Many women deal with moderate to severe PMS symptoms.  These can include headaches, mood swings, cramping, and numerous other symptoms.  My wife was one of these women who experienced some of these symptoms.  And while they weren’t too severe, they definitely weren’t pleasant to deal with (for both me and her!).

Most women who experience these symptoms just learn to live with them.  And the reason they don’t try to do anything to help with such symptoms is because they consider these symptoms to be normal.  While they are very common, having moderate to severe PMS symptoms IS NOT normal.  And in most cases there are things you can do to dramatically reduce these symptoms.

Why Do Most Women Experience PMS Symptoms?

In order to better understand why it’s not normal for women to experience moderate to severe PMS symptoms, it’s probably a good idea to discuss why many women experience such symptoms.  I’m not going to discuss the physiology in great detail, but in the first half of a woman’s cycle, the estrogen levels should be higher than in the second half of the cycle, and in this first half you should eventually see a spike in the estrogen levels.  In the second half of the cycle the opposite takes place, as progesterone increases.  Then towards the end of the cycle both of these hormones decrease, causing menstruation to occur, and the cycle begins over again.

This obviously is a simplified explanation of what happens, but let’s focus on the end of the second half of the cycle.  This once again is right before menstruation begins, which is typically when most women begin experiencing these PMS symptoms.  When there is an imbalance of these hormones, and the levels of estrogen and progesterone don’t decline at similar times, then it’s this hormone imbalance which causes the PMS symptoms.  So based on what I just told you, the goal is to correct this hormone imbalance, which ultimately will help reduce the PMS symptoms.

But wait, why can’t you take “The Pill” to manage the symptoms of PMS?  Although many women do this, I’ve discussed the risk of taking oral contraceptives in the past.  Even though many medical doctors give “The Pill”, not necessarily for birth control reasons, but instead to “regulate” the cycle, oral contraceptives will suppress the endocrine system.  So while it might help with the symptoms, it actually will make the hormone imbalance worse, and can lead to numerous health risks in the future.  As a result, I do not recommend for women to take oral contraceptives for symptom management.

How To Reduce PMS Symptoms

My wife experienced moderate PMS symptoms for years, and now she still has some symptoms, but they are very mild.  Let me explain how this happened, and how many women with similar symptoms can accomplish the same thing.  Ever since I’ve attended chiropractic school I’ve done regular detoxifications.  I try to do at least one each year, and usually will try to do two.  Getting my wife to follow such a protocol is quite the challenge.  But I still try convincing her each time I do one, and every now and then I’m successful.

The first few times she went through this program she experienced severe headaches and stopped after a few days.  Even though this is a common symptom of detoxifying and the symptoms usually subside after a few days, she didn’t want to follow through with the program.  But one year she decided to follow through, as I didn’t put her on as strict of a program as I usually follow, and so this made it easier for her.  Don’t get me wrong, as it still was challenging.  In any case, she stuck with it for most of the three weeks, although she did admittedly cheat a few times, and ended the program a few days early.

Despite not following a strict detoxification program and ending it early, there were some dramatic improvements in her symptoms right before she got her period.  Usually she experienced noticeable symptoms right before menstruation, but with her first period right after completing the detox, she hardly noticed any symptoms.  This wasn’t just a fluke, as it continued to happen with future periods as well.  Another thing she did which helped greatly was switching to a high quality, whole food multi-vitamin.  At the time she thought she was already taking a good quality supplement, as she purchased hers at the local health food store.  But it wasn’t until she made the switch to a better quality whole food supplement that she noticed an even greater improvement in her PMS symptoms.

