Did you know that there are 4 distinct types of PMS that 80% of women suffer from? PMS is defined as a recurrent, cyclical set of physical and behavioral symptoms that can come on 7 – 14 days before the actual menstrual cycle. PMS usually occurs in women aged 25 – 35, but is quite often seen in women younger or older depending on the hormonal status and diet of the individual.

Types Of PMS

1. PMS A –  ANXIETY – This is the type of PMS where one experiences quite a bit of nervous tension. The major symptoms of this type of PMS include irritability, anxiety and mood swings. This type of PMS is usually caused by an imbalance in estrogen and progesterone. Up to 70 % of the females are affected by this type of PMS.

2. PMS C – CARBOHYDRATE CRAVING – This type of PMS, as the name says it, is related to carbohydrate cravings where the individual may crave warm breads, pastas, chocolate and “sweet stuff”.  Part of this type of PMS may include additional symptoms such as increased appetite, headaches, fatigue, dizziness, fainting and palpations. This type of PMS may be related to a deficiency in nutrients and certain vitamins, especially calcium or magnesium, in the body.

3. PMS D – DEPRESSION -This type of PMS is related to feeling down or depressed before the menstrual cycle begins, and women can experience up to 2 weeks of this in some cases. Of course, daily stressors can exacerbate how one feels at this particularly vulnerable time of the month. Hormone imbalances – having too much or too little of estrogen along with Vitamin deficiencies are to blame for PMS – D – DEPRESSION.

4. PMS – H – HYDRATION – In this type of PMS significant water weight gain is experienced by the female, and could exceed up to 6 pounds in a week. Bloating is quite often experienced as well, along with significant swelling in the hands and feet and breast tenderness and fullness. Diet is big factor in this type of PMS – especially high salt diets, lots of caffeine and stress is also a big factor.

Quite often women experience more than one type of PMS subgroup. Naturopathic medicine is great at identifying what imbalance in the body is causing the symptoms using saliva hormone testing and blood tests to identify nutrient and vitamin deficiencies, and then treating them holistically using natural remedies, diet and quite often acupuncture which quite often helps eliminate all the PMS, and successfully makes them a thing in the past.

By: Sushma Shah, Naturopathic Doctor, at the Nature’s Intentions Naturopathic Clinic.