet, stress management, exercise and herbs can all be helpful in managing symptoms of PMS and PMDD.  If you’ve tried all of these lifestyle and diet tips and still need further relief, contact an alternative or integrative health practitioner for further advice.  Getting to the bottom of the causes of hormone imbalance can be life changing for many women.
 
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Summer's Abundance

7/4/2018

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Ahhhhhh.  Summer.  Berries, kale, farmer’s markets…. fresh produce is abundant and goes well with the sense of freedom summer brings.  I love the ability to run out of the house at a moment’s notice without having to bundle up in a big coat and mittens.  The freedom to meet friends for walks, go for bike rides and to sit at outdoor cafes enjoying delicious healthy food and good company is such a joyful part of summer.

Fresh food and vibrant fruits and veggies at farmer’s markets is a wonderful taste of summer and I often go just for the experience and to talk to the farmers. In our world of grocery shopping at a supermarket and being far removed from our food sources, it is amazing to be able to meet the people growing your food.

I love to eat fresh food but why does food grocery shopping, meal planning and preparation often feel like a chore to me? I want to eat well and stay healthy and yet doing so every day while working and keeping up with the rest of my life, often seems overwhelming.

I can procrastinate going to the grocery store for a while and then I have to get really creative about what I’m eating.  I’m always happy at the end of the shopping trip though, with a fridge full of delicious food.  This allows me to have many options for snacking and meals at my fingertips.  

What a treat it was to spend several hours cooking with a good friend of mine about a month ago!  We each brought our own ingredients and recipes and prepped and cooked food together, including enough for some leftovers.  It was hot day in June so we cranked up the air conditioning and got cooking.  We each made 2 recipes and then had a lovely meal together. When it was done, we shared the cleanup and we were both able to take home some extras for the following week.

Good food is meant to be shared and so this was a huge pleasure that we plan on making a monthly occurrence.  When we were talking about cooking together my friend Betsy said she was going to “tear up”, she was so happy to have a cooking partner. I felt the same way and it was great to spend several hours with a good friend cooking food, eating together and catching up.  She is also a foodie who has a restrictive diet due to food allergies.  So being together and being able to share lots of delicious and healthy food despite both of our restrictions, (that others don’t always understand) was really an amazing way to spend a Friday together. 

She made a Vegetarian African Peanut Stew and a Spaghetti Squash Stir Fry with tempeh.  I made a bean hummus that was amazing to dip veggies and sliced hard boiled eggs into. I also made a Chopped Chicken Salad with Spiralized Cucumbers. I got to use my new veggie spiralizer!  All the flavors and colors blended well together even though we planned our recipes without the other’s recipes in mind.

We enjoyed a 3-course meal as the last recipe wasn’t done until later in the evening, when we sampled that one despite being quite full and very content from our previous tasting and eating extravaganza. 
 
It was so delightful to spend several hours cooking with a friend, talking, chopping, eating and sampling.  We were quite full at the end of the night and very happy to have shared some amazing food and new recipes with each other.  

It is somehow easier and more fun to cook with others, than to cook alone as I often do.  I found much more excitement in choosing recipes and shopping, knowing that I was going to have a cooking partner and that I would be sharing a meal with a good friend. 

“In many countries, mealtime is treated as sacred. In France, for instance, while it is acceptable to eat by oneself, one should never rush a meal. A frenzied salad muncher on the métro invites dirty glares, and employees are given at least an hour for lunch. In many Mexican cities, townspeople will eat together with friends and family in central areas like parks or town squares. In Cambodia, villagers spread out colorful mats and bring food to share with loved ones like a potluck.”   (https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/07/the-importance-of-eating-together/374256/)
I highly recommend cooking and eating with others whenever possible.
Great food truly is better with good company!
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