Dietary Calcium and Vitamin D Might Prevent PMS

Possible Cut in Risk of Premenstrual Syndrome Marks Another Good Reason to Eat Right
By Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Health News

Now there's yet another reason for women to get plenty of calcium and vitamin D. The bone-building nutrients may prevent PMS.

PMS -- premenstrual syndrome PMS -- premenstrual syndrome -- is a collection of symptoms that come between ovulation and a woman's menstrual period. Symptoms include depression, irritability, fatigue, abdominal cramps, breast tenderness, and headaches. To qualify as PMS, the symptoms must be severe enough to interfere with normal life activities.

There are various ways to treat PMS, but no way to prevent it. Now a strong clue comes from University of Massachusetts researcher Elizabeth R. Bertone-Johnson, ScD, and her Harvard University colleagues. The researchers analyzed data collected over 10 years from nurses 27-44 years old participating in a long-term health study -- including more than 1,000 women with PMS.

"We found women with high intakes of both calcium and vitamin D did have significantly reduced PMS risk," Bertone-Johnson tells WebMD. "Those who ate about four servings a day of low-fat dairy or yogurt or fortified orange juice had a 40% lower risk of PMS than those who did not. That is about 1,200 milligrams of calcium or 400 international units (IU) of vitamin D each day."