This is both good news and bad news for anyone who is suffering from moderate to severe PMS symptoms.  The good news is that it is possible to dramatically reduce such symptoms.  The bad news is that it’s challenging to do so, and then once you accomplish this, it does take some discipline to maintain this.  I’m not suggesting that a purification program and/or taking a whole food multivitamin supplement will help every woman with their PMS symptoms, as when someone has a severe hormone imbalance then this may not work, and a different natural treatment protocol may be required.  But if you are experiencing moderate to severe PMS symptoms, I highly recommend consulting with a holistic doctor so they can find out the underlying cause of the problem, and put you on the necessary protocol to correct the hormone imbalance, and make these symptoms much more tolerable.

As I’ve written in the past, proper digestion is very important with regards to thyroid health.  The reason for this is because a big part of achieving optimal thyroid health has to do with eating quality foods, as well as taking quality nutritional supplements.  However, if one’s digestive system isn’t working efficiently then it won’t matter if you eat high quality foods and take high quality nutritional supplements.  And this is a big problem for many people who follow a natural thyroid treatment protocol, or even those who don’t follow such a protocol but just make some dietary changes on their own.

A lot of people who make such changes don’t notice a big difference, and in most cases the primary reason is because their digestive system isn’t functioning properly.  So one of the first things people with thyroid and autoimmune thyroid conditions need to do is to focus on restoring their digestive health BEFORE they can improve their thyroid health.

When it comes to having someone obtain optimal digestive health, in addition to making sure the person eats quality foods, you of course need to make sure they have sufficient stomach acid to digest the food they eat.  But another important component is to make sure they properly eliminate the food they eat.  Not only do most people have problems digesting their food, but they also have problems eliminating, as many people don’t have regular bowel movements.

This problem can usually be corrected by making sure that 1) you drink plenty of purified water, 2) you eat a minimum of 3 to 5 servings of fresh vegetables each day, and 3) you get enough fiber in your diet.  Most people need to drink more water, as you need to drink at least half your body weight in ounces each day.  But consuming a sufficient amount of fiber is very important as well.  We should be consuming about 25 to 30 grams of fiber each day, but many people don’t even consume half of this amount.  In addition to helping with constipation, fiber has the following benefits as well:

Benefit #1: Fiber can help decrease the risk of heart disease. Eating soluble fiber can help with the cholesterol and triglyceride levels, which may in turn help decrease the risk of heart disease.

Benefit #2: Fiber can help prevent colon cancer. By helping you have regular bowel movements, this can prevent colon cancer from developing.  The risk of developing other types of cancer can also be reduced by increasing your fiber intake as well.

Benefit #3: Fiber can help prevent diverticular disease. This condition can cause pain, diarrhea, and/or constipation, and can be prevented by increasing the amount of fiber you consume.

Benefit #4: Fiber can help with hemorrhoids. Consuming fiber will help to soften the stools, which will make them easier to pass, and thus will help to prevent hemorrhoids from developing.  And if you already have hemorrhoids, then increasing your fiber intake can help prevent them from getting irritated and flaring up.

So these are just some of the benefits of consuming sufficient fiber.  There are actually two different types of fiber.  Insoluble fiber is the one that can really help with constipation.  Some sources of insoluble fiber include wheat bran, nuts, and numerous vegetables.  Soluble fiber can help to lower blood cholesterol and glucose, and can be found in certain fruits, as well as beans.

How To Increase Your Intake Of Fiber

The obvious answer to this is to eat more foods which are fiber-rich.  While there are many different foods that can help with this, some good foods to eat are raw nuts and seeds, as well as certain fruits.  For example, when it comes to overcoming constipation, some people have improved this condition dramatically simply by drinking more water, eating a couple of apples each day, along with a couple of handfuls of raw seeds and nuts (raw almonds, sunflower seeds, etc.).   And as I have already mentioned, you should also eat at least three to five servings of fresh vegetables daily.

In addition to increasing your consumption of fiber-rich foods, you can also supplement with fiber.  A good fiber supplement is Psyllium Husks, which you can find at most health food stores.  Adding one tablespoon of this supplement in a glass of water or smoothie once or twice each day can help a great deal.  However, you might need to start with a smaller quantity, as you might want to begin with half a teaspoon for a few days, and then slowly increase the dosage until you’re able to take one full tablespoon.

