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PMS and the Connection to Digestion

PMS effects 85% of women
PMS symptoms affect women from 3 days to 2 weeks each month.

Wait… there’s a connection between PMS and digestion?

There are so many women (up to 85%!) that feel “hormonal symptoms” between ovulation and their period – known simply as premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Common symptoms can include: sugar cravings, acne, back pain, headaches, breast tenderness, joint pain, mood swings, digestive issues, cramping, feeling tired, and more. These symptoms may be affecting women from 3 days to 2 weeks per month! If you do the math, that means that women who have PMS are spending one to six months of the year in some sort of discomfort or misery. 

That’s a lot! In fact, since this is something that may be controlled, it’s too much in my opinion.

Did you know that your digestive system may be causing – or playing a big part in – many of those symptoms? This can be approached in a couple of different ways: 1) how estrogen is broken down in the body and/or 2) your blood sugar levels.

Your body isn’t producing too much estrogen- Your liver is unable to break it down.

In my experience with patients, the most common hormonal cause of PMS is too much estrogen. It’s not that your body is producing too much, but that your liver is unable to break all of it down. Most hormones are broken down in your liver. When there are more hormones to break down, there is less ability to break down the estrogen.

The next aggravating factor to cause PMS has to do with the food you may be eating. Ever had unexplained food cravings during PMS? Some women get cravings for sweet or salty foods, some lose their appetite, and others have upset stomachs.

All of these are a form of blood sugar stress. Blood sugar stress can be the most devastating to your system when it comes to PMS. Eating too much sugar and/or refined carbohydrates, or not eating enough food in general, causes the hormone, cortisol, to be released in order to stabilize blood sugar levels. When this happens, your body is further taxed and must use further resources to break down the cortisol. 

This becomes your body’s very own “Catch 22.”

If you are one that experiences PMS regularly, try a two-week test of eating three healthy meals, with lots of high quality proteins and fats. This will give your liver a chance to do its job, without being over-taxed. I think you’ll see the benefits in how you feel – namely fewer of those PMS symptoms.

So yes, PMS and digestion are related, and changing your diet may even help resolve many of your PMS symptoms!


If you regularly experience PMS symptoms, please give us a call or schedule an appointment today!