While premenstrual syndrome manifests in various ways—from emotional symptoms like mood swings to physical symptoms like headache and fatigue—the biochemistry behind it is pretty simple. “PMS occurs when, for whatever reason, estrogen rises higher then progesterone,” says Michael Biamonte, owner of the Biamonte Center for Clinical Nutrition, in Astoria. “Therefore any nutrient that would enhance progesterone or cause a reduction in estrogen would reduce PMS symptoms.”

He notes that zinc and magnesium aid in regulating the imbalances that lead to PMS symptoms, and that vitamin B6 helps those minerals work but also has its own, separate benefits. “Vitamin B6 has natural diuretic properties that help relieve that swelling and water retention that occurs with PMS,” he says.

Bio-identical progesterone skin creams derived from the Mexican wild yam are often used to reduce PMS symptoms, Biamonte says. Any nutritional supplement that facilitates proper thyroid function can ease symptoms too, as the thyroid helps regulate progesterone-estrogen balance.

Anti-inflammatories can offer a temporary fix, but they’re not a solution to the problem, he notes. “PMS is essentially an inflammatory state. Therefore, anything that acts as an anti-inflammatory will also help reduce symptoms. But the closer we get to addressing the real cause, the better and the easier the results will be.”

Chronic PMS requiring a trip to the doctor needs more than symptomatic treatment, Biamonte says. “In this case, the patient must get a full battery of hormone and nutrition testing to see the state of the hormones and to see if she lacks the nutrients to balance and control the hormones.”

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