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Premenstrual Tension |
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PMS / PMDD |
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Do
you remember when there wasn't even a name for what we now know as PMS? It wasn't all that many years
ago that doctors considered it to be all in a lady's head. Long before
that, "hysterical" women were considered to have it all emanating from their
uterus. The solution? Surgery to remove the uterus (and with it the
hysteria), hence the hysterectomy. Half a million hysterectomies are still
performed annually, most of them medically unnecessary. Even thirty years ago, I
do not recall that there was much serious discussion about PMS. A lot of angry
ladies changed that. Now TV adds discuss PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric
Disorder). Whats a dysphoric? A person exhibiting dysphoria, of
course. Now for the real answer: a person with anxiety, depression and
restlessness. It is derived from the Greek word dusphoros , which
(appropriately enough) means "hard to bear." So now I've got dysphoria
to read.(That was subtle, but did you get it? If you didn't, I'll get
datphoria next time.) But seriously, folks: Vitamin B-6 B-6 dosage to the tune of
500 milligrams (mg) daily is very safe. Probably tens of millions of women
suffer PMS symptoms; only a very few cases of B - 6 overdose problems have
been reported. Daily dosage over 2,000 mg has occasionally caused temporary
neurological symptoms in some persons. But this only happens if pyridoxine is
given alone, or way out of proportion to the other essential B-vitamins.
Taking ALL the B vitamins together (as B-complex) is the safest and most
effective therapeutic approach. ( http://doctoryourself.com/bvitamins.html
) When a balance is maintained, B-vitamin toxicity is virtually
nonexistent. Is there a safe harbor? I think so. Use the entire
B-complex, taken every two to three hours. Consider adding perhaps 50mg
to 100 mg of pure pyridoxine to each dose if dysphoric symptoms are really
awful. You can get some
(probably less than 5 mg) of B-6 from food, if you really like to eat a lot of whole
grains, seeds and organ meats. A goodly slice of beef liver contains a
whopping 1.22 mg of B-6. Other dead animals' parts contain less (turkey and
chicken breasts are pretty good, but chicken liver is only 0.6 mg per
serving), while most other foods contain very little. Avocados (0.5 mg
each) and bananas (0.7 mg each) lead the pyridoxine league for fruits.
Potatoes (0.7 mg each) and nuts (especially filberts, peanuts and walnuts)
are relatively good veggie sources.
The US RDA for B-6 is
about 2 mg daily (and it is LOWER for women), and this is ridiculously
inadequate. A strong case can be made for increasing this to at least 25 to
65 mg per day for people without PMS symptoms. But don't hold your breath for
any raising of standards anytime soon. Consider that some research (the old 1975
MRCA study, for starters) has shown that of children ages 2 through 12, 74%
did not get the US RDA of B-6. Thats pretty terrible, but it is worse for
adults 19 and over: 99% got less than the US RDA of B-6. Does THAT ever
explain the PMS problem in the Copyright C 2019, 2003
and prior years by Andrew W. Saul. Magnesium "Half to three-quarters of adults in the United Kingdom are consuming less than the RDA of Magnesium."
(The following quote is from http://www.mgwater.com That site offers many complete papers by the worlds leading magnesium experts.) "Increasing dietary magnesium often decreases menstrual cramping as well as PMS. Calcium causes
muscles to contract, while magnesium helps them to relax. Dietary calcium
gives temporary relief of menstrual cramps. However, calcium also depletes
the body of magnesium and ensures cramping will occur in the following month
if magnesium is not replenished. Magnesium is used by some doctors to treat mental stress. On the periodic chart, magnesium appears near
lithium. Lithium is often used to treat stress and related disorders. Magnesium is needed to shift calcium into and out of cells. Cells require a
small amount of calcium, however too much calcium is a problem. Magnesium
serves to regulate essential cellular minerals. If you do not suffer from
kidney disease, consider taking an oral daily dietary magnesium supplement.
For generally healthy people the only known side effect from taking too much
magnesium is diarrhea. Your body continuously discards excess magnesium
through urine and feces. The U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for magnesium (Mg) is 350 mg (milligrams) per day for
men and 280 mg/day for women. Most researchers studying hypomagnesemia (not
enough Mg) are now convinced the RDA is insufficient to maintain an adequate
amount of biologically available Mg for all body functions."
(From The Role of Magnesium in the Prevention of Coronary Disease and Other Disorders by
Tom Miller. Edited and reprinted with permission.) Also recommended: (Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, Oct 23, 2007)
Over two-thirds of all Americans do not consume the recommended daily intake
of magnesium. Even more alarming are data from a study showing that 19% of
Americans do not consume even one-half of the government's recommended daily
intake of magnesium. (1) It is therefore not surprising that disability and
death from heart attack and stroke are the nation’s leading killers.
The National Institutes of Health says, "Magnesium is needed for more
than 300 biochemical reactions in the body. It helps maintain normal muscle
and nerve function, keeps heart rhythm steady, supports a healthy immune
system, and keeps bones strong. Magnesium also helps regulate blood sugar
levels, promotes normal blood pressure, and is known to be involved in energy
metabolism and protein synthesis. There is an increased interest in the role
of magnesium in preventing and managing disorders such as hypertension,
cardiovascular disease, and diabetes." (2) Inadequate magnesium intake
has also been associated with cancer, asthma, allergies, arthritis,
osteoporosis, kidney stones, migraine headaches, menstrual cramps, PMS,
tetany and cramps, and other conditions as well. (3) A list this long fully
justifies increased concern about population-wide magnesium deficiency. Foods high in magnesium
include nuts, seeds, spinach, yogurt, wheat germ, and whole grains. Few
Americans eat enough of these to ensure an adequate magnesium intake of 400
mg/day. Magnesium supplements are commonly available as inexpensive magnesium
oxide in 100 or 250 mg tablets. For better absorption, physicians often
prefer amino acid chelated magnesium tablets, magnesium chloride, or magnesium citrate. Magnesium
is available without prescription at discount and health food stores
everywhere. People typically start supplementation with 200mg per day and may
slowly increase to 600mg per day, taken in divided doses, some with each
meal. (4,5) Persons with kidney failure should not take supplemental
magnesium unless directed to by their physician. Otherwise, magnesium
toxicity is extremely rare. There have been no deaths from dietary
supplementation with magnesium. (6) References: (1) King D, Mainous A
3rd, Geesey M, Woolson R. Dietary magnesium and C-reactive protein levels. J
Am Coll Nutr. 2005 Jun 24(3):166-71. Andrew Saul is the author of the books FIRE
YOUR DOCTOR! How to be Independently Healthy (reader reviews at
http://www.doctoryourself.com/review.html
) and DOCTOR YOURSELF: Natural Healing that Works. (reviewed at http://www.doctoryourself.com/saulbooks.html
)
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AN IMPORTANT NOTE: This page is not in any way offered as prescription, diagnosis nor treatment for any disease, illness, infirmity or physical condition. Any form of self-treatment or alternative health program necessarily must involve an individual's acceptance of some risk, and no one should assume otherwise. Persons needing medical care should obtain it from a physician. Consult your doctor before making any health decision. Neither the author nor the webmaster has authorized the use of their names or the use of any material contained within in connection with the sale, promotion or advertising of any product or apparatus. Single-copy reproduction for individual, non-commercial use is permitted providing no alterations of content are made, and credit is given. |
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