Decoding PMS: What Your Symptoms Are Actually Telling You About Your Hormones!!
To my girlies out there...we’ve all been there, one week you’re feeling confident, calm, and on top of your routine, and the next, you’re bloated, crying at dog videos and wondering if your friends and family really love you.
PMS has a way of throwing us off our rhythm, but the truth is that your body isn’t trying to work against you, it’s talking to you.
You know I love a good gut-brain axis and hormone connection, so saddle up my friends. This is all about understanding what those pre-period symptoms may actually mean and how we can start supporting our hormones, and thus our minds during those PMS moments, naturally.
So, What’s Actually Going On?
PMS, or premenstrual syndrome, happens during the luteal phase of your cycle, right after ovulation. During this time, estrogen and progesterone rise and then drop sharply before your period starts. That hormonal rollercoaster influences everything... your mood, your appetite, your energy, and your sleep.
From reading other things online, a great metaphor I found was to think of your body and hormones like an orchestra. When one instrument, or hormone, is out of tune, you feel it. Personally I was always the out of tune instrument in my 6th grade band... I don't want to talk about it.
Estrogen, when balanced, supports serotonin and makes you feel focused and upbeat. Progesterone is your calming, grounding hormone, but when it’s too low or drops suddenly, anxiety, restlessness, and poor sleep can sneak in. Add stress, or cortisol, to the mix, and things get messy fast.
Your PMS Symptoms Are Clues, Not Curses
Let's try to decode some of our common symptoms!
Cravings & Energy Crashes
If you’re constantly reaching for sugar or carbs, that’s your blood sugar talking. Progesterone naturally increases appetite, and when you combine that with energy dips, it’s easy to crave a quick fix. A recent clinical study found that adding more protein, calcium, and zinc helped ease mood swings and energy crashes in women with PMS (Mataracı-Değirmenci & Erbil, 2025). Try pairing your carbs with protein and fiber to keep your blood sugar steady, like eggs with avocado toast!
Mood Swings & Irritability
That emotional rollercoaster might point to low progesterone or estrogen dominance, when estrogen outweighs progesterone. Research shows that certain nutrients, especially vitamin B6, calcium, and zinc, can make a real difference for PMS-related mood symptoms (Robinson et al., 2025). Focus on whole foods rich in these nutrients: eggs, milk, beef, chicken, legumes, and avocado.
Bloating & Water Retention
This one’s common, and often linked to lower magnesium and calcium levels during your cycle (Oboza et al., 2024). Snack on magnesium-rich foods like dark chocolate, spinach, avocado, and nuts.
Fatigue & Low Motivation
If you feel more tired and sluggish leading up to your period, that’s normal. Your body temperature actually rises slightly in the luteal phase, which can make sleep less restful. Support your energy by focusing on balanced meals, hydration, and slower movement like walking or yoga.
Anxiety or Trouble Sleeping
As progesterone dips, your nervous system becomes more sensitive. Combine that with stress or low blood sugar, and your sleep can take a hit. Try magnesium before bed, deep breathing, or a few minutes of prayer or journaling to ground yourself.
Supporting Your Hormones Naturally
This isn’t about restriction or chasing perfection, it’s about working with your body instead of fighting it! It is a journey that a lot of us are on everyyy month, and that's okay!
Eat for Your Cycle
Your luteal phase is the time to nourish and ground yourself. Focus on whole-food carbs, healthy fats, protein, and plenty of magnesium and B vitamins. These nutrients help your body make and metabolize hormones properly.
Manage Stress (!!!)
Chronic stress raises cortisol, which can suppress progesterone and worsen PMS symptoms!! Like we have talked about, you can't necessarily control your outside circumstances of stress, but you CAN control what you do to try to manage it. Create moments in your day to slow down, like a quiet morning, a walk in the sun, or time with Scripture. If you sit at a desk all day, go for short walks to stretch every 30 minutes, and take a few minutes to be screen free during that time. These can go a really long way and truly are a form of medicine!
(Side note: This is helps with burning that stubborn fat you feel like will never leave your body. Constant stress makes your body think its in fight or flight, holding onto all the fat in case you truly are in emergency and cannot eat. Undoing this will dramatically help your body and mind in so many ways!)
Support Your Liver
Your liver processes excess estrogen, so our liver health is important!. Help it out with cruciferous veggies like broccoli, kale, and cauliflower, along with hydration and consistent movement. These veggies help create detoxifying enzymes, and more specifically IC3 and DIM which help break down extra estrogen.
Move with Intention
During the luteal phase, your body isn’t meant to go all-out. Swap HIIT for yoga, walking, or light strength training. Honor your body’s energy and rhythm, it’s doing more than you realize. For more information on cycle syncing workouts, check out my other blog posts!
Let's start rethinking what we were taught in grade school...So many of us were taught that all these horrible PMS symptoms are just normal and uncontrollable. Let's change that narrative together as we nourish our bodies, minds and spirits together.
References
Mataracı-Değirmenci, D., & Erbil, N. (2025). The effect of nutrition education on premenstrual syndrome: Randomized controlled study. Nutrition & Health. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41004653/
Robinson, J., Ferreira, A., Iacovou, M., & Kellow, N. (2025). Effect of nutritional interventions on the psychological symptoms of premenstrual syndrome in women of reproductive age: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Nutrition Reviews, 83(2), 280–296. https://academic.oup.com/nutritionreviews/article/83/2/280/7659847
Oboza, P., et al. (2024). Relationships between Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) and Diet Composition, Dietary Patterns and Eating Behaviors. Nutrients, 16(12), 1911. https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/16/12/1911
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