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Your Body Guide
Your Body Diary

Understanding You - Lifestyle and diet changes and premenstrual symptoms

“ Never complain if your husband comes home late. This gives you the excuse to do exactly the same.”

While lifestyle changes will not be enough to eliminate severe symptoms of PMS or PMDD, they may help lessen them1. Simple things like exercising for 30 minutes, four to six days a week and plenty of sleep may help you to manage some of the mild symptoms around your period. There are also some small changes you can make to your diet which may help you feel better.

  • Reducing your intake of caffeine (found in coffee, tea, chocolate and some soft drinks) may help you feel less tense, irritable or jittery.
  • Eating less salt may help to reduce bloating. This isn't just the salt you add to your food, but also the salt contained in packaged foods (referred to as the sodium content). It’s very common to crave salty foods in the lead up to or during your period but try not to give in.
  • To avoid energy and mood highs and lows, try eating up to six small meals a day instead of three larger ones.
  • Cutting back on sugar, fat and alcohol can improve your energy and help stabilise your moods.

Resources

1: http://www.understandpmdd.com/pmdd/lifestylechanges.html


 

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