quote:Originally posted by VickyRa:
my little sister and I both had the fun experience of havind a sanitary brick fall out in P. E. class.
Geez, you Brits are tough. You know, in this country, we use fabric or cottony stuff....
Here, from healingpeople.com, some herbal/dietary methods for the menstrual cramps/PMS:
quote:eating principles:
• Vegan diet of 75% complex carbohydrates, 15% protein, 10% fat
• Increase consumption of complex carbohydrates to 70+% (Abraham, Guy. J. Repro. Med. 28:446-64, 1983)
• Decrease consumption of saturated fats: especially red meats and dairy products. PMS patients in one study were found to eat 79% more dairy products than normals. For PMS-A, where there is an excess of estrogen, decrease any endogenous estrogens. Overweight patients must shed the extra pounds. (Marz, p. 427, 1997)
• High fiber diet: increased fiber associated with increased binding and excretion of estrogens (Golden, B. N. Eng. J. Med. 307:11542-47, 1982)
• Decrease caffeine (Rossignol, A. Am. J. Public Health 75(11):1335-37, 1985; Rossignol, A. Am J. Public Health 79:67-9, 1989.)
• Decrease salt intake: to 3 g per day or less, especially for PMS-H.
• Decrease sugar intake
therapeutic foods
• Citrus peel, garlic, onions, legumes, kelp, apples, sesame seeds, brewer's yeast, alfalfa tablets
• Liver-cleansing foods: beets, carrots, artichokes, lemons, parsnips, dandelion greens, watercress, burdock root
• Dark green leafy vegetables: beet, radish, mustard, dandelion, collard greens, kale, spinach, chard
• Foods rich in Magnesium, Calcium, Vitamin B-complex
• Increase omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids: vegetable, nut, seed oils, salmon, herring, mackerel, sardines, walnuts, flaxseed oil, evening primrose oil, black currant oil
Stagnant Liver Qi or Stagnancy in the Liver channel:
• Foods that invigorate Qi, soothe the Liver, sour foods, Dispersing foods, foods that open channels, and invigorate Xue (Blood)
• Ginger, green onions, fennel, orange peel, spinach, walnuts, hawthorn berries, cinnamon (Ni, p. 152)
fresh juices:
• Carrot (Walker, p. 146)
• Carrot and spinach (Walker, p. 146)
• Carrot, beet, and cucumber (Walker, p. 146)
• Lemon juice in warm water (Shefi)
specific remedies:
• Tea from ginger, green onions, fennel, black pepper and orange peel, boil for 10 minutes. Drink three times daily starting one week before premenstrual symptoms (Ni, p. 152)
• Spinach soup boiled for 30 minutes (Ni, p. 152)
• Tea from hawthorn berries and cinnamon (Ni, p. 152)
avoid:
• Estrogenic foods: animal products, apples, cherries, olives, plums, carrots, yams, nightshade family (eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, tobacco), peanuts, soy products, coconut, brown rice, barley, oats, wheat (See Materia Medica: Foods that contain estrogen-like sterols)
• Animal fats stimulate the growth of certain intestinal bacteria, which can hydrolyze conjugated estrogens thus rendering them active again. (Marz, p. 427, 1997)
• Arachidonic acid from animal fats is a precursor to PGF2, which is leuteolytic in women (decreases progesterone). (Dennefors, B., Sjogren, A., Hamberger, L. J. Clin. Endocrin. and Metab. 55:102-107, 1982)
• Meat, alcohol, spicy foods, fried foods, fatty foods, rich foods, salt, salty foods, sugar and sweet foods, chocolate, cold and raw foods in excess, excess fruit, shellfish, coffee, black tea, cola drinks, caffeine, dairy products, processed and refined foods
• Cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts, kale, sweet potatoes, turnips
supplements
• Vitamin B6: 100 mg three times daily, use two weeks before period.
(Doll, H., et al. Pyridoxine and the PMS: A randomized crossover trial. J Royal College of General Practitioners 39:326, 364-68, Sept. 1989; Abraham, G., Hargrove, J Infertility, 3(2):155-65, 1980)
• Vitamin B complex
• Vitamin E: 200-600 IU per day; 300 IU per day 2 month trial (London RS, et al. J Am Coll Nutr 1983;2(2):115-122.; London RS, et al. J Reprod Med 1987 Jun;32(6):400-404; London RS et al. J Am Coll Nutr 1984;3(4):351-356)
• Brewers Yeast complex: A recent double-blind clinical study of forty women suffering from mild or moderate premenstrual syndrome (PMS) found significant benefits from a nutritional supplement containing brewer’s yeast (1,000 mg), magnesium (400 mg), vitamin B6(1.5 mg), vitamin E (12 mg), folic acid (0.2 mg), iron (20 mg), and copper (4mg). Over the span of six consecutive menstrual cycles, the Brewers Yeast complex was significantly more effective than the placebo, as measured by reduction of premenstrual symptoms. This beneficial effect became more pronounced as the study progressed; by the sixth month premenstrual symptoms were reduced by an average of 82%, compared with a reduction of only 27% in the placebo group. (Facchinetti F, et al. Gynecol Obstet Invest 1997;43: 120-124.)
• Progesterone (orally or topically)
• Flax oil or EPO: evening primrose oil 500 mg three times daily OR flaxseed oil 1 tbsp. twice daily
• Lipotrophic factors: cysteine, methionine, choline, and inositol
• Calcium: 1200 mg per day In a 1998 three month long prospective double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled multicenter trial involving 466 women a daily dose of 1200 mg of elemental calcium, in the form of calcium carbonate, appeared to relieve key premenstrual symptoms such as mood swings, food cravings, aches and pains, and bloating. Researchers have postulated that PMS represents a clinical manifestation of functional hypocalcemia and secondary hyperparathyroidism due to inadequate levels of calcium consumption.
(Thys-Jacobs S, Alvir MJ. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 1995 Jul;80(7):2227-2232; Thys-Jacobs S, et al. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1998 Aug;179(2):444-452; Wilson SA. J Fam Pract 1998 Dec;47(6):410-411.)
• Magnesium: 400-800 mg per day (preferably aspartate). Cofactor for PGE 1. Magnesium levels are usually normal in the serum, but intracellular erythrocyte magnesium is usually found to be lower in PMS women. Dairy and calcium interfere with magnesium absorption while sugar increases its excretion (Abraham, G. Magnesium Bulletin 1:68-73; Nicholas, A. First Int. Sympos. on Magnesium Deficiency in Human Pathology.)
• Tryptophan: 1-2 g per day, without food
• Tyrosine: 500 mg twice daily, especially for PMS-D. Tyrosine may help catecholamine synthesis
• Vitamin A 100,000-300,000 IU per day (2nd half of cycle) TOXIC DOSE! MONITOR CLOSELY (Block, 1960, p. 586ff)
• Consider thyroid
• Vitamin B3: Cofactor for PGE 1
• Zinc: Cofactor for PGE 1
• Digestive enzymes |
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