In summary, while consuming fiber by itself doesn’t directly relate to thyroid health, having a properly functioning digestive system is important for anyone looking for optimal thyroid health.  And getting a sufficient amount of fiber can greatly help to improve digestion, which not only will help with your thyroid health, but your overall health as well.

When it comes to testing for thyroid health, everyone with a thyroid or autoimmune thyroid disorder is familiar with the common thyroid blood tests (TSH, T3 and T4, etc.).  While these tests are valuable in diagnosing a thyroid condition, there are other tests which can help to determine the underlying cause of your thyroid condition.  But it’s important to understand that different tests will provide different answers.

For example, let’s compare blood tests vs. saliva tests.  Most blood tests measure the hormone levels in a bound state.  The protein-bound hormone is the inactive form of the hormone.  Most hormones are in the bound state.

On the other hand, saliva testing measures hormones in the free, or unbound state.  This is the active form of the hormone, and less than 1% of hormones in the blood are in a free state.  As a result, it is more expensive to test the free hormones on a serum test, which is why saliva testing is frequently used to test the free hormone.

But Which Of These Tests Are More Accurate?

As for which of these tests are more accurate, the answer is that they both are accurate for what they measure.  The routine blood tests usually do a good job of measuring the bound form of the hormone.  So for example, a TSH test will measure the bound form of thyroid stimulating hormone secreted by the pituitary gland.  Although there are questions regarding the accuracy of the TSH test (as I have written about in a previous post), the accuracy questions are usually based not on the test itself, but on the reference ranges.

In other words, if someone has a TSH of 3.5, one usually doesn’t question whether or not this is accurate.  However, there is a question as to whether someone with such a value has hypothyroidism, as some labs use higher reference ranges than other labs.  So the overall point I want to make is that both thyroid blood tests and saliva tests are accurate, but they test for different things.

In order to try to make this more clear, let’s look at some of the different testing methods available, and next to them I’ll give a brief explanation of what they test for.

Serum Blood Tests. As I mentioned before, these tests are for the bound form of the protein or hormone.  They usually come out positive when the condition is already fully developed.  For example, someone who has a positive TSH test already has a thyroid condition.  So these tests are useful for diagnosing problems, and for monitoring the progress of a patient who is taking medication or is following a natural treatment protocol.  But they usually aren’t beneficial for preventing a condition from developing.

Saliva Tests. Saliva testing measures the free form of the hormone.  I frequently talk about two saliva-based tests which I recommend to my patients, the Adrenal Stress Index and the male or female hormone panel.  Some people question as to whether saliva tests are accurate, and when the samples are taken correctly they are actually very accurate.

But they are different than blood tests.  This is why someone can have a negative TSH test, but have a positive saliva-test.  The ASI test and saliva-based hormone panels are not only measuring hormones in the free state, but are measuring different hormones altogether when compared to thyroid blood tests.  These tests are measuring hormones such as cortisol, DHEA, estrogen, progesterone, etc.

But even if you were to take two blood tests which measured the same hormone, but one measured the bound form of the hormone, while the other measured the free form of the hormone, you still would most likely end up with different results.

Urine Tests. Urine tests measure the breakdown product of the hormones, and not the actual hormones themselves.  So you are unlikely to have either a medical doctor or a holistic practitioner use urine tests to measure anything related to the hormones.

Hair Mineral Analysis. As the name implies, it gives us information regarding the minerals in the body.  This is yet another great test for helping to determine the actual cause of a condition.  For example, this test can help determine problems with the adrenal glands before they become severe enough to dramatically affect the cortisol levels.  As a result, someone can have a positive hair mineral analysis which shows problems with the adrenal glands, but at the same time will show normal cortisol levels on an ASI.  It can also give an idea as to whether someone has a hormone imbalance, although it won’t show the actual levels of the hormones like a male or female hormone panel will.  But this is an extremely valuable test which can provide a lot of useful information as to what might be causing the person’s thyroid or autoimmune thyroid condition.

