PMT reducing and low GI smoothie

It's nearly 6am and I haven't been to sleep. I tossed and turned for a couple of hours before giving up and deciding to do something useful so I've been researching smoothie ingredients that are period friendly and apparently lower blood sugar. Basically, please forgive the messiness of this post! I've basically just added my notes here (trying to keep sources in tact, although I have read many more articles to check those sources).

I'm not even sure if all of this will fit in one blender. I use a kenwood smoothie maker and I'm very impressed with it! I don't know how it will all taste together. One day I plan on adding to this and cleaning up the post - after I've tried it and probably discovered it's awful! 

Some of the ingredients come with health warnings, especially if you're on certain medications, but they are all natural remedies/ingredients that are commonly used in cooking or the kind of thing most people eat regularly so I'm assuming anyone reading this will ask a health professional if they are unsure.

* Soluble fibre absorbs excess hormones according to my nutritional therapy diploma course.

For 2 days

·       *  1 Apple WITH PEEL – soluble fibre, counteract the taste of cinnamon

·       * 1 tsp Turmeric – blood sugar and anti-inflammatory https://www.turmericforhealth.com/general-info/ideal-turmeric-dosage-how-much-turmeric-can-you-take-in-a-day   Menstruation  https://www.turmericforhealth.com/turmeric-benefits/8-ways-turmeric-benefits-in-menstruation

·       * 1/4 tsp cinnamon – blood sugar https://www.turmericforhealth.com/general-info/why-you-should-add-cinnamon-to-turmeric-and-safe-dosage

·      * Veg – greens, Kale (vitamin K), broccoli (calcium rich superfood), spinach (high in Iron) - handful to taste?

·       * 1tsp Fenugreek (1tsp = approx. 3.7g) – blood sugar, lowers cholesterol, bitter taste counteracted by sweet fruits http://www.diabetes.co.uk/natural-therapies/fenugreek.html

http://skipthepie.org/spices-and-herbs/spices-fenugreek-seed/

·       *  1Carrot – high fibre

·       * 1 Banana – potassium, soluble fibre, reduce bad cholesterol or substitute with avocado.

·       * 1 handful Frozen blueberries - antioxidants  or cherries (natural anti-inflammatory)-  - a handful is considered a count when it comes to fruit and veg

·       * Juice for liquidising, suggesting Orange juice for citric acid and liquid.

·      *  Flack seeds – not sure about dose, omega acids and other good stuff

·       *1 tsp (2gramms) Ginger for periods – taken daily the week before mentioned in one article. http://www.livestrong.com/article/422721-does-ginger-root-decrease-a-womans-menstruation-cycle/ and http://drtorihudson.com/botanicals/ginger-for-heavy-menstrual-bleeding/ amount 1tsp dried  https://www.drweil.com/vitamins-supplements-herbs/herbs/ginger/ and https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=ginger+and+periods+amount+powder+daily+menstruation&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b&gfe_rd=cr&dcr=0&ei=oBWyWejRBePGXvrzqbgG

More ginger benefits https://juicing-for-health.com/health-benefits-of-ginger

Acid and sweetness are meant to counteract the taste of ginger if you're not too keen! https://www.spiceography.com/too-much-ginger/ 

Soya? Collagen? 

Lots of sources say to have twice a day - maybe split a portion between morning and night. Many just in the morning on an empty stomach, or at bedtime and some anytime.

Dieting for healthy periods

To be honest if someone tried to tell me what I should and shouldn't be eating whilst I was on my period... well I wouldn't take very kindly to it! But the rest of the time I have a passing interest in information that might be useful.

I found this link interesting http://cyclediet.com/ so I thought I'd share it here. There were a couple of other websites I found too and they all focus on trying to sell you something, this one seemed to contain more information. Unfortunately it seems more focused on healthy eating and trying to loose weight rather than focusing on what makes a healthy period and why.

I'm currently attempting a nutritional therapy course in between all of my other commitments, still not managing even one post a week on here but if I find anything else that I think might be useful I'll keep sharing it! 

Society for menstrual cycle research

During my online research for information on periods I came across the Society for menstrual cycle research in Boston. They call their publication the periodical which I (quite possibly sadly) found quite funny http://menstruationresearch.org/newsletter/. Although I've only had the chance to have a quick scan of their newsletter it seems like quite a promising resource for further information. In fact I'm feeling quite overwhelmed and excited by my find!

I thought I'd leave a note here as it's something I'll be looking into in the future when I have time! I thought if you are reading this with the same aim it might be useful for you too!

Visiting a herbalist

I'm reading, researching, and learning all sorts at the moment. I'm struggling to find the time to turn information into blog posts - especially as I don't know where to start! A post on what happens when you start your periods, continue on your menstrual cycle and hit the menopause might be a good start but today I thought I'd write about my visit to a herbalist.

I know that evening primrose oil is meant to help regulate hormones and is recommended as a natural solution for perimenopausal* women. I spoke to a pharmacist about it who said it was unusual for it to be proscribed through traditional medical professionals. He also said that he wouldn't recommend it for girls who are just starting their periods. I also assume that it wouldn't be recommended for young women who are within their first two years of starting their periods. However the pill is - which I completely disagree with. I'll tackle that in another blog post! http://www.medicine.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/booth/alternat/AT058.html A link to research by oxford scientists which suggests to be that the effects have not undergone any thorough or conclusive clinical testing - why bother when research for the pill is much better funded by drugs companies! One of the theories (mentioned by webMD) on why it may help with PMS symptoms is that it contains essential fatty acids that we may be lacking in our diets. http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/evening-primrose-oil gives more information about the history and composition of evening primrose oil.

Evening primrose oil is something I'll be looking into further as I continue my research and training. I mentioned this to the herbalist and asked what other natural product were available. She recommended agnus castus "the woman's herb" sometimes used to regulate hormones. I'll leave and IOU on here for now for more information as it's getting late and I have to sleep occasionally! The most useful information I've found so far is this site - http://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-agnus-castus.html which doesn't name it's sources. It's written by a group of educated individuals, not professionals (although 'professionals' wouldn't have suggested trying the herb in the first instance!). 

*The perimenopause is the description of the body building up, or winding down to the menopause (which is official only 12 months after your last period). I've read somewhere that the average age of onset for the menopause is age 42 but according to Lara Briden (www.larabriden.com) the normal age range is between 45-55. Again, I'll write more about this later!

Researching

I've decided that before I start looking deeper into any one aspect of the menstrual process I need to brush up on my knowledge! It's been a long time since I've studied any biological or even psychological aspect of the process. So I'm starting with a few books on the endocrine system (the glads that regulate hormones in the body). It's about time I built up on what I can remember! I'll get some diagrams drawn up and really feel like I'm back at university!

Introduction

I've had 'womens problems' ever since I started my menstrual cycle. I started researching ways of managing this many years ago. I have training in psychosexual medicine and I am also working towards becoming a nutritional therapist. This blog is a way of recording and sharing information I've studied and learnt as a means of sharing it with others in the hope that this will help you too!

Although there is a lot of information out there the endocrine system which regulates our hormones and periods is not something that anyone fully understands. The medication, information and support available is not complete and so this blog, although well researched is not a definitive answer to anything. Eventually I aim to conduct my own research, unbiased though the involvement of drugs companies and without any other financial agenda, with an aim of finding more natural and user friendly means of helping us to harness the power of our hormones and reduce the more unmanageable symptoms!