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The 13 Best Natural Remedies for PMS & Cramps

2013/01/29 by Meital James 4 Comments

natural remedies for pms

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Did you know that according to the latest statistics, more than 150 (!) PMS symptoms can strike the week before your period?

I should be happy, I guess, that I don’t get all of them.

The good news is:

Here you’ll find the 13 most effective home remedies for PMS symptoms (including the annoying cramps).

Combine a few of them, and you can balance your hormones and finally relieve them – naturally and quickly.

Page Contents

    • 0.1 What Causes Your PMS Symptoms?
  • 1 Natural Remedies for PMS – Overview
    • 1.1 1. Foods to Eat & Avoid To Relieve PMS
    • 1.2 2. Best Natural Supplements for PMS
    • 1.3 3. Simple Yet Effective Lifestyle Changes

What Causes Your PMS Symptoms?

No matter what the average man will claim, not all women suffer from PMS symptoms (headaches, cramps, mood swings, depression, fatigue, bloating, irritability, food cravings, nausea and vomiting and more stuff that makes you look forward to menopause).


Did you know?

Almost 85% of American women experience premenstrual syndrome in the childbearing years. About 5% of these women are disabled by PMS due to the extremely severe symptoms. (source)


These symptoms can be influenced by genetics, nutrition, and stress, but they are largely controlled by hormonal imbalance.

Women who have a proper balance experience little to no discomfort before their period.

For those of us with no such luck, improving the estrogen-progesterone balance naturally is the best way to get rid of PMS – for good.

Natural Remedies for PMS – Overview

In this post you’ll find these tried and tested home treatments for PMS:

  1. Coconut Oil
  2. Avoid inflammatory foods
  3. Magnesium
  4. Cod Liver Oil
  5. Ginger
  6. Vitamin D
  7. Chaste Berry
  8. Maca
  9. Natural Feminine Hygiene products
  10. Mild exercise
  11. Lifestyle changes

I was delighted to discover, in the weeks of research I’ve put into this, that just a few dietary and lifestyle changes can go a long way in reducing PMS symptoms – without any medication.

I can’t promise that these remedies will work for everyone but combining a few of them is almost guaranteed to make a noticeable change.

1. Foods to Eat & Avoid To Relieve PMS

Coconut Oil

Nature’s Way Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil

1. Avoid fats like Vegetable oil, peanut oil, canola oil, soybean oil, margarine, shortening, or other chemically altered fats.

Instead, choose healthy fats like coconut oil, real butter, olive oil (don’t heat!) and animal fats (tallow, lard) from healthy sources, and eat lots of high Omega-3 fish. (Source)

2. Coconut oil is a surprising natural remedy for PMS.

It provides the necessary building blocks for hormone production and it has dozens of other benefits, such as weight loss, inflammation reduction, and even antimicrobial and antibacterial properties.

You can start with 1/8 cup of coconut oil a day. Add it to your coffee or tea, it tastes great.

👉 This is high-quality raw coconut oil.

3. Try to avoid inflammatory foods, such as dairy, meat, and grains – as much as you can. I have two close friends who solved their hormonal imbalance with a grain-and-dairy-free diet.

2. Best Natural Supplements for PMS

1. Magnesium can greatly help with both PMS symptoms and menstrual cramping. Magnesium supports hundreds of reactions in the body and often contributes to better sleep (which is essential for the hormonal balance!).

Several effective forms of Magnesium are: powder form with a product like Natural Calm (so you can work up your dose slowly) and transdermal form by using Magnesium oil applied to the skin.

2. Fermented Cod Liver Oil – it has many of the building blocks for hormone production and a great source for Omega 3s and beneficial fats.

3. Vitamin D – The sun is the ultimate Vitamin D source, but if you can always take a natural  D3 supplement. Make sure it says “D3” because “D2” is not natural and may do more harm than good.

Also, if you take high doses (2000 units and up) you should add Vitamin K.

4. Chaste berry (Vitex agnus-castus) has gained the most traction with scientists for easing PMS-related breast pain.

Another small study showed that Chaste Berry, combined with St. Johns’ Wort, lowered levels of depression, anxiety, and food cravings. (Source)

5. Maca– a tuber in the radish family that has a history of boosting hormone production and libido. Many women notice less PMS, increased fertility, and improved skin after this high-mineral-and-essential fatty-acids food.

Maca takes time to work, so give it at least 3-5 weeks before you expect results. You can find it in powder form or in capsules but should be discontinued in pregnancy.

6. Ginger Capsules – many women swear by this one.

Ginger capsules can stop menstrual cramps (or any other pain for that matter). This is not surprising, most of us already know how powerful Ginger is as a natural pain reliever.

3. Simple Yet Effective Lifestyle Changes

Diva Cup

Diva Cup

1. Avoid Toxins – for women with hormonal imbalance, avoiding toxins found in processed foods, pesticides, plastics, household chemicals, and even mattresses – Is extremely important.

These toxins have hormone-disrupting chemicals, which mimic hormones in the body and keep the body from producing real hormones.

Avoid cooking or microwaving in plastic (get rid of your Microwave all together please), try to eat organic food and use natural cleaners to reduce your indoor air pollution as much as possible.

2. Natural Feminine Hygiene options – some of us are sensitive to the chemicals in pads and tampons (there’s also a risk of toxic shock syndrome with tampons).

I’ve heard about several women that using cloth pads or the Diva Cup has made the headaches and cramps completely disappear.

3. Mild exercise – intense exercise can actually make things worse if you have hormonal balance. Mild exercise and stretching, walking and swimming are best, so claim many naturopathic doctors.

Hip and back stretches increase blood flow to the abdominal and lower back muscles, easing the tension that leads to cramps.

4. Use a heating pad! Heat is a powerful natural pain relieving method. I use it with great success.

5. Last but most important – sleep. One of the best natural remedies for PMS is quality sleep. I can’t stress this enough.

To your health and happiness,

 Meital

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Filed Under: Natural Home Remedies Tagged With: vitamins and minerals

About Meital James

Meital James, Founder and CEO of 4 healthy living blogs, has a background in Naturopathic medicine, research, journalism, and nutrition.
Her blogs are the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and experience and all the posts are verified by scientific findings.

Comments

  1. nat polychuk says

    2019/02/20 at 2:43 pm

    I tried all these but they hardly help.

  2. Meital James says

    2014/04/17 at 12:03 pm

    Kelly,

    I don’t know which remedies you’ve tried but please google “leaky gut syndrome” and see if the symtpoms fit your problem. If yes, follow the natural remedies for it.

    Also, IBS has a lot to do with your mental situation. I would highly suggest you read Louise Hay’s book – “You can heal your life” – I think it will really change your life.

    I hope you feel better soon and don’t you give up!

  3. kelly says

    2014/04/17 at 11:54 am

    I have extreme ibs which has caused severe pms and periods.I have trying natural remedies since 2011 but no luck so far. I’m so sick.

  4. Lisa Lynn says

    2013/04/23 at 10:57 am

    Thanks for sharing this on Wildcrafting Wednesday! Hope to see you again tomorrow for our next hop!

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