PMS

On this beautiful Palm Sunday morning in Columbus I have decided to write about a not-so-beautiful topic; PMS. While men may not think this is an issue that they have to deal with, I'd beg to differ. I've lived with my boyfriend, Nick, for two years now and I'm sure if you asked he would say it effects him just as much as it effects me. Bad moods seem to be contagious, and my number one symptom during PMS is moodiness (sorry Nick).

Other symptoms: bloating, anxiety, slight depression, acne

The good foods for PMS include calcium (the soymilk represents calcium, but other great calcium sources are yogurt and low fat cheese), vitamin E and magnesium (the almond butter represents this, because almonds are high in both vitamin E and magnesium. Other great sources are nuts and spinach), and low sodium (you can barely see it, but the last object on the left side of the picture is garlic powder, which represents substituting your salt with another spice).

The bad foods/drinks are on the right. Basically salt is my (and probably most women's) worst enemy during PMS. Why? Salt causes us to become bloated. During PMS our bodies are more susceptible to bloating, therefore high amounts of salt will just make the bloating worse. Another problem for me (and probably most women) is beer! Personally, beer causes me to become more bloated, more gassy, and I even think it has a negative effect on my mood. I try to stay away from beer completely (just during those 3-5 days...) I actually really enjoy a good beer, but that's for another day.

Last night was my dad's birthday. What did he want for dinner? Italian! Both my grandma and grandpa were Italian, therefore I basically grew up eating lasagna, gnocchi, and wedding soup. Of course when a women is PMSing, eating out is probably not the best idea. Why? Most restaurants like to pile on the sodium. When I heard that my dad wanted Italian I had another problem on my hand, CARBOHYDRATES! For me, and most women, carbohydrates are also a contributor to the bloated feeling we often have. The picture to the right is my selection from last night's high carbohydrate (pasta and bread) and high sodium (sauce, sausage, high fat and processed cheese) menu. I focused on healthy oils, cooked vegetables, and protein. The picture isn't the greatest, but I have vegetables, mussels, calamari (not fried), shrimp and salmon. I didn't have any bread or pasta, and I assure you I was quite satisfied. Yum!