Study, 2004
Does what you eat affect your period symptoms?
Yes. Women with and without period symptoms had different diets, and certain nutrients were linked to having fewer premenstrual symptoms.
What they did
Researchers asked 38 women to keep a diary for 50 days where they recorded their symptoms and everything they ate. The researchers looked for patterns in who had PMS, who had symptoms that got worse around their period, and who had few symptoms.
What they found
26 women showed clear symptom patterns: 8 had PMS, 3 had symptoms that worsened before their period, and 15 had few symptoms. Women in different symptom groups ate different amounts of protein, vitamins, and minerals. Amino acids, vitamins B6 and E, and niacin were negatively related to PMS symptoms.
What it means for you
Diet may play a role in period symptoms. These findings suggest certain nutrients might help reduce PMS symptoms. The main limitations are the small sample size and that the study looked at only one group, so the results may not apply to all women. A larger study would help confirm these findings.
38
women in the study
26
with clearly defined symptom patterns
50
days of tracking symptoms and food
About the study
- Original title
- Patterns of Perimenstrual Symptoms and Related Dietary Factors to Premenstrual Syndromes
- Authors
- Hae-Won Kim
- Journal
- Korean journal of women health nursing/Yeoseong geon'gang ganho hag'hoeji/Yeoseong geon-gang ganho hakoeji
- Year
- 2004
- Study design
- Study
- Participants
- 38
- What was tested
- None; this was an observational study of symptoms and diet
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.4069/kjwhn.2004.10.2.162
Topics
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