As many women know here, PMS refers to a group of symptoms which women can experience, in the week or so leading up to the beginning of her menstrual cycle. 

This is the time from a woman’s mid-luteal menstrual peak and the end of the monthly menstrual cycle.  During this time, our progesterone and estrogen levels are both falling. This begins around day 21 (typical start of PMS window). 

The important thing is how quickly they fall, if progesterone is falling more rapidly than estrogen. (Progesterone levels protect us from feeling estrogen dominance symptoms) These symptoms include the puffiness, bloating, mood swings, breast tenderness, weepiness, and weight gain we associated with PMS. 

1. PMS may be severe because a woman has relatively high estrogen levels all the time, so as progesterone falls, estrogen continues to dominate.

2. Or estrogen can be in normal levels but progesterone lower than estrogen 

3. Or when we don’t detoxify adequately estrogen could be loaded of estrogen in the liver 

It all comes down to high estrogen! PMS symptoms are due to high estrogen in the body.

So here are some tips to have balance on estrogen and progesterone levels during this time of the month and preventing PMS symptoms:

1. Manage stress:

   Remember when we are stressed, our adrenal glands secrete large amounts of a stress hormone called cortisol. Cortisol, however, competes with progesterone for receptor sites in our cells.  So even with normal progesterone production, high levels of cortisol can prevent a woman from benefiting or “feeling” the benefits of having healthy progesterone levels (and estrogen dominance will occur anyway).

2. Avoid high amounts of sugar, refined carbs and caffeine 

3. Avoid exposure to xenoestrogens

   such as plastics, pesticides, mold toxins, heavy metals and skin products such as hydrating body cream, shampoos, soaps, etc. Your body absorbs them and captures them as estrogens so this will higher estrogen levels.