The Good, Bad & Ugly of Fats And PMS Symptoms

A diet high in the wrong kinds of fats, in particularly saturated fat and trans-fatty acids (hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats) are not only dangerous for heart health but have also been shown in several studies to be a major factor in the increase of PMS symptoms.

The saturated fat and cholesterol in meat and fatty dairy products tend to raise blood levels of all sex hormones, in particular estrogen, adversely affecting symptoms of PMS. A high level of fat intake not only contributes to an increase in total cholesterol and LDL, the bad cholesterol, these bad fats are the precursor to the pain hormone prostaglandin.

Prostaglandins are known to increase inflammation in the body as well as menstrual cramps and pain. Another important reason to avoid saturated and trans-fats, recent studies have confirmed correlations between high fat intakes with breast, ovarian and cervical cancer.

Read all labels of packaged foods, avoid any food that contains hydrogenated oils or partially hydrogenated oils.

Good Fats and Essential Fats

Yes, there are good fats, we need the right fats in order to build strong cell walls and to absorb the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E & K. Brain cells and the nervous system require the right fats for optimal function. Pregnant mothers as well as babies need  essential fatty acids for proper brain development. Our bodies can not synthesize these fatty acids so we need to get them from our diet. The essential fatty acids are know as the omega 3's and omega 6's. It is the omega 3's that the modern western diet is extremely short of and the ones we will be focusing on in The Cycle Diet.

It has been postulated that humans evolved on a diet lower in saturated fats and higher in the omega 3 fatty acids than is consumed today. (Crawford, 1992) Early humans either lived by the oceans and subsisted primarily on fish or, if they lived inland, they consumed large quantities of green plants high in omega-3s.

Omega-3 deficiency is associated with reduced learning, impaired vision, reproductive failure, polydipsia, with increasing evidence pointing to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (Stevens et al., 1995)

The good fats included in The Cycle Diet are:

Fatty fish with high omega-3 fatty-acids EPA and DHA include:

Anchovy
Bluefish
Catfish
Flounder
Haddock
Herring
Lobster
Mackerel
Salmon
Sardines
Shrimp
Trout
Tuna

Primrose oil is also another good source of essential fatty-acids- ALA which needs to be converted in the body to DHA like flax seed oil, however primrose oil is very expensive compared to other highly available foods and oils, so will not be recommended.

For more reliable information on Omega 3's and fatty acids hit the following link:

Linus Pauling Institute, micronutrients:

http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/othernuts/omega3fa/

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