During the female cycle everyday hormone fluctuations take place including after ovulation. Experiences vary from women to women and can also vary month to month.
Women have recorded the following before their periods; anxiety, cravings, mood swings, water retention and irritability to name but a few....
So why do some women suffer and others don’t? It may depend on your lifestage and/or if you have children.
The best advice is to look after yourself - which we appreciate is easier said than done. Here are three ways to help manage your monthly cycle.
Managing your diet
You may have the best diet in the world but there is always room for improvement. Whatever your weakness, easing back on the following may help:
- Sugar
- Caffeine
- Alcohol
- Dairy
- Meat
Sugar, caffeine and alcohol may disrupt blood sugar if taken in excess. Insulin helps regulate blood sugar; it is also a hormone which shares the building blocks with both oestrogen and progesterone.
Going cold turkey is never easy. Start to reduce the amount of meat, dairy, sugar etc gradually. If you eat meat every day, try every other day. If you have two biscuits after lunch, eat one only for a week and then the following week try none. Combat any cravings by eating sufficient protein (such as eggs, chia seeds, nut butters) at breakfast and having regular meals. Snacking on protein rich foods such as nut and seeds, may help to control urges between meals.
Consider a supplement:
Wassen have developed a formulation to support your diet and lifestyle throughout the month. It includes Vitamin B6 which is known to help regulate hormone activity combined with Magnesium.
Also eating more salmon, avocados, tofu, dark green leafy veg, nuts and seeds are all excellent sources of either B6 or Magnesium. Try and eat some every day.
Exercise and Relaxation
The stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol can have a major impact on both oestrogen and progesterone. It's easy and most certainly annoying when you get told to relax and there are a 101 things on your to do list!! Taking a practical approach is probably more helpful. There are some great meditation Apps out there, try Headspace (www.headspace.com), it's designed to help with feeling less stressed and only takes a few minutes a day. Alternatively try www.calm.com who offer a free trial and can help you get to sleep more effectively. 20 minutes of walking the dog briskly or taking the kids to school on foot rather than by car (appreciate this isn't always possible) are other ways to achieve more exercise, if you know you need more!
References
Glenville M (2005) The Nutritional Health Handbook for Women (Piatkus) p83
Iran J Nurs Midwifery Res. 2010 Dec;15(Suppl 1):401-5.
Fathizadeh N1, Ebrahimi E, Valiani M, Tavakoli N, Yar MH.
