I wanted to just mention another item or two from the UCSF “Controversies in Women’s Health” Conference last week. For patients with PMDD, after the basic recommendations of decreasing salt, caffeine, sugar, sodium and alcohol, and increasing water, fresh fruit, and whole grains, getting exercise and reducing stress, (shouldn’t we all?) they recommend Calcium supplementation. They found in a large multicenter study that 600mg twice a day, the equivalent of 2 “Tums” a day for three cycles improved symptoms in 55% of women by greater than 50%. Calcium relieved both emotional and physical symptoms. I’m glad to have something non-hormonal as an adjunct to herbs and acupuncture to offer patients with this difficult condition.
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