Treating PMDD is a trial and error process for most women, as I've discussed in previous posts. Most of the time, when we talk about natural remedies, we go on to list supplements like St. John's Wort and Vitex. You can find those posts practically anywhere, though. I'm not going to bore you with that. I'm going deeper, while at the same time staying more basic. This is about nutrition.
There's a reason so many women have found success in healing from PMDD with special diets. In particular, the Paleo diet, Whole30 and others that focus on eliminating certain foods that are toxic to us and filling the body with whole foods are the goal here. Yes, it' hard. PMDD makes us crave ice cream, chips, popcorn and more. But those foods are toxic to us, and this is why.
Dairy depletes folate in the body. This critical B vitamin is important for our bodies. When we don't have enough of it, it leads to exhaustion, that foggy-headed feeling and mood swings. Preservatives and synthetic ingredients in food really do affect our moods and behaviors. It's truly this simple: you can keep telling yourself that's nonsense because everyone else is eating it and they're fine (have you looked at the number of escalating diagnoses we have in this world? We are not "fine"), or you can decide to take charge and tackle food.
I made a commitment to myself that I would not be defeated by snack cakes and corn chips. I am a woman for goodness sake. Of course I am stronger than that. Initially, the whole family went on a strict anti-candida diet. At the time, we suspected my son (who is special needs) was suffering with underlying candida (this is yeast overgrowth in the gut). Within a week or two, I noticed I wasn't bloated anymore — even when leading up to and on my period! The mood swings had died down. My cravings for those foods became smaller the less I ate of them. My skin cleared up. The mild eczema on my arms went away. I never expected any of this to happen and it was remarkable to me.
I started questioning... did I have candida? Many women with PMDD do. However, I had no symptoms of die off and pretty much never get yeast infections. So, I'm assuming I did not. Rather, it was the healthy diet and the elimination of processed food that was benefiting me. I wasn't even exercising - at all!
Enter, the Paleo diet. It turned out my son didn't have candida, but he does have some food allergies. So we had to eliminate dairy, grains, soy, and gluten. The easiest way to do that in a mainstream world where everything revolves around food was to go on the Paleo diet. It has served us well for the last year almost. We rarely eat grains and when we do, it's a sprouted grain like quinoa. Sure, we still go out to eat from time to time. I still binge on a pizza here and there, etc. But I didn't do that in the initial stages. I was hell bent on healing my gut and so I did restrict certain foods entirely for a while, and grains were one of them.
Most of us with PMDD suffer from leaky gut syndrome. No, your mainstream doctor won't know anything about it. Clinically, it's referred to as Intestinal Permeability. There's a lot of debate over whether or not it exists. I've seen too much evidence of recovery from it across multiple illnesses not to be a believer, though. So, I was going to heal my gut.
I added bone broth to my diet (homemade weekly). I started taking probioitics. Prebioitics are great, too, if you can afford them. The biggest change I made — and I did this before I ever started any of the diets or got pregnant — was taking a whole food based vitamin that contained methylfolate. This links back to MTHFR (which I will discuss in a different post).
I'd been meditating for a couple years already at that point, but I really ramped it up. I was never the type to sit cross-legged and hum to myself with my hands in the air. That's not me. I meditate in bed most of the time, or in the bath. I zone out. Clearing your mind seems like a confusing thing to say to most people in my opinion. Instead, I explain it as letting go of control. Because yeah, it seems pretty impossible to empty your mind and not think. Then you end up thinking about not thinking, am I right? Instead, just let thoughts flow into your mind freely. This is what meditation is really about. And no, not thoughts about the market trip you need to make or pills to pay or what the kids are doing downstairs right now. Thoughts about you, your journey, the space you are in, your womb, and more. Lots more to come on this; bear with me.
XO,
Danielle
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