Chasteberry for Natural PMS Relief
Natural PMS Relief that Works
The misery creeps up on you about a week or so in advance. Your energy levels drop, the headaches and backaches begin, and irritability sets in. The bloating means none of your clothes fit comfortably – unless you’re willing to live in sweats for ten days, and the boss may not like that.
But you put up with your recurring premenstrual syndrome – which most of us just call PMS – just like every other woman in the world since the dawn of time. Because what else can you do?
Guess what? It turns out you can find natural PMS relief, and you don’t have to visit the doctor for a prescription or put unhealthy chemicals into your body. There are safe, natural remedies that really do make a difference. Try a few of the ideas below and see what works for you…
Five Steps for Natural PMS Relief
1. Reduce animal products, increase whole foods and fiber
Making some changes in your diet is the easiest and fastest ways to get natural PMS relief. Studies show that vegetarian women (who typically eat no meat and little or no dairy and eggs) have lower estrogen levels, and since that’s the hormone causing many of your PMS symptoms, you want to pull those numbers down a bit. (Side note: even menopausal women can have high levels of estrogen.)
2. Cut back on salt
The extra sodium in your diet is making it hard for your kidneys to keep your body’s fluids in balance. That’s why you get bloated and swollen before (and during) your period. Cut back on processed foods (read labels!) and sodium-heavy snacks to get fast relief.
3. Supplement with 3 key nutrients: B6, magnesium, calcium
Vitamin B6 has a powerful effect on the metabolism of all that estrogen that’s causing your PMS symptoms. Build up your Vitamin B6 naturally with servings of tuna or salmon, pistachios, and leafy green veggies. If you take a B6 supplement you’ll notice a lovely lift in your energy levels about 20 minutes later.
Magnesium deficiency is one of the key problems causing PMS. When you add magnesium to your diet along with Vitamin B6, you deliver a power-punch to your symptoms. Get magnesium naturally by eating spinach, pumpkin seeds, avocados, and bananas.
Nobody knows exactly why calcium supplements work to deliver PMS relief, but it seems to help significantly, and it’s naturally good for you. You can get food-based calcium by including
plain yogurt, tofu, sardines or salmon (I know, who knew?), collards, and molasses in your diet.
4. Two herbal remedies to try: Ginkgo bilboa and Chasteberry
The herb ginkgo bilboa (try it in an extract or tablet form) reduces PMS bloating and puffiness, and a lesser-known herb, Chasteberry (vitex agnus castus), helps as well. The latter has been shown to relieve an incredibly wide variety of common PMS symptoms, so it’s definitely worth seeking out.
5. And finally… a toast!
Yep, red wine may ease your PMS. Recent studies show that moderate consumption (one drink per day) is linked to lessening of pre-period mood swings and headaches. Nice, right?
See? That wasn’t so hard. And I didn’t even say the thing about cutting back on caffeine (it’s so hard to let go of the coffee!) or exercising daily (although that always helps). But now you have plenty of other choices to make that can help you naturally and safely treat your PMS.
by 
Greta Blackburn is an actress, fitness magazine editor and Founder/Director of Greta Blackburn’s FITCAMPS, which have taken place for over 20 years in locations ranging from Malibu, Maui, and Mexico to Las Vegas and served as training symposiums for fitness professionals and other interested men and women from all over the world. Today the focus at Fitcamp is making 100 the new 50. In 2011 Greta co-authored, “The Immortality Edge” with Michael Fossel, MD, PhD. (author of the pivotal 1997 tome “Reversing Human Aging”) and Dr. Woynarowski with research and solutions based programs based on the emerging field of Telomere Biology.
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