Did you know your menstrual cycle runs on a finely tuned balance of hormones? When factors, such as stress, poor gut health, or low nutrient levels are introduced, that balance can shift. Sometimes it creeps up slowly, other times it hits all at once, and suddenly the days leading up to your period feel like a rollercoaster of physical, mental, and emotional symptoms, known as premenstrual syndrome (PMS).¹

These symptoms can take their toll; they're a lot to handle. On top of this, women's bodies become more sensitive to the stress hormone, cortisol, around the same time PMS occurs, which can amplify mental and emotional symptoms, adding an extra layer of challenge when you least need it!^2-4 Thankfully, natural solutions can help you leave PMS in the past. This article explains how key ingredients in PMS Ease can make it easier to help you feel your best naturally. 

Ruth: PMS happens during the 7–14 days between ovulation and your period, known as the luteal phase. During this time, your hormones naturally rise and fall, and it’s when the biggest shifts occur. For some women, factors like chronic stress, poor gut health, or low nutrient levels can increase inflammation. When this overlaps with those hormonal changes, PMS symptoms, like mood swings, breast tenderness, and reduced emotional resilience, can feel a whole lot stronger.

Ruth: Stress can change the “tune” of your hormones, disrupting the normal signals that travel between the brain and the ovaries. Here’s how it might play out:

• Prolactin hormone: Stress can make prolactin hormone levels rise. Too much prolactin can block ovulation, leading to bloating, sore breasts, and water retention.
• Progesterone hormone: Stress can disrupt the regularity of your cycle. If your cycle isn’t consistently around 28–30 days, it can affect your progesterone levels—hormones that help regulate sleep, mood and fluid balance. When progesterone is low, you’re more likely to feel cranky, tired and bloated.
• Thyroid hormone: Stress can also affect thyroid function, your body’s master regulator for energy and hormone balance. When the thyroid becomes sluggish, it can intensify PMS symptoms.

Ruth: A few simple things can help ease PMS, including:

• Sleeping well, because your body re-tunes itself at night.
• Eating nutritious meals regularly, which fuels hormone balance.
• Aiming for 30 minutes of exercise 3–5 times a week to support PMS.
  
• Managing stress, which means saying no sometimes, not just doing more yoga.
• Working with a qualified healthcare practitioner for a personalised plan.
• Taking high-quality supplements, such as vitex, vitamin B6, zinc, ginger, vitamin E, and Ashwagandha, depending on your body’s unique hormonal patterns, to help ease PMS.

Thanks so much for sharing, Ruth!

Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s take a closer look at some of the hormonal imbalances behind PMS, and what you can do to address them.

Stress can really throw hormones off track. When stress is high, your body pumps out more cortisol (the stress hormone). Too much cortisol slows down the normal release of reproductive hormones and can block ovulation, which is a key step in a healthy cycle.^2,3 Stress can also raise prolactin, a hormone that can get in the way of your ovaries ability to ovulate. Without proper ovulation, adequate progesterone production becomes a struggle.^4-6 The result? PMS symptoms can start getting in the way of your health and wellbeing.^6,7

Thankfully, certain herbs and nutrients within PMS Ease can help rebalance prolactin and progesterone. Chaste tree (Vitex agnus-castus), for example, helps lower high prolactin levels, supports ovulation, increases progesterone, and eases PMS symptoms.^8-10 In one large study, Vitex improved breast pain by nearly 40% and mood swings in over 75% of women. It also reduced disruptions to daily life by half after 3 months.⁸ Another study found that Vitex lowered prolactin, eased sore breasts, improved cycle regularity, and boosted progesterone within 3 months.⁹

So that’s the link between stress, prolactin and progesterone, but there’s still more to uncover about supporting progesterone levels and stabilising mood during PMS.

To understand why progesterone is important, it helps to know how your body makes it. Progesterone is produced in the ovary by a small gland called the corpus luteum, which forms after ovulation and acts like a mini hormone factory. Your progesterone levels peak about seven days after ovulation and play a key role in supporting mood, sleep, and fluid balance.

However, if your corpus luteum isn’t properly nourished with nutrients and healthy blood flow, it may struggle to produce enough progesterone. This can cause your levels to drop too soon, before your body reaches the peak progesterone it needs for overall balance.^6,10  When this happens, low progesterone levels can contribute to irritability, anxiety, fatigue, breast tenderness, bloating, headaches, and poor sleep during the luteal phase.⁶

To support healthy progesterone levels, ingredients in PMS Ease have been shown to help reduce PMS symptoms, including:

• Vitamin E, helps protect ovarian cells and boosts progesterone levels by enhancing blood flow to the corpus luteum.¹¹
• Ginger 500 mg daily a week before your period has been shown to reduce PMS symptoms, including mood swings and physical discomfort by 50-60%.¹²

PMS Ease also contains vitamin B6 and zinc can help support mood, shown to:

• Support 'feel-good' brain chemicals like GABA, serotonin, and dopamine.¹³ 
• Reduce physical and mental PMS symptoms, as explained in detail within this article.¹⁴

Together, this combination is designed to support hormonal balance and help reduce symptoms and disrupt your daily life.

Your thyroid hormones help control your body’s energy and help produce all your other hormones. When the thyroid isn't working efficiently, it can worsen PMS. Nutrients within PMS Ease also support thyroid health, including iodine, selenium, and zinc.^16-18 It also provides Ashwagandha (Withania), a herbal extract that can help the body cope with stress while also supporting healthy thyroid function, shown to help:

• Maintain healthy thyroid hormone levels over 8 weeks.¹⁹
• Help people feel more energised, think clearly, sleep better, and handle stress more effectively in just 30 days ²⁰

Tip: While these ingredients can help support healthy hormonal balance. Always chat to your doctor about concerns regarding thyroid health.

Looking for a little extra support? Our Women’s Health Range has some great options that may help you feel more balanced.