Therapeutic measures to ease premenstrual hormonal upheaval

Hey girls! Do you wonder why when our menstrual period is approaching, we become moody and unconsciously overindulge in food? Research shows that 98 percent of women get food craving a week before menstruation because of progesterone increase. Progesterone is a calming hormone. Just before our period, our body signals its need for an alternative source of calming to our brain. High sugary foods are commonly eaten to act as a substitute for this phenomenon. For most, the craving becomes great and food intake increases. Some tends to eat more sweets, more sugar and large amount of creams. For me, I can’t resist the temptation to eat ice cream at Swensen and chips! Oh no, chips are high in fat and sodium. It’s the reason why I’m gaining weight (again!)

Next time, we crave for food, here are some wise options: fruits, vegetables, fruit juices and whole grains.

I read from Health and Home some possible therapeutic measures we can do to help ease premenstrual hormonal upheaval and food craving:

1. Eat a good healthy diet high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. The best sources: fruits and vegetables.

2. Do regular exercise. Exercise done in the morning, sunlight can improve the body’s ability to produce endorphine and serotonin-our happy hormones!
It’s been awhile that I haven’t exercise..tsk..tsk…and it’s been raining so hard this week that I haven’t seen the sunlightL

3. Have enough sleep. Lack of sleep can add stress to our system and worsen our mood swings. Thanks God, this month we don’t yet have internet connection (we just moved) and I enjoy sleeping early. I hope when we’ll have the internet connection again, I would wisely manage my sleeping time.

4. Avoid alcohol and caffeinated drinks and foods. These tend to make all the symptoms worse. Oh no! I couldn’t resist my Birdy Super creamy coffee in the morning!

my Birdy Super Creamy coffee

5. Ease from negative emotions such as fear, hatred, anger, and self-pity. On the other hand, positive attitude adds more happiness and contentment in life.

Veggies on our table

I could live in a week with only vegetables serve on meals-neither meat nor fish. It’s the same thing with hubby. Maybe we’re aspiring to be vegetarians? LOL! I love vegetables! Our parents inculcated on us the importance of vegetables. They are the sources of calcium, riboflavin and iron. When a good variety of veggies is eaten in generous amount each day, the bodies’ nutritional needs will be abundantly met.

Many of the veggies can be cooked in a very simple manner like baking in whole and boiling. To keep veggies from looking monotonous, include yellow or orange ones.

Here are ways to get the most benefits from vegetables:

• Serve raw vegetables like lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, carrots and turnips as often as possible.

Here in Thailand’s restaurant (carenderia), it’s very common to find raw veggies like beans, cucumber, small eggplants, aubergine and other veggies that I haven’t tried yet coz we didn’t use to eat them in the Philippines on tables for free. They are usually served with shrimp paste.

• Cook vegetable fresh from your garden. If it is not possible, chose those that are fresh. Veggies deteriorate fast in nutrients and palatability. Grilled or overcooked veggies lose most of their ascorbic acid content.

I missed picking up fresh camote tops from our garden…oppps..from our neighbors’ garden actually in our previous place…he..he…

• Cook vegetables whole or in large pieces ( I usually do this in boiling or if I add-on veggies in soup). More nutrients are retained when less surface area is exposed.

• Steam vegetables quickly or boil in as little water as possible. Add veggies to boiling water. Reduce heat when boiling resumes.

• Never use baking soda. It destroys vitamins.


• Serve vegetables immediately.

No internet connection yet

All my remaining energy were exhausted after I gave the announcement of winners yesterday. I just wanted to keep my promise to you that I will announce the winners on the 10th of November. Now that my contest concluded, all my energy to blog was temporarily drained. It's hard to blog in school you know. After lunch break, I have to go to the other building , climb the 5th storey building where the school's internet room is found, surf the internet for an hour- the most time I could spare, get downstairs and be back to the teacher's office to prepare for the afternoon's class.

I called TOT yesterday to follow-up our telephone and internet connection. They asked us to wait for another 3 days! Okay, what can I do? I just have to wait....Anyway, I'm enjoying my life being temporarily disconnected to the blogosphere though I miss my friends in here and joining interesting memes- Girls Talk, Couples Corner, Mommy Moments and more! I simply enjoy the life I used to be without the internet. I hope to back here in blogosphere as soon as possible.

My Tasty Exploration was stopped abruptly...

We moved to a new apartment last Saturday. I haven't yet settled in our new place and maybe it will take me a month to unpack and arrange everything. We already started our class today and it seems that I'm cramming with my lessons..Waaahhhhh....but thanks be to God that I'm doing fine this morning in my class - workbooks were already distributed in each class and during the review my learners remembered the past vocabularies they've learned and the songs that I've taught them.

It may take a week before I'll be connected to internet again. So just please bear with me this time. This is the reason why I can't visit you back nor reply to your comments. I couldn't join memes too. I appreciate your visit here, your sweet messages and comments. Thank you so much.

About the contest, it will difinitely end on the 5th of November and I hope we'll have internet connection again ASAP so that I could announce the winnners on the 10th. Thank you for supporting my first contest.