In allopathic circles,
no one knows exactly what causes PMS. Estrogen excesses, progesterone deficiencies,
vitamin B6 deficiencies, an excess of the hormone prolactin and altered glucose
metabolism are among the many different theories that attempt to explain PMS.
Chemical changes in the brain may also be involved. A complex interaction of
neurohormones such as endorphins and serotonin and other brain chemicals may
trigger PMS. Stress and diet also are linked to the symptoms of PMS. High stress
and a diet full of high fat and salt with low vitamin intake seem to aggravate
the symptoms.
In addition, with menstral disorders like PMS, an estradiol excess (which
can occur by taking oral contraceptives or other synthetic forms of estrogen)
often is found to be part of the patient's physiology. Knowing that the development
of the disease may be closely linked to this factor, natural medicine practioners
always address this excess in treating these conditions. |
The list of potential
symptoms associated with PMS is long. Most women with PMS will experience only
a few of these problems. About 7 percent of women suffering with PMS have a form
called premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) in which the symptoms are so severe
that it has its own psychiatric designation.
The most common physical and emotional symptoms associated with PMS include
weight gain from fluid retention, abdominal bloating, breast tenderness, tension
or anxiety, depression, crying spells, mood swings and irritability or anger,
appetite changes and food cravings, joint or muscle pain, nausea and vomiting,
headache, difficulty concentrating and fatigue.
Conventional medical treatments may help relieve the symptoms of premenstral
syndrome but they do not address the root of the problem. Discover why we believe
that natural treatments are the best way to treat PMS.
| Premenstrual Syndrome Treatment |
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| The Response of Modern Medicine |
The conditions that
commonly plague women, such as dysmenorrhea, PMS, endometriosis, uterine fibroids,
fibrocystic breast disease, migrane headaches and chronic pelvic pain, are often
written off in the medical community—and society at large—as unfortunate "side
effects" of being a menstruating woman. Some of these conditions, particularly
PMS and dysmenorrhea, are considered a normal part of having a monthly period.
As a result, allopathic physicians simply will try to help relieve the discomfort
a woman may experience with these conditions. For example, to help relieve a
woman's severe menstrual cramps, irregular cycles, bloating or moodiness doctors
often prescribe oral contraceptives (OCPs). The tragedy, however, is that these
symptoms are very often a sign of estradiol excess. Most do not realize that
estradiol is at least partly responsible for many of the conditions that plague
women, from PMS to endometriosis to breast, cervical, ovarian and uterine cancer.
OCPs not only mask the estradiol excess by alleviating the symptoms that point
to the problem, they inhibit a woman's own production of hormones, as well as
ovulation. OCPs interfere with the female hormonal makeup without doing anything
to correct the problem.
The more serious female-related conditions such as uterine fibroids or endrometriosis
usually begin as menstrual cramps. If OCPs are not prescribed, doctors will treat
the cramping with a series of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents (NSAIDs),
which mask the symptoms but do nothing to address the underlying estradiol excess.
Left unchecked, this hormonal excess often leads to these more serious female-related
conditions, which are most commonly treated with surgery. The most tragic aspect
of this scenario is that the woman's estrogen dominant state is never addressed,
which increases her risk of female cancers. This is why we advocate a better
solution: a natural medicine solution. |
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| The Natural Approach to Treating Female-Related
Conditions |
In treating female-related
conditions natural medicine specialists recognize that the hormone estradiol
may be at least partly responsible. It's no surprise that the majority of women
suffering from the most extreme female conditions—female cancers—have
had a long history of menstrual irregularities, birth control use, migraine headaches
or endometriosis, all conditions that the hormone estradiol has been implicated
in propagating. Physicians who practice natural medicine take this important
estradiol connection into account when treating women who suffer from female-related
conditions.
When female-related conditions are being investigated, natural medicine physicians
usually will perform a comprehensive saliva hormone profile, which measures the
free fraction of active hormone levels in the body. It is important to do the
test on the day when the symptoms are worst. This will provide a more accurate
picture of what needs to be done and progress can easily be monitored. Most women
with female-related conditions have too much estrogen, specifically estradiol,
and too little progresterone. However, women often are unaware of their physiology
because it has been masked for years by taking oral contraceptives (OCPs).
In treating female-related conditions, natural medicine doctors pay special
attention to diets that help reverse the effects of estradiol excess and increase
progesterone, including consuming high quantities of isoflavone-rich soy products,
flax seed and cruciferous vegetables. Dr. Hauser recommends this natural medicine
action plan to decrease estradiol:
- Do not take estradiol-containing hormone replacement in the form of Premarin,
oral contraceptive pills or postmenopausal hormone replacement.
- Decrease sugar, grain and pasta consumption.
- Decrease fat in the diet.
- Increase fiber containing foods, such as vegetables.
- Increase low-fat protein sources, such as soy and fish.
- Make ground flax seed and flax seed oil a significant part of the diet.
- Consume as many cruciferous vegetables as possible.
- Eat a high-soy diet.
- Take a supplement of chasteberry and vitamin B6.
- Take a soy isoflavonoid supplement.
- Take a indole-3-carbinol and/or diindolylmethane.
- Supplement with chrysin and quercetin.
- Use the nutriceutical calcium D-glucarate.
By starting on natural medicine therapies and supplements to boost the immune
system and lower estradiol levels as well as a low-carbohydrate/low sugar diet,
this dangerous physiology can be reversed. |
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