Foods and activities that calm hormones and help PMS

This post is dedicated to my sisters in Korea and all the women out there who suffer from PMS symptoms. In order to live your best life, reducing PMS is a must.

The foods we put in our bodies affect the hormonal cycles in the body. One way to lessen the hormonal shift in the body is to avoid the foods or activities that cause them.

Foods/activites to consider avoiding or limiting around "that time of the month":
* Meats, cheese, eggs tend to drive hormone levels up.
* Fatty foods raise cholesterol and estrogen levels.
* Excess salt and sugar.
* Limit caffeine intake, and if possible, eliminate it.
* Tobacco use
* Certain Yoga poses should be avoided, inverted poses during menstruation can cause blood to leak out the fallopian tubes and lead to endometriosis. While not proven and highly unlikely, because it is not known, it may be best to do more restorative poses during this time. In general you know your body best, so if it feels okay to invert go ahead. Listen to your body. If you are feeling achy and tired don't push yourself too hard.

Foods/nutrients/activities to consider:
* Natural plant foods like whole grain bread, pasta, cereal
* A variety of vegetables, fruits and legumes
* Fiber. Eating foods with lots of fiber is good to help rid the body of excess hormones.
* Calcium (in the form of supplement or leafy greens). Improving calcium balance in the body has been shown to ease menstrual pain.
* Vitamin B6
* Light/moderate exercise
* Meditation

Information shared from Healthy Eating for Life for Women by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and my personal favorite, Yoga as Medicine: The Yogic Prescription for Health and Healing by Timothy McCall, MD.