In summary, all of the tests I have mentioned above are valuable.  And for the most part they are all accurate.  However, they don’t provide the same information, and because of this one shouldn’t compare these tests with one another.  I do recommend that people with thyroid and autoimmune thyroid conditions receive blood tests.  However, those who are looking to restore their health back to normal will also benefit from some of the other tests I described in this post.

Most people with hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism receive a TSH test to help diagnose their condition.  The TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) is produced by the pituitary gland, and it helps to regulate the secretion of thyroid hormone.  So while many people think it’s a thyroid hormone, it’s actually a pituitary hormone. The normal reference range of the TSH varies depending on the lab.  Many labs use the reference range between 0.3 and 3.0, although some use a range between 0.3 and 4.5.  Some labs will even go as high as 5.0, which means that according to such a lab someone who has a TSH of 4.5 would be considered normal with regards to their thyroid health, while a doctor which uses a different lab would label the person as having hypothyroidism.

Based on the above information, it should then come to no surprise that there is some controversy as to whether the TSH is an accurate test.  Many medical doctors swear by this test, as they use this test solely to determine whether a patient has a thyroid condition.  On the other hand, some medical doctors recommend the TSH test to their patients as protocol, but don’t rely on this alone.  A big problem is that many people who fall within the reference ranges have symptoms which would indicate they have a thyroid condition.

Getting back to the reference ranges, part of the problem stems from how they determine the reference ranges in the first place.  These ranges were based on the values of a few hundred people who supposedly didn’t have a thyroid condition.  The problem with this is that while these people might have been considered to be normal, some might have been borderline hypothyroid or hyperthyroid, which obviously will affect the results.

I personally think the TSH has some value, but I agree it can’t be completely relied on to diagnose a thyroid condition.  So while I recommend this test to my patients, and personally obtain the TSH test when monitoring my thyroid health, I also recommend other thyroid blood tests as well.  A big problem with thyroid blood tests in general, but especially with the TSH, is that too many medical doctors rely completely on the test results, and don’t consider the symptoms of their patients.

I tend to take the opposite approach, as while I do value the thyroid blood tests, I pay more attention to the symptoms of the patient.  This is especially true when the patient is symptomatic, yet has negative lab results.  I’ve seen too many times where a patient had a negative TSH test, and has moderate to severe symptoms which indicate a thyroid problem, and yet the doctor refuses to give the patient medication to manage the symptoms.  While my goal is to try restoring the person’s thyroid health whenever possible, many people do need to take thyroid medication on a temporary basis, but are deprived of this by their doctors.

Of course even when the TSH does detect a thyroid condition, it doesn’t actually determine the underlying cause of the disorder.  This is where the other tests I’ve mentioned in previous posts and articles come into play, such as the Adrenal Stress Index, male or female hormone panel, and hair mineral analysis test.  These tests help to determine some of the underlying causes of the thyroid condition, which is important for anyone who wants to follow a natural thyroid treatment protocol.

Getting back to the TSH test, just because your levels are within the normal reference range doesn’t mean you have a thyroid gland which is functioning properly.  Plus, even when the TSH and other tests to determine thyroid function are accurate, let’s not forget these tests are measuring the end-stage process.  In other words, someone doesn’t test positive for these blood tests until they actually have hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism.  On the other hand, many people who don’t have a thyroid condition (at least not yet) will have positive findings on tests such as the ASI, hormone panel, and hair mineral analysis.  So these other tests can help to prevent a thyroid condition from developing if used correctly.

It would be great if these “alternative” tests would be recommended to patients on an annual basis as a way to prevent thyroid conditions from developing, as well as other conditions.  So while I’m definitely not opposed to people continuing to receive the TSH test, I do think other tests also need to be performed to help diagnose a thyroid condition.  Doing this would also help to prevent many thyroid disorders and autoimmune thyroid conditions from developing.

