Having PMS symptoms during your period isn’t any fun – plus it’s not the way that life is supposed to be during your periods. Many women feel very nauseous, have tender breasts or cramps, are bloated, experience dizziness and more during or before their period – and instead, your periods should be no different than normal daily life.
Yes, that’s correct. No different than a normal day when you aren’t on your period. You simply shouldn’t have symptoms.
What Causes Nausea Before Menstruation?
The first thing to do is to recognize the causes – and whether or not you are contributing to the issue inadvertently. It doesn’t mean it’s your fault. If you didn’t know that what you were doing was causing the problem, it doesn’t count as your fault. But once you do know, then it is your fault if you don’t do anything to correct it.
Here are the causes of feeling nauseated before your period:
1. You might have food poisoning.
2. You are under a lot of emotional stress.
3. You are taking medications that are causing the nausea.
4. You have heartburn.
5. Your hormone levels are out of balance. (When hormone levels are out of balance, the digestive tract may be affected.)
6. Your colon is clogged. (If food can’t go down the plumbing, then nausea will result.)
7. You have food sensitivities.
8. You have endometriosis.
9. You have vitamin deficiencies that cause nausea.
Food poisoning has some pretty characteristic symptoms. You’ll have nausea – yes, and the nausea might be before menstruation – but you’ll also have headache, possibly a fever, diarrhea, and even vomiting. Hopefully, you only have menstrual nausea – the PMS variety.
When you’re under a lot of emotional stress, this also causes nausea. It’s a stress reaction, and there’s what is called the body-mind connection. When you’re stressed, this is a mental or mind situation. Your thoughts are causing a body reaction – and one of the symptoms may be the nausea symptom.
If you don’t know what’s causing the nausea, it’s always good to rule out medications as the reason why. Most medications cause nausea as a side effect. The difference is that the nausea is at other times as well as before your period.
Heartburn is another reason for the problem to occur. If food comes up, it’s most likely a situation where the food won’t go down properly.
Your hormone levels that are out of balance are also the cause of nausea before your period. This doesn’t mean you should run out and get hormones! It means your body is not processing them correctly. Most likely, you have far too many estrogen mimickers in the body and need to detoxify them. Hormones out of balance can cause endometriosis, another cause of nausea.
Food sensitivities are another reason why people have nausea. So are vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
Vitamins and Minerals to Take to Relieve Feeling Nauseous
Vitamin B6 – This vitamin is known for its ability to relieve nausea. That’s partly because nausea is a symptom of a vitamin B6 deficiency. Dosage to take is 25 to 50 mg daily. There is a form of vitamin B6 called P-5-P. This form is better absorbed in the body, and those with methylation issues (they can’t detoxify correctly) do well on the P-5-P form.
Niacin – Niacin deficiency also causes nausea. Niacin levels should be about 4 times the intake level of vitamin B1, B2 and B6. These three vitamins should all be at the same level. So if vitamin B1, B2, and B6 were at 50 mg, then niacin should be 50 mg x 4 or 200 mg daily. At least, the niacin level should be twice that of the level of vitamin B1, B2, and B6.
B Complex – Your easiest and smartest way to get in the B vitamins is to take them in a B complex where they all are provided. Usually the companies making these have the right ratios, but always check them to make sure they are correct. Also check to make sure the biotin level is at 300 mcg. This level is 100% of the RDA. Any B complex with less than 300 mcg biotin in it is causing a deficiency.
Taking a period vitamin is another good way to relieve feeling nauseous. The Period Vitamin was created so that you could have great periods – the type where you really don’t even feel any different than your normal daily life. This one a day supplement contains vitamins and minerals and herbs. Many women that take it report a cessation in their PMS symptoms, including nausea.
Herbal Remedies for Nausea
Chamomile tea – One cup of chamomile tea daily when you have nausea may be the herbal remedy you are looking for. You can purchase the boxes of chamomile tea that contain 24 teabags in it. When you make the tea, it’s one teabag per cup boiling water; however, chamomile tea is nontoxic so you can double up on the teabags without worry of toxicity.
Peppermint oil – Some people recommend peppermint oil but this can be a little risky. Essential oils – especially of peppermint – may be synthetic. And if you’re consuming it, then the synthetic compounds can accumulate in the liver and cause health issues. This is the same thing that happens with other synthetic compounds. My recommendation is to skip the internal consumption of essential oils, including innocuous-appearing peppermint oil.
Peppermint tea – Peppermint tea, on the other hand is fine to take. The manufacturers haven’t found a cheap way to make it yet so you get the real thing. One tea bag per cup boiling water, up to four times daily is okay.
Foods and Drinks for Nausea
Crystallized ginger – Crystallized ginger is a candied type of ginger. It does have sugar in it (Booo… not smart!) but for some women with nausea, it works.
Ginger tea – You can make your own ginger quickly by going to your herb cabinet and grabbing the spice called ginger. Take 1 teaspoon o the bottle and place in a coffee cup. Then pour 8 ounces boiling water over it. Let cool to room temp and drink. No toxicity for higher doses.
Kefir milk / yogurt – Kefir milk and yogurt provide the body with probiotics. These healthy bacteria are exceptionally healthy for you because they have functions to do in your body. Probiotics make sure your digestive organs are working properly. This cuts down on nausea.
Water – Water dissolves everything in the body and helps you flush out toxins. Drinking two to three glasses water in the morning first thing is exceptionally healthy and resets your thirst. It also relieves nausea – but only if you drink pure water, not tap water.
Foods to avoid:
When you want to know how to prevent nausea, and get relief, you’ll have to pay attention to your diet. Foods to avoid are those that you are sensitive to. You can go online and order an ALCAT test to find out what these are without your doctor’s permission. Removing all the foods your body is sensitive to makes more sense than using a list of foods that experts say might cause nausea.
The foods to eat are also on the ALCAT test results. Every body is different – and when you pay attention to the customized needs for your body, that’s when you’ll get true results.
Other Home Remedies for Nausea
Acupuncture points may be helpful for nausea. Pericardium 6 is the point commonly used for those who feel nauseous before the period starts. This point is near the wrist on the palm side of the body. Move down about two inches from the center point of the wrist, staying on the centerline. Press and hold the point for about a minute; there should be an instantaneous relief.
Yoga poses are really not going to help with nausea because there’s no real science behind them. For example, one pose is where you lie on the floor and put your legs and feet on the wall at 90 degrees. What this will do is increase blood flow to the stomach. This will increase congestion, and potentially worsen the nausea. Stay with the solutions for nausea that are based on science.
Is it normal to feel nauseous before period? No – and you have to search out the cause and eliminate it. Use the methods that work for it.
