Many of the women I’ve worked with over the years have struggled to maintain their otherwise healthy eating habits when they’re in their pre-menstrual or luteal phase. It’s then that their resolve is weakest. I get it - the intense cravings that PMS brings can derail the best of us.But I’ve also met with many women too for whom a day that doesn’t start with coffee and end with a big bowl of pasta is rare. Their cravings become the crutches that get them through the work week.Maintaining a nourishing, nurturing diet to balance your hormones throughout your cycle will go a long way towards lessening the urge to reach for unhealthy foods.Tweetable: The cure for PMS cravings is food!I help women tackle the root cause of why they feel that they just have to have something that they really shouldn’t. I also know that sometimes having a healthy, tasty alternative on hand can work wonders in curbing an urgent appetite.
Gotta have it...
Coffee - why do I feel like I need it? Your coffee habit is the result adrenal fatigue. Your body is lacking cortisol and desperately desires a boost to get you through the day.What’s the alternative?You don’t need to go cold turkey, a step down method will be much more effective and long-lasting. Try a yerba mate tea instead. This will still provide the caffeine you crave, but most women find it has less of the unpleasant side effects associated with coffee, like the anxiety and jitters. Transition after a few weeks to kukicha tea, which has a nutty, non-herbal flavor profile as it’s made from roasting the twigs that grow right below tea leaves. Kukicha still contains some caffeine, but not enough to negatively impact your health. Mixing kukicha with Oatstraw and Holy Basil tea will help support your adrenals and bring them back in balance.Chocolate - why do I have to have it NOW?Your fixation on chocolate comes down to one of two health issues - a magnesiumdeficiency or an overgrowth of bad bacteria and yeast in your gut, which makes you crave sugar. If this craving really gets you when your pre-menstrual, start taking magnesium supplements daily.What’s the alternative?The GREAT news here is that chocolate is a superfood and I eat a little chocolate most days myself, BUT it’s all about what kind of chocolate you have. Chocolate with dairy and sugar is a no-go, but good quality, organic, dark chocolate with minimal or, even better, no sugar or dairy at all is not only a great alternative, but actually good for you. Try my favorite brand Endangered Species.You can actually get a lot of chocolate into your diet by getting creative with raw cacao powder. Add that to smoothies, sprinkle on fruit salad, or try out this recipe for delicious Chocolate Buckwheat Pancakes.Tweetable: Chocolate is good for my PMSPasta - why do I dream about it?When only white carbs will do - be that a big pile of spaghetti or a loaf of white bread - typically it’s blood sugar instability and vitamin B deficiency that’s the problem behind-the-scenes. Your hormones are finding it hard to help you gage real hunger pangs and forcing you into a frenzy. Often a routine of eating very little or sporadically during the day leads to a huge white carb-heavy dinner.What’s the alternative?Instead of feeling like you need to eliminate this food group altogether, it’s better to incorporate healthy carbs into your daily meals. That’s oatmeal for breakfast, buckwheat at lunch, quinoa for dinner - these will all fill you up quicker than white bread and white pasta, keep your blood sugar stable, boost B vitamin stores, plus they will curb the cravings. Eating well and regularly will also help you avoid that end of day crash and the resulting carbo-load. Soda - what’s my problem?Your taste for soda is springing from dehydration. The salt (yes, salt!) in soda makes you crave it all the more. That addictive sweet/salty profile pushes you to need more liquid to quench the thirst it itself has caused, and so you drink yet more soda. Clever, right?What’s the alternative?Increasing electrolytes is the best way to combat dehydration. Coconut water has a similarly sweet taste to soda, as well as that appealing salty twang. But it’s also hydrating and will heal the damage done to your body by a soda habit. Then there’s always carbonated water with a little fruit juice mixed in.If you find you’re craving saltiness in general try swapping out the table salt and sea salt in your pantry for the nutrient-rich Himalayan pink salt (now in most supermarkets) to satisfy that need.Steak - what’s the reason?If this is an overwhelming urge you likely have an iron deficiency. By all means, have some steak when you’re in your pre-menstrual or luteal phase! I’d prefer you to have bison or lamb organic/grassfed in this situation rather than a greasy diner burger. If you don’t like or want to eat red meat, or if you just can’t seem to get enough ever, then you might need to supplement your diet to up those iron levels.What’s the alternative?Take liquid chlorophyll. It’s only one molecule different from hemoglobin and instead of iron has magnesium at its center, which is essential for alleviating symptoms of hormonal imbalance. It’s a much better healer of anemia than iron supplements (or steak!) for women.Good things come in threes:
Now, I want to hear from you!
First: Tell me what you are craving! If it's not mentioned here, I'll cover it next time. Second: We can #cutcravings together! What do you reach for instead of the cookie jar? Third: You know every one you know is hormonal – spread a little good ovary karma and share this article on social by clicking the buttons below
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