If you’re reaching for a bag of chocolate every month like clockwork around your menstrual cycle, you’re one of 90 percent of American women who experience Pre-Menstrual Syndrome (PMS) each month.

PMS is a combination of symptoms that many women endure 7 to 10 days before their periods. Symptoms range from physical to emotional and food cravings is just one of them.

What’s so stunning about this phenomenon is that PMS has become such a widely experienced condition, that it is seen as natural, normal and acceptable.

But the physically painful and often emotionally draining symptoms that accompany the start of a woman’s menstrual cycle are signals of more complex, underlying health issues that need to be addressed rather than overlooked.

One health concern research links to PMS is a magnesium deficiency. Studies show women whose magnesium levels are low, also suffer from PMS.

Read on to discover how this seemingly insignificant (but rather, crucial) mineral we call magnesium, plays a role in your menstrual health and better yet, how it might just make your dreaded PMS symptoms a thing of the past.

What Are the Symptoms of PMS?

The symptoms of PMS are as vast as the large number of women who experience them. As previously stated, PMS symptoms are both physical and psychological – the key difference being their severity.

Some women undergo mild symptoms while these same symptoms are intense for others.

Physical symptoms may include:

• Swollen or tender breasts
• Bloating
• Cramping
• Headache or backache (Migraines included)

Emotional symptoms may include:

• Irritability
• Fatigue
• Sleep problems (too much or too little)
• Food cravings
• Depression, feelings of sadness or crying spells
• Mood swings
• Low sex drive

What Causes PMS?

While the exact cause of PMS is unknown, there are several factors that may contribute to the condition. One of the most commonly noted is hormonal changes.

Too much of one hormone (Estrogen) and not enough of another (Progesterone), causes the physical tell-tale signs of PMS many women are familiar with.

This explains why PMS symptoms adjust during pregnancy or may disappear altogether, during menopause.

Others suggest emotional symptoms are due to chemical changes in the brain because of shifts in serotonin – a brain chemical known to affect one’s mood.

In fact, insufficient amounts of serotonin may contribute to premenstrual depression, fatigue, food cravings, and sleep issues.

How Can Magnesium Help?

Low levels of this mineral drastically affect how you feel during your cycle. A lack of magnesium causes more uterine cramps by increasing smooth muscle contractions and the number of prostaglandins in your body.

Prostaglandins are hormone-like chemicals from fatty acids that help with smooth muscle contraction and blood vessel dilation.

They influence pain levels and regulate inflammation in the body.

There are different types of prostaglandins and the two types that cause painful periods are low throughout most of the menstrual cycle and then peak just before a woman’s period begins.

The more pain-inducing prostaglandins that build up in the uterus during menstruation, the less oxygen is available to that area of the body.

Depriving the uterine muscles of oxygen causes the excruciating muscle contractions we know as cramping.

Magnesium is thought to suppress pain-causing prostaglandins because of its anti-inflammatory properties.

Because prostaglandins are inflammatory chemicals, magnesium reduces them by relaxing your uterine muscles and decreasing swelling.

And cramps aren’t the only PMS symptom magnesium improves.

This mineral also helps with:

• Mood Swings: Magnesium is linked to boosting one’s mood, namely by reducing anxiety and stress and increasing levels of “feel-good” chemicals like serotonin. 

• Bloating: Adequate levels of magnesium reduce constipation that contributes to water retention in the body.

• Migraines: Magnesium decreases blood vessel inflammation that typically causes the pounding sensation associated with migraine headaches.

• Fatigue: Magnesium plays a key role in energy production, so unsurprisingly, low levels of this mineral lead to exhaustion.

• Insomnia: This mineral allows your body to maintain healthy levels of GABA, a neurotransmitter that promotes sleep, while also reducing stress to help you relax.    

Greenway Biotech Magnesium to the Rescue

Plenty of women dread “that time of the month” because of the added pain that comes with it, but you don’t have to be one of them.

Several sprays of our magnesium oil every day could mean the difference between barely noticing your period and being curled up in bed with a bad case of PMS.

Maybe a soak in our Epsom Salt (Magnesium Sulfate) or Magnesium Chloride Bath Flakes will reduce your bloat or drinking a smoothie with our Magnesium Chloride USP gives you that extra burst of energy you need to combat fatigue.

Whichever magnesium product of ours you happen to choose, rest assured that its high quality will help you say goodbye to PMS so you can be well on your way to a healthier body, healthier mind, and happier soul - shop below!  

Related Posts:

• What is Magnesium Chloride - The Forgotten Mineral?
• Here's How to Easily Stop Bloating With Epsom Salt 
• Can Magnesium Help Improve Your Mood?