PMS and Essential Fatty Acids

Despite the fact that PMS is the subject of countless jokes, most people realize that PMS is no laughing matter.  But did you know you can lessen the unpleasant symptoms of PMS by eating a diet rich with essential fatty acids?

PMS.  You dread its arrival.  You know you will suffer from bloating, cramps, fatigue, water retention, headache and tender breasts.  You know others around you may suffer as well because you will be irritable,  prone to mood swings and willing to bite off the first head that offends you.   There are steps you can take that will help reduce those disagreeable affects, however. Keeping a healthy level of essential fatty acids in your system is one of them.

PMS and What Not to Eat

PMS is the single most common complaint of women who are premenopausal.  For years it was believed that because PMS symptoms usually occur when progesterone levels are normally high, progesterone must be the instigator.  In the last few decades, however, it has been recognized that excess estrogen, rather than progesterone,  is the more likely troublemaker.

PMS is a problem that needs to be addressed from several levels, including managing stress and estrogen dominance control, but  researchers have also learned that PMS is affected by what you eat.  One of the main reasons your diet effects the severity of your PMS is because of  your prostaglandins.  Prostaglandins act like hormones and help regulate each of the cells in your body.  Their job is to keep your body balanced.  If the prostaglandins themselves become unbalanced, though, conditions like heart disease, pain, immune system dysfunction and PMS are more likely to occur.  Chronic inflammation, which aggravates PMS, is a common result.  If your prostaglandins are unbalanced, your blood gets thicker, which raises your risk of heart attack or stroke.  Estrogen dominance also has that effect, so the combination of excess estrogen and unbalanced prostaglandins can be a lethal blend.

So what causes prostaglandins to get out of balance?  One of the main culprits is foods that contain hydrogenated oils, or trans-fatty acids, and the way those fats disrupt essential fatty acids.   Foods like margarines and most cookies, cakes and chips.  If you look at the ingredients list on the labels of those products, you’ll probably see it listed as “partially hydrogenated”.  These are synthetic oils and block the effect of natural oils.

Other causes of imbalanced prostaglandins include too much sugar in the diet, stress and/or zinc deficiency.  Zinc, along with vitamin C and some B vitamins, is necessary for converting unsaturated oils into the essential fatty acids that our bodies need.

Treating PMS with Essential Fatty Acids

One of the goals in fighting PMS is to keep your prostaglandins balanced while keeping sufficient essential fatty acids in your system, but how do you do that?  One way is to avoid foods that provoke imbalanced prostaglandins, the foods high in hydrogenated oils, and eat foods that help supply you with essential fatty acids.  This includes fresh organic fruits and vegetables, whole grains and raw nuts.  You should also eat fish at least once or twice a week to raise levels of the essential fatty acid Omega 3 and Omega 6.

Eating properly is normally enough to keep the prostaglandins happy and essential fatty acids existing in healthy amounts.  There are also supplements available such as evening primrose oil, flax seed oil and borage oil that raise levels of essential fatty acids.

There is no instant cure for PMS but keeping the levels of essential fatty acids in your body at a normal level is a good  first step.

Related posts:

1. Getting Your Prostaglandins in Control
2. How to Heal PMS
3. Foods to Avoid to Balance Your Hormones