The PMS diet isn't a means to lose weight, but a good PMS diet will help minimize your PMS symptoms. The PMS diet is based on eating the right foods; those that will help you feel better during PMS (premenstrual syndrome) both physically and emotionally. Equally as important, the PMS diet requires that you exclude the things from your diet that can worsen the many and varied symptoms of PMS each month. Taking certain vitamin and mineral supplements can also help boost the PMS diet, ensuring that you give your body all of the micronutrients it needs to fend off PMS attacks.
The first step of the PMS diet is to make sure you include plenty of complex carbohydrates in your diet. These fend off sugar cravings and can help reduce symptoms of anxiety, irritability, tiredness, fatigue and mood swings. Fruits, vegetables and whole-wheat foods (breads, pasta and rice) are all great sources of complex carbohydrates and also address another requirement of the PMS diet as sources of fiber to help ward off gastrointestinal PMS symptoms. Calcium, magnesium, manganese, the B vitamins and vitamin E are important components of the PMS diet. Dairy products, nuts, fish and nut oils, fruits and vegetables are all great sources of these vital PMS friendly micronutrients, but if its not practical to ensure that plenty are included in your daily diet, then you should turn to good quality supplements. The PMS diet excludes caffeine and salty foods. These can worsen bloating, water retention and symptoms of tenderness and swelling. The PMS diet should be followed just before and during the PMS of your monthly cycle. Better yet, follow it permanently. It's a healthy and common sense approach to eating that should leave you feeling a whole lot better, during PMS and perhaps all month long.
