The best treatment for women suffering from PMS may be as close as their refrigerator.
A recent Agriculture Department study supports earlier findings that calcium - available in milk, yogurt and cheese - appears to help women deal with the stress and anxiety that can be symptoms of premenstrual syndrome.Although only 10 women participated in the 51/2-month USDA study, nine told nutritional experts they were in a better mood before and during their menstrual periods while on a diet that included 1,300 milligrams of calcium daily.
The average woman consumes about 600 milligrams, or about two cups of skim milk, researchers say.
An 8-ounce container of plain, low-fat yogurt has 450 milligrams of calcium, while a cup of skim milk has 302 milligrams of calcium. There's also significant calcium in a number of vegetables, including 205 milligrams in one medium spear of broccoli and 245 milligrams in a cup of raw spinach.
The findings in the USDA study correspond with research done by Dr. C. James Choung, director of the PMS program at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Choung's research found that women who suffer the most from PMS have low calcium levels in their blood.
"It is an interesting finding because we actually look at the calcium levels in PMS and we did find there is decreased calcium during the time of PMS," Choung said.
The women in the USDA study weren't debilitated by PMS, but they said they usually experienced some degree of the symptoms associated with the condition: tearfulness, loneliness, anxiety, restlessness, irritability, depression and tension before and during menstrual flow.