If you suffer from the many maladies that often accompany a women’s menstrual cycle and particularly if you suffer from premenstrual syndrome, you will want to take advantage of PMS vitamins.

The role in pms of these vitamins and minerals is to help ease the discomfort from depression, irritability, mood swings, severe, fatigue, cramps, bloating, weight gain and food cravings.

Given this what are these vitamins that are good for pms?

Recently Dr. Oz offered his thoughts on what are the best vitamins for pms.

Which vitamins fall into the realm of Dr. Oz’s recommendation?

Some of the vitamins that we are discussing include the B complex vitamins including B1, B5, B6 and B12. Then there is vitamin D, E, C and A that also have an impact on pms (premenstrual syndrome). Vitamins can be found in foods and fats or they can be taken in supplements.

Remedies for pms can also be found in fish oil, mineral supplements, minerals, herbs, and natural cures. Here we will focus only on the effects of vitamins.

In other articles on our site we have indicated that the menstrual cycle has various stages and pms occurs normally in the first three. This is where the PMS vitamins can have the most impact. Here are the stages of the menstrual cycle.

Menstrual Cycle

Premenstrual Stage: 2 to 3 weeks prior to the bleeding period and most if not all pms (pre menstrual syndrome) symptoms begin in this phase and carry over into the next two phases.

Follicular Stage: Ovulation takes place at the end of this stage. This is the stage that actually creates the hormonal imbalance even though estrogen begins to leach into the system in the premenstrual stage. It is in this stage that the body is flooded and overloaded with estrogen. The uterine lining thickens considerable in this stage in order to prepare for the fertilized egg.

Luteal stage: Progesterone overwhelms estrogen in this stage as the body prepares the egg to be fertilized and incubated. The uterus continues its preparation until it becomes clear that the egg will not be fertilized this time.

Period Bleeding Stage: When the egg is not fertilized in the Luteal stage, then the uterine lining, the excess blood and retained fluid and the unfertilized eggs are discarded by the bleeding of the period.

Post Menstrual Stage: In the week(s) following the bleeding period, some women experience many of the same symptoms as pms. Many women experience nothing during this time and there is no clear indication of who or why a woman would experience PMS (Post Menstrual Syndrome).

Vitamins That Help With Menstrual Pain

So let’s take a look at all the various vitamins that can have a positive effect on preventing and treating the symptoms of pms.

VITAMIN B:

On one of his television shows Dr. Oz recommended a series of steps to control pms, including the use of vitamin B.

According to Dr. Oz, “Vitamin B helps with moods swings caused by fluctuating hormonal levels. The recommended level of Vitamin B6 that Dr. Oz recommends is 100 mg.

Foods that contain a high level of Vitamin B in cashews, peanuts and hazelnuts. “ (www.drozfans.com/dr-ozs-advice/dr-oz-pms-attack-plan-chaste-tree-berry-extract-vitamin-b6/)

In order to make sure you have enough Vitamin B in your system before your cycle starts in order to prevent or decrease pms symptoms. On his web site Dr. Oz sells a Vitamin B product designed specifically for pms issues.

This product called “Energy Revitalization System with B Complex” contains several other vitamins along with the B complex vitamins. These vitamins are A, C, D, E, and K as well as the B complex. It does appear that the B complex vitamins are the most important ones in respect to helping to relieve and reduce the symptoms of pms.

B12 is always a part of any B complex compound. B12 is also known as cobalamin. B12 is known mostly for the treatment of anemia but it is also involved with preventing damage to nerve endings. It is this quality of B12 that make it useful in the relief of insomnia and anxiety that comes with pms.

B6 might be helpful in pms relieve but it is not yet proven. Pyridoxine is another name for B6 and it helps to metabolize protein and carbs. It is thought but not proven that B6 helps produce serotonin – which helps support good feelings and might help with sleep. B6 is also a natural diuretic and can reduce water retention and bloating. It also influences the balancing of estrogen levels so that hormones can be in balance.

