PMS
Give me a “P!” Give me an “M!” Give me an “S!” What does that spell? PMS!
So, maybe it’s not something we cheer about, but this is on my mind because I just started my period this week, and I wanted to talk about it in terms of health.
It’s all girls here, right?
Ever since I started Neolife supplements in college, my periods have been incredibly regular. Like, they started to the DAY that my cycle was predicted.
However, I was pretty inconsistent with my supplements once my hair started growing in and adrenal fatigue faded into a distant memory . . . I thought PMS was just a natural part of life.
It was never terrible, but I would usually be kinda cranky and irritable the week leading up to my period.
Since children, little things would make me weepy and I had a much shorter fuse.
But this week, my period came out of the blue! When I checked my “Glo” ovulation app, I was, yet again, starting on the exact day my period was supposed to start . . . BUT I HAD ZERO SYMPTOMS!
When I told Elisha, he was shocked! “Haha, you weren’t even grouchy!”
Say what?!
When it comes to supplementing, consistency is king. And this experience has motivated me to continue taking my Vitality pack daily.
So let’s break down the three big bummers of menstruation, the week leading up to it, and how we can read the warning signs to know what our bodies need.
Because honestly, PMS is a syndrome . . . and just because it’s common doesn’t mean it’s normal.
Cramps and Bloating
Bleeding isn’t the best experience ever, but cramps and bloating take it from being inconvenient to painful!
I got both of these things in high school.
Since Neolife — zero. No cramps. No bloating.
I think overall health plays into this, but one supplement that specifically helps is:
Cal-Mag — When tissues contract, calcium allows them to relax again. This mineral can also reduce water retention (swelling), bloating, and mood swings.
But before you grab a bottle of random calcium off a grocery store shelf, STOP!
The average calcium absorption rate is 8% . . . and the calcium your body doesn’t absorb has to be removed. If you take too much, this can create a heavy toxic load and actually INCREASE your symptoms!
I love how Neolife’s Calcium is combined with magnesium and Vitamin D to make it more absorbable AND chelates it!
What's chelation?
Aside from being a fancy word that makes me insecure to pronounce, chelation is the process of bonding the mineral to amino acids so that the body absorbs the calcium instead of attacking it. The result is over an 85% absorption rate for Neolife’s calcium!!!
P.S. Obviously don’t take synthetic calcium either. It can cause kidney stones, prostate cancer, constipation, calcium buildup in blood vessels . . . lots of bad things.
2. Mood Swings
Hello, Hormones.
Tre-en-en: For PMS and mood swings during our menstrual cycles, this is an amazing hormonal balancer and it comes in your Vitality Pack!
It’s simply grain oils (without the gluten) that we can ONLY get from our food. They surround every single one of our trillions of cells and allow waste to leave and nutrients to get it. If we aren’t getting enough of these lipids and sterols in our diet, our hormones get out of whack and we get fatigue, brain fog, and open ourself up to disease.
This are even more important to supplement if you are gluten intolerant or grain-free! If you still have PMS on the Vitality pack, I would grab an extra bottle of Tre-en-en and add 3 a day.
Omega Threes: Again, in that vitality pack. Tested for over 200 toxins, and so pure a breastfeeding mother and baby can both take them. (My children chew theirs. I know, crazy.)
We’ve talked about the power of Omega three’s before for postpartum depression, and they can have the same effects on our brains during PMS—reducing depression, anxiety, and nervous. They also help our bodies reduce bloating, headaches and breast tenderness—just make sure it has ALL eight omega threes, not just EPA and DHA if you want it to be effective.
Bonus: If you are still feeling these symptoms on the Vitality Pack, this may be a sign your body is depleted more than average. Adding an extra bottle and taking 2-3 more omega iii supplements daily will be helpful for you!
3. Fatigue
I am a big believer in taking life slower during menstruation. But with four kiddos four and under life still happens at a high-level!
Super B is my answer to that, and if you aren’t taking the full stress pack, Super B contains 8 different B vitamins and is threshold controlled! Meaning you won’t get an energy spike then crash.
Neolife’s Super B steadily releases B vitamins over a period of SIX HOURS.
Here’s the quick and nerdy breakdown of how Super B helps your period cramps. (Especially important if you are a heavy bleeder.)
Thiamin (B1) - helps regulate cramps, helps produce blood
Riboflavin (B2) - helps your body use B6 and Folate
Niacin (B3) - helps menstrual cramping
Vitamin B6 - produces serotonin, a neurotransmitter that controls your mood, and helps with sleep.
Vitamin B12 - Helps coat those nerve cells, produces red blood cells, energy,
Biotin (B7) - converts food into energy
Folate - Helps produce energy, blood, balance mood
Yeah, there's more, but this is already too long. I hope that helps!