As many as 85% of women experience at least one of the symptoms of PMS, the devastating physical and emotional changes that can strike at any time in the last 2 weeks of the menstrual cycle, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. And as much as 70% of women suffer from PMS-related appetite, bloating, fatigue, sleep disturbances, mood swings and irritability - any of which have the potential to sabotage your diet, says Judith Wurtman, Ph.D., director of the Women's Care at MIT Institute in Cambridge.
Fortunately, a better understanding of PMS in general and in particular food cravings can keep the women were not included in the diet of the destructive cycle.
Diet Double Impact
PMS packs a double whammy against a diet, Wurtman says. "First, you have food cravings, usually on the sweet, flour from the wafer fat like chocolate ice cream. Besides, your bad mood makes you say," To hell with it! You lose your will power to exercise control over any of what you eat. "
Bloating that often goes with PMS also sabotages diets, says Steven Goldstein, MD, an obstetrician-gynecologist at New York University. "A woman steps on the scale and frills. And the reaction of some people to be bloated and having to loosen their belts drown in ice cream."
And what do we break down and eat when those cravings hit? Chocolate is the number 1 on the charts, and then in general, other sweets, says Goldstein. Salty foods, especially potato chips, are in third place.
"You will never find anything on nutrient-sheet," agrees Wurtman, noting that women rarely complain about the craving for fish, fruit and vegetables. "When it comes to dieting, no, no, you can bet PMS mind says," Yes, yes, "she says.
Hormones are to blame
Hormonal hot flashes and spikes that occur throughout the cycle of women are the main culprits of PMS. As estrogen levels go up and down, so that the levels of the stress hormone cortisol, says Pamela Peak, MD, MPH, author of fight fat after 40, and assistant professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore. "This is a very powerful little partnership.'s Body wants to keep their edge."
If the cortisol level is high enough, the body rotates around its fight or flight, the woman becomes more metabolic charged, and her appetite is stimulated. This, in turn, causes a woman to seek carbs and fat, "the actual consumption of struggle and flight," says Peak.
Can a woman will crave sweets or croissants, however, depends on another player: the chemical serotonin in the brain, she says. Most women with PMS feel fall in the level of serotonin, causing cravings for carbohydrates because the body uses carbohydrates to make serotonin.
"If cortisol is high or low serotonin, you will look for carbohydrates and fats, but really heavy duty on the simple carbohydrates - sugar-based sweets such as chocolate," Rush said. Reason: Simple sugars metabolized more quickly than complex carbohydrates, so they offer a quick solution serotonin.
If cortisol is a way, but relatively normal serotonin, a woman is likely to crave carbohydrates fat combo without a huge sweet components, such as a bagel with cream cheese Laden, says Peak.
Blood Sugar Connection
Other studies have linked PMS into a low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, in the second half of the menstrual cycle, says Susan M. Lark, MD, a physician in Los Altos, California, and author of Premenstrual Syndrome Self Help Book: A Woman's Guide to good mood all month. "The women in these studies showed a significant reduction in blood sugar after a meal, accompanied by nervousness and irritability," Lark says. "Then, for an hour or two, they're hungry again and craving more food."
Whether it's blood sugar, cortisol, serotonin, or levels that are out of whack, according to experts, there are huge portions of ice cream, chocolate, chips, and are not the only way to ensure a level to check in the back - in fact, they are the worst way. Proper diet and lifestyle will achieve the same, from the long-term results.