PMT relief
I have two daughters, aged 14 and 16, who both suffer from PMT for a week each month when they have their periods. They both get very moody and headachy and I pity my poor husband sharing the house with three irritable females. Do you have an effective solution?
Although lots of women take vitamin B6 to help alleviate the very worst symptoms of premenstrual tension, I prefer the herbal remedy agnus castus or chaste berry and would suggest you supplement your daughters’ diets with calcium too.
This mineral has been shown to help reduce all the symptoms your daughters experience and is often lacking in the diet of teenage girls, especially if they are weight-watching too.
In trials at the Columbia University medical centre, some 500 women took 300mg of calcium (in the form carbonate) four times a day and reported a significant relief in mood swings, bloating, depression, headaches and food cravings. This supplement will have the added advantage of building and maintaining strong bone density that will benefit your daughters in later life.
Agnus castus has been shown to help alleviate premenstrual symptoms, including breast tenderness, in around 90% of those taking part in trials. Agnolyt (£24.95 for 100ml) is a liquid tincture standardised to provide the equivalent of 45mg of agnus castus per 10 drops. Take 10 drops in the morning and 10 again at night. If you buy capsules, take 100mg a day from Lamberts. Solgar’s Calcium carbonate costs £6.39 for 60 x 600mg tablets. Take two a day. Mail order from the Nutri Centre on 0800-587 2290.