PMS / PMDD

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Premenstrual Tension

 

PMS / PMDD

 

PMS / PMDD AND TWO THERAPEUTIC NUTRIENTS

 

Do you remember when there wasn't even a name for what

we now know as PMS? It wasn't that many years ago

that doctors considered it to be all in a lady's head.

Long before that, hysterical women were considered to

have it all emanating from their uterus. The solution?

Surgery to remove the uterus (and with it the

hysteria), hence the hysterectomy. Half a million

hysterectomies are still performed annually, most of

them medically unnecessary.

 

Even twenty years ago, I do not recall that there was

much serious discussion about PMS. A lot of angry

ladies changed that. Now TV adds discuss PMDD

(Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder). Whats a dysphoric?

A person exhibiting dysphoria, of course. Now for the

real answer: a person with anxiety, depression and

restlessness. It is derived from the Greek word

dusphoros , which (appropriately enough) means " hard

to bear. "

 

So now I've got dysphoria to read.(That was subtle,

but did you get it? If you didn't, I'll get datphoria

next time.) But seriously, folks:

 

Vitamin B-6

PMS/PMDD symptoms may indicate pyridoxine (vitamin

B-6) deficiency, as they are greatly relieved by

pyridoxine supplementation.

 

B-6 dosage to the tune of 500 milligrams (mg) daily is

very safe. Probably tens of millions of women suffer

PMS symptoms; only a very few cases of B - 6 overdose

problems have been reported. Daily dosage over 2,000

mg has occasionally caused temporary neurological

symptoms in some persons. But this only happens if

pyridoxine is given alone, or way out of proportion to

the other essential B-vitamins. Taking ALL the B

vitamins together (as B-complex) is the safest and

most effective therapeutic approach.

( http://doctoryourself.com/bvitamins.html )

When a balance is maintained, B-vitamin toxicity is

virtually nonexistent. Is there a safe harbor? I

think so. Use the entire B-complex, taken every two to

three hours. Consider adding perhaps 50mg to 100 mg

of pure pyridoxine to each dose if dysphoric symptoms

are really awful.

 

You can get some (probably less than 5 mg) of B-6 from

food, if you really like to eat whole grains, seeds

and organ meats. A goodly slice of beef liver contains

a whopping 1.22 mg of B-6. Other dead animals parts

contain less (turkey and chicken breasts are pretty

good, but chicken liver is only 0.6 mg per serving),

while most other foods contain very little. Avocados

(0.5 mg each) and bananas (0.7 mg each) lead the

pyridoxine league for fruits. Potatoes (0.7 mg each)

and nuts (especially filberts, peanuts and walnuts)

are relatively good veggie sources.

 

The US RDA for B-6 is about 2 mg daily (and it is

LOWER for women), and this is ridiculously inadequate.

A strong case can be made for increasing this to at

least 25 to 65 mg per day for people without PMS

symptoms. But don't hold your breath for any raising

of standards anytime soon. Consider that some research

(the 1975 MRCA study, for starters) has shown that of

children ages 2 through 12, 74% did not get the US RDA

of B-6. Thats pretty terrible, but it is worse for

adults 19 and over: 99% got less than the US RDA of

B-6. Does THAT ever explain the PMS problem in the

USA!

 

Magnesium

(Thanks to Paul Mason at http://www.mgwater.com This

site offers many complete papers by the worlds leading

magnesium experts.)

 

Increasing dietary magnesium often decreases menstrual

cramping as well as PMS. Calcium causes muscles to

contract, while magnesium helps them to relax. Dietary

calcium gives temporary relief of menstrual cramps.

However, calcium also depletes the body of magnesium

and ensures cramping will occur in the following month

if magnesium is not replenished.

 

Magnesium is used by some doctors to treat mental

stress. On the periodic chart, magnesium appears near

lithium. Lithium is often used to treat stress and

related disorders. Magnesium is needed to shift

calcium into and out of cells. Cells require a small

amount of calcium, however too much calcium is a

problem. Magnesium serves to regulate essential

cellular minerals.

 

If you do not suffer from kidney disease, consider

taking an oral daily dietary magnesium supplement. For

generally healthy people the only known side effect

from taking too much magnesium is diarrhea. Your body

continuously discards excess magnesium through urine

and feces.

 

The U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for

magnesium (Mg) is 350 mg (milligrams) per day for men

and 280 mg/day for women. Most researchers studying

hypomagnesemia (not enough Mg) are now convinced the

RDA is insufficient to maintain an adequate amount of

biologically available Mg for all body functions.

Magnesium is necessary for normal functioning of over

300 enzymes that are present in your body. (Enzymes

are chemical substances necessary for normal

metabolism).

 

If you do not have enough available magnesium

(magnesium deficiency), it slowly degrades your

general health in a variety of ways. Magnesium

deficiency is directly linked to heart disease.

Moreover, because of the many ways your body employs

magnesium, it plays a role in diabetes, cancer,

stroke, osteoporosis, arthritis, asthma, kidney

stones, migraine, leg and menstrual cramps, eclampsia,

PMS, chronic fatigue syndrome, tetany, and a host of

other problems.

 

Magnesium supplements are commonly available in 100 to

250 mg magnesium oxide (MgO) tablets or capsules. Its

available without prescription at drug and health food

stores everywhere. For women, try starting with 200 mg

per day. Take the supplement with your largest meal.

After 2 weeks increase your daily dose by a convenient

increment, say, 100 or 125 mg. (Tablets are easily

snapped in half). If frequent bowel movements or gas

become a problem, reduce the amount and gradually

increase again by spreading the dose over three meals.

 

 

Pre-menopausal women do not require as much Mg as men.

2.3 to 3.0 mg per pound of body weight per day is

usually sufficient to maintain adequate magnesium in

women. However, after menopause, women should increase

the dose.

 

(From THE ROLE OF MAGNESIUM IN THE PREVENTION OF

CORONARY DISEASE AND OTHER DISORDERS by Tom Miller (

tmiller ) Edited and reprinted with

permission.)

 

Also recommended:

Seelig, Mildred (1980) Magnesium Deficiency In The

Pathogenesis Of Disease. (Plenum, NY) Among the best

works on this important subject.

 

 

Reprinted from the book FIRE YOUR DOCTOR, copyright

2001 and prior years by Andrew Saul, Number 8 Van

Buren Street, Holley, New York 14470 USA Telephone

(585) 638-5357