Seven Foods To Alleviate PMS with Endometriosis

Bloating? Anxiety? Tearfulness? Painful breasts? If you experience any of these symptoms, you likely experience PMS in the lead up to your period. Even though PMS is very common, it doesn’t mean it’s just something we have to live with - especially when we’re dealing with endometriosis as well. In fact, PMS is caused by hormonal imbalances, often oestrogen dominance or excess oestrogen and sometimes low progesterone - and when we get these into balance, a lot of our endo symptoms ease too! So this week, I wanted to share with your seven foods that you can add in during your luteal phase (the phase after ovulation, before your period) that contain wonderful nutrients that have been shown to alleviate PMS and support healthy hormone balance… Leafy greens for magnesium, calcium and potassium. You guys must know by now how much I love magnesium! It helps to alleviate cramps, aids in oestrogen detoxification but also progesterone production and reduces bloating. Potassium additionally supports bloating, which is another bonus considering so many of you reach out to tell me this is one of your worse symptoms. Finally, in research calcium has been shown to help with PMS symptoms too! Add to smoothies, salads and whatever you’re having for dinner - think leafy greens with each meal. Nuts and seeds, particularly sunflower seeds, sesame (tahini is best here as sesame seeds are often too small to chew and pass through undigested) and pumpkin seeds. Nuts and seeds and these three in particular are rich in magnesium, and zinc which supports healthy progesterone levels and good levels of vitamin E, which has been shown to help alleviate period pain and PMS. Add nut butter to your porridge, overnight oats and smoothies and drizzle tahini over your veggies. Protein for B6, including organic free range and pasture raised chicken and turkey, organic grass-fed beef, fish, lentils and chickpeas. B6 helps to keep blood sugar levels stable (in turn, keeping hormones balanced and anxiety and fatigue at bay) and has actually been shown to reduce PMS and depressive symptoms, and is truly a crucial vitamin for healthy hormonal balance! Try a chickpea curry for dinner and perhaps wild caught fish or another animal protein at lunch with lots of veggies and some healthy complex carbs and fat. Sweet potatoes, squash and beetroot (and all other root veggies) actually help to raise serotonin levels in our brain thanks to their complex carbohydrate content. Our feel-good neurotransmitter, serotonin works closely with oestrogen during the first half of our cycle, and when oestrogen lowers in our second half our mood can take a bit of a hit - especially if our progesterone levels aren’t high enough. Eating root veggies with a good serving of protein and fat improve our mood, boost our energy and keep our blood sugar levels stable. Root vegetables also contain hormone loving B vitamins, calcium and magnesium - all great for balancing hormones and alleviating PMS. Try steaming and freezing root vegetables for smoothies or making up a lentil and beetroot salad. Peppers and other vitamin C rich foods like berries and broccoli can actually help to increase progesterone levels. Low progesterone levels can lead to PMS, anxiety, low moods, short cycles and pre-menstrual spotting. Try a salad of leafy greens, broccoli, peppers and lentils for a hit of vitamin C, magnesium and B6! Kidney beans, black beans, adzuki beans and other beans for B vitamins. B vitamins are some of the foundational nutrients behind healthy hormones - they ensure you’re making healthy amounts, keep oestrogen in check, support progesterone if it’s low and so much more that I’ll have to do a whole podcast on them. In short, they can help alleviate PMS symptoms by making sure any excess or old oestrogen is cleared out and that you have a healthy level of progesterone in your luteal phase. Try an Italian bean salad with rocket, pumpkin seed pesto, adzuki beans, borlotti beans, olives, red onion, tomatoes, pepper, artichokes and olive oil! Broccoli sprouts, broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables for healthy oestrogen elimination. Broccoli and broccoli sprouts contain DIM and sulforaphane which support the liver to break down oestrogen in a healthy way and therefore lowers any chance of PMS symptoms. Throw a big handful or half a cup of broccoli sprouts in your smoothies or on salads, and try adding cauliflower rice to your chickpea curry. Even just adding one or two of these foods in on a daily basis could make a difference! Try making a meal plan or some meal ideas with any of the above suggestions and track how your PMS symptoms over a few cycles to see if things change. Listen and subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, listen directly/download MP3 here or just listen below! Let's get social! Come say hello on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook or sign up to my newsletter. If you feel like you need more support with managing endometriosis, you can join Your EndoLife Coaching Programme. A 1-to-1 three month health and life coaching programme to help you thrive with endometriosis. To find out more about the programme and to discuss whether it could be right for you, email me at [email protected] or visit my website. I am now offering one-off two hour sessions for those of you who aren’t quite ready for a 12 week coaching programme. This intensive deep dive session will kick start your journey to living and thriving with endometriosis and give you a plan that you can take forward and work on alone. Click here to find out more about the programme. My cookbook This EndoLife, It Starts with Breakfast is out now! Get 28 anti-inflammatory, hormone friendly recipes for living and thriving with endometriosis. Order your copy here. This episode is sponsored by my free “Endometriosis Symptom Tracker”. If you feel like you’re just in pain or tired all the time, and you can’t tell what’s making your endo better or worse, this tracker could help you begin to understand the subtle patterns in your endometriosis symptoms. As always, this guide doesn’t replace your medical treatment and is not intended to treat or cure endometriosis, but provides you with options that helped me to live well with endometriosis. Download here. This episode is sponsored by The Pod Farm. Learn all about how to start your own podcast with the complete course from The Pod Farm. Aimed at beginners, this course takes a simple and straightforward approach to planning, equipment buying, setting up, recording, editing and hosting your own podcast. With hours of audio and video materials, and downloadable guides and useful links, this multimedia approach aims to have something for every kind of learner. From now until April 15, newsletter subscribers get 20% off the course price. Visit www.thepodfarm.com to enroll or find out more This episode is sponsored by BeYou. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches and CBD range. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk Show Notes Hormone balance with Nicole Jardim My blood sugar episode Lisa Hendrickson-Jack Fertility Awareness Method My FLO app Magnesium: Magnesium for oestrogen clearance The Association Between Serum Magnesium and Premenstrual Syndrome: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies Magnesium--a new therapeutic alternative in primary dysmenorrhea Potassium: Potassium foods for bloating Calcium: A systematic review of the role of vitamin D and calcium in premenstrual syndrome Zinc: Zinc induced changes in the progesterone binding properties of the human endometrium Vitamin E: Evaluating the effects of vitamin D and vitamin E supplement on premenstrual syndrome: A randomized, double-blind, controlled trial B6: The Interactions between Vitamin B6 and Hormones Nutritional factors in the etiology of the premenstrual tension syndromes Dr Jolene Brighten B6 Vitamin C: Serum Antioxidants Are Associated with Serum Reproductive Hormones and Ovulation among Healthy Women Low progesterone B vitamins: Dr Joelene Brighten Broccoli sprouts:  Magdalena Wszelaki broccoli sprouts Changes in levels of urinary estrogen metabolites after oral indole-3-carbinol treatment in humans Indole-3-Carbinol (I3C) and its Major Derivatives: Their Pharmacokinetics and Important Roles in Hepatic Protection