During this time of year, it’s common to see many articles from dermatologists and other healthcare professionals, informing people to avoid the “deadly” rays of the sun.  They will warn people to minimize their exposure to the sun, and tell them to make sure they lather themselves with plenty of sun tan lotion when they are in the sun.  Although you do need to protect yourself if you plan on being in the sun for a long period of time, telling people to do their best to avoid the sun and to always put on sun block has contributed to the widespread deficiency in Vitamin D.

This has contributed to many health issues, and also has played a role in the increase in autoimmune thyroid conditions (as well as other autoimmune conditions).  The reason for this is because Vitamin D plays a huge role in immunity.  As a result, if you’re like many people and either do everything you can to avoid the sun, or always put on sun tan lotion when you’re exposed to the sun, then there is an excellent chance you’re deficient in Vitamin D, and in turn probably have a compromised immune system. 

Of course this doesn’t mean that all autoimmune thyroid disorders are caused by a deficiency in Vitamin D.  In most cases there are other causes, but one still can’t overlook the importance of Vitamin D.  This is especially true for those people who have Graves’ Disease or Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis.  While everyone should receive a Vitamin D test to determine whether or not they are Vitamin D deficient, anyone with an autoimmune thyroid disorder needs to prioritize this, and address such a deficiency immediately.

Many medical doctors are realizing this deficiency, and while they still are recommending to their patients to avoid the sun and/or wear sun block, at the same time they are more open to drawing a blood test to detect such a deficiency.  Then for those patients who are deficient, they will recommend Vitamin D supplementation to corect this problem. 

You can also obtain a Vitamin D test on your own, without visiting a medical doctor.  If you go to the website www.DirectLabs.com, you can order a Vitamin D Test (the 25-hydroxyvitamin D test), and just about any other blood test you’d like.  The only thing you need to be aware of is that you can’t rely on the reference ranges, as most reference ranges of labs state that a range above 30 ng/mL is fine, but it really should be higher than this, as it should be more in the range of 50–100 ng/mL

When it comes to correcting a Vitamin D deficiency, in most cases, supplementation with Vitamin D3 is necessary.  Although you should still attempt to get at least 15 to 20 minutes of sun exposure daily, if you have a moderate to severe Vitamin D deficiency you will need to do more than getting daily sun exposure.  You will need to supplement with at least 2,000 IU of Vitamin D3 daily, and there is an excellent chance the dosage will need to be much higher than this (5,000 IU or greater) for the first few months of supplementation.

The quality of the Vitamin D supplement you take is important.  I personally take a liquid supplement from the company Biotics called Bio-D Mulsion Forte.  One drop provides 2,000 IU of Vitamin D, and while my Vitamin D levels are sufficient I still take one drop daily to help maintain these levels, and I also try to get at least 20 minutes of sun exposure daily (without sun block of course). 

There of course are times when you SHOULD put on sun block.  However, most of the products sold on the market have toxic chemicals, and so you will want to visit your local health food store in order to get a more natural sun tan lotion. 

As for when you should use sun tan lotion, if you are planning to be in the sun for a prolonged period of time, then it’s wise to put some on.  So for example, if you plan a trip to the amusement park or beach with your family and will be in the sun for hours, then use sun block, put on a cap, and dress appropriately.

In summary, many people are Vitamin D deficient, and a big reason for this is due to their avoidance of the sun.  So if you’re deficient in Vitamin D, you will want to make sure to supplement with Vitamin D3 in order to bring your levels back to normal.  From this point on it’s still a good idea to supplement daily, but at the same time try to get at least 15 to 20 minutes of daily sun exposure.  Doing this will help maintain your Vitamin D levels, which will help a great deal with immunity and can prevent future conditions from developing.  For more information on Vitamin D visit the website www.vitamindcouncil.org