Sparking PMS Pains
Calcium deficiency triggers symptoms
Premenstrual syndrome is not, it turns out, all in a woman's head. It's in her bones, say researchers from St. Luke's--Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City. According to a report last week in the Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, fluctuations in the hormones that regulate calcium levels over the course of a menstrual cycle may set off a host of PMS symptoms, including irritability, depression, food cravings, headaches, and bloating. Furthermore, the researchers showed that by boosting calcium levels in the body, PMS symptoms were significantly reduced, by 50 percent in women who took 1,200 mg of calcium per day over a three-month period. More than 400 women participated in the study.
"The concept is that if you are not consuming enough calcium, the regulating hormones increase and go berserk," says Susan Thys-Jacobs, an endocrinologist and an author of the study. The elevated levels of calcium-regulating parathyroid hormone, as well as a form of vitamin B, interact with the hormones estrogen and progesterone, which are more abundant during the latter half of the menstrual cycle. This prompts PMS symptoms.
Trouble with PMS may also point to future problems with osteoporosis, because low calcium levels also instigate bone-calcium loss, raising the risk of fracture.
Calcium sources
Doctors recommend 1,000 milligrams of calcium per day, but the average adult woman gets only about 635 milligrams.
1 1/2 ounces of cheese 306 mg
8 ounces of milk 300 mg
1/2 cup of almonds 189 mg
1 cup of cooked kale 179 mg
1 cup of vegetarian baked beans 127 mg
1 cup of cooked broccoli 72 mg
Sources: American Dietetic Association, National Academy of Sciences
This story appears in the September 7, 1998 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
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