Lifestyle Changes

A healthy lifestyle, including regular exercise and a healthy diet, is the first step towards managing premenstrual syndrome. For many women with mild symptoms, such a lifestyle is sufficient to control symptoms.

Dietary Factors

The general guidelines for any healthy diet are recommended. This includes eating plenty of whole grains and fresh fruits and vegetables and avoiding saturated fats and commercial junk foods. Making dietary adjustments starting about 14 days before a period may help some women with premenstrual syndrome.

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Fluid. Drinking plenty of fluids (water or juice, not soft drinks or caffeine) may help reduce bloating, fluid retention, and other symptoms.

Frequent Small Meals of Complex Carbohydrates. In one major analysis of dietary changes involved with PMS, only increasing carbohydrate intake was found to be helpful. Carbohydrates increase blood levels of tryptophan, an amino acid that converts to serotonin, the brain chemical important for feelings of well-being. Such meals should be high in complex carbohydrates, which are found in whole grains and vegetables. (Complex carbohydrates should always be preferred over simple carbohydrates found in sugar and starch-heavy foods, such as pastas, baked goods, white-flour products, and potatoes.)

Experts suggest eating frequent small meals with no more than three hours between snacks. It is very important to avoid overeating during these times. Unfortunately many women not only overeat during this phase but they tend to eat sugar-rich foods or high-fat salty snack foods--the worst choices for PMS. Studies in fact indicate that overeating such foods worsens some PMS symptoms, including water retention and negative moods.