5 Nutritional Habits You Can Live (Better) With

There’s no denying the connection between good nutrition and better health. Not only can the right food choices improve your wellbeing, but they can also help improve your PMS symptoms.

Even small changes can help improve your health in some very big ways. Here are five smart nutritional habits that can make a difference in your period…and in your life, period.

Choose water over every other beverage. Nothing else in a cup or glass is as good for you or as body hydrating as water. Water is a source of astounding energy. Your joints need water to stay motion-ready and all your vital organs (heart, liver, kidney, brain) need water to function properly. In fact, every cell in your body, from head to toe needs water.

Drinking water also helps rid your body of toxins and aids in weight loss. Often we confuse thirst with hunger making us reach for calories when 8 ounces of water is what our body actually craves. Keep water within easy reach and drink it often throughout the day.

Dial back the salt. If you feel like a puffy marshmallow right before or during your period, consider reducing the amount of salty foods you eat during the week before and on the first few days of your period. Salt is actually sodium chloride and it causes water retention making you feel bloated and heavy.

Avoid the obvious sources of salt—pretzels, potato chips, French fries. But watch out for the hidden sources, like lunchmeats, soy sauce and frozen dinners and other “high-so” foods.

Besides alleviating your PMS symptoms, a “low-so” lifestyle has additional health benefits. It helps lower your risk of hypertension, the leading cause of heart disease, which as you may recall is the number-one killer of women in the U.S.*

Go green…and purple, red, yellow, and orange. From bright red strawberries and deep green spinach, to dark purple eggplant and shiny yellow corn, color your world with fruits and veggies. Experts agree that if you could do only one diet thing to improve your health, it would be to reach for more fruits and vegetables every day.

Plant foods provide amazing health benefits including helping to reduce the risk of certain cancers, promoting heart health, and boosting the immune system. The ADA recommends five or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day as part of a healthy diet.

Control portions. Today’s “super size” food world has created significant portion distortion. Get into the habit of using smaller plates and bowls and you’ll feel satisfied when finishing your entire plate without overeating. When eating out, choose smaller-sized options, share your entree, or take home half or part of your meal.

Be sure to read labels on packaged foods. What the label lists as suggested serving size is often not the same as the serving size an average person expects to consume. To get the accurate nutrition facts, you will likely need to double or triple the label information.

Curb the caffeine. If you want to reduce pre-period moodiness, skip the grande bold-roasted coffee, the chai tea, and the sodas. All contain caffeine, which can be a woman’s “frenemy”…nice to have around for the most part, but it has an unhealthy side that can surface when you least expect it.

Too much caffeine can make you restless, anxious, and irritable. It may also keep you from sleeping well and cause headaches, abnormal heart rhythms or other problems. Some people are more sensitive to the effects of caffeine than others.

Caffeine can also cause or worsen painful, lumpy breasts (fibrocystic disease) and large amounts of caffeine may decrease bone mass density by interfering with the body’s ability to absorb calcium. This may lead to osteoporosis.

Good Health is Habit Forming
Why not start today? Make healthy choices you can live with…and live better with!

*National Institutes of Health