B5 or pantothenic acid has stress reducing properties that could provide relief for the anxiety and irritation that can occur during pms. It also helps to metabolize carbs and proteins like B6 does.

B3 also known as niacin uses its function for improving blood circulation to make sure that the muscles and organs get enough oxygen and nutrients. This in turn will help with reducing cramping and fatigue during pms. This influx of oxygen and additional nutrients will also help with the mood swings that happen during pms.

Vitamin A:

VITAMIN A also known as retinol has a history of relieving bloating and water retention. Women should take about 700 mcg daily. Vitamin A is a fat soluble vitamin meaning it is stored in the fat of the body for up to six months. On the other hand if your body gets too much vitamin A it will store in in the liver and that will start to cause another series of medical issues. Cod liver oil, egg yolks, liver and butter are all good food source for Vitamin A.

Vitamin C:

VITAMIN C is also called L-ascorbic and L-ascorbate and it is an antioxidant. Antioxidants assist the body in dealing with oxidative stress.

What is oxidative stress?

When the body is under too much stress then the cells of the body can become damaged or toxic. Vitamin C is water soluble and not stored in the body. So it must be replenished on a regular basis. In a study of “eighteen women who suffered from heavy menstrual bleeding, sixteen of those women had less menstrual bleeding after taking higher levels of vitamin C.

This means that by increasing the levels of vitamin C in the diet, the blood vessels are stronger and menstrual bleeding is reduced. “ ( ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.)

Studies have also shown that Vitamin C has anti-inflammatory properties and that can help with the inflammation that can cause breast soreness during pms. It seems that Vitamin C is responsible for many of the symptoms of pms including depression, fatigue, bleeding and inflammation. So if there is a vitamin C deficiency the symptoms of pms will be much worse.

One supplement that has the right dose of vitamin C built in for pms is “Period Vitamin”. Dr. Oz’s “Energy Revitalization System with B Complex “ also contains the right balance of vitamin C.

Vitamin D

VITAMIN D helps the body absorb calcium and magnesium both of which are needed to deal with pms stress, cramping and tension. It is these properties that allow Vitamin c to be such a good remedy for bloating, irritability, breast swelling and soreness and fatigue as they occur in pms. If a woman takes calcium with Vitamin D to help absorb it, she will have a much less chance of getting any symptoms of pms. Vitamin D can be found in fatty acids and cod liver oil and fish such as sardines and salmon.

“What this study says is that if you take an 18-year-old woman without PMS — who has a 20% lifetime chance of getting it — if she takes her calcium she has less chance of getting PMS,” Bashuk says. (University of Massachusetts researcher Elizabeth R. Bertone-Johnson, ScD, and her Harvard University colleagues. The researchers analyzed data collected over 10 years from nurses 27-44 years old participating in a long-term health study — including more than 1,000 women with PMS.)

Vitamin E

VITAMIN E this vitamin is great for the relief of sore breasts and it also balances hormonal levels. Vitamin E can help deal with depression and irritability. Vitamin E does not work alone to cure or prevent pms symptoms. It requires other vitamins to work in consort with. Once again we are dealing with a vitamin that is an anti-oxidant and fights the free radicals in the body. Vitamin E protects cells and prevents diseases.

“A study conducted by SmithKline Beecham and published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition evaluated 41 women through a double-blind, placebo controlled study. These 41 women all experienced PMS symptoms. Half of the group was provided with 400 IU of vitamin E per day and the other half was placebo controlled. This study concluded that the women of the vitamin E group experienced far fewer symptoms related to PMS than those of the control group.” (www.jacn.org)

Vitamin K

VITAMIN K is important because if there is a deficiency then there is an issue with the clotting of blood. Vitamin K might also play a role in cramping.

Overall there are many advantages to increasing the intake of these PMS vitamins before the premenstrual stage begins.