Women can dramatically reduce symptoms of premenstrual syndrome by taking calcium-based antacid tablets, according to a new study.
Conducted by researchers at St. Lukes-Roosevelt Hospital Center, the study of 497 women showed that daily 1,200-milligram doses of calcium slashed the symptoms by 54 percent.The study backs up several smaller ones that found a link between calcium deficiencies and PMS. The results of the study, sponsored in part by SmithKline Beecham Consumer Healthcare, which makes the calcium-based over-the-counter antacid Tums, are to be published this week in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
The earlier studies were so small that many scientists were skeptical, said nutritionist Connie M. Weaver of Purdue University, a nationally recognized expert on calcium issues. "This one, they did it right," she said.
PMS symptoms include bloating, pain, irritability, food cravings, malaise, migraines and mood swings. It affects millions of women of childbearing age - as many as 40 percent.