Have you heard of premenstrual asthma, also called PMA. Up to 40% of asthmatic women have PMA. Guess what, I was one of them. Women are twice as likely as men to suffer from asthma. But how do our hormones impact our lung health to the point of causing asthma issues during a women’s menstrual cycle? Let’s dive in.

Asthma is an inflammatory condition of the airway. You may have it or know of someone who has it. Many asthma sufferers are on medication. Some are on steroid inhalers which helps lower the inflammation. Others are on bronchodilators like albuterol. But how many are addressing nutrition, lifestyle factors and hormone imbalances that may contribute to their asthma symptoms.

The Menstrual Cycle

Key hormones like luteinizing hormone (LH), follicular-stimulating hormone (FSH), estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone fluctuate throughout a women’s menstrual life from the first menstruation to menopause. These levels also vary every month depending on lifestyle factors.

The first day of bleeding is considered day 1 of the menstrual cycle. Some women bleed for 3 days others 5 or even 8. It is truly person to person dependent.

Estrogen levels are high in the follicular phase and lower in the luteal phase. Progesterone levels are high in the luteal phase and low in the follicular phase.

Every month the significant drop in estrogen but mostly progesterone level triggers the next bleeding event. This drop in progesterone and estrogen causes inflammatory cells called mast cells and eosinophils in the uterus and lungs to go wild and causing those awful PMS symptoms.

Testosterone is the master stabilizer. It is a great anti-inflammatory hormone to have on board for both men and women.

Studies show that asthma symptoms worse in the pre-ovulation phase in almost 30% of women. In pregnancy, 1/3 of women will have worsening symptoms and symptoms improve in the last month of pregnancy. Menopausal women should be happy. There is no high or low of hormones and that helps with preventing asthma symptoms.

Menstruation increases hyper activity of the cells lining the lungs and nose where some women have more histamine reaction. Think of this as if you monthly bleeding was a peanut allergy that your body has to fight and you are not reaching for the over the counter Zyrtec to help it out.

Wholistic hormone support for premenstrual asthma

• Increase estrogen
• Increase progesterone
• Increase testosterone
• Decrease inflammation

Increase estrogen

If we increase estrogen levels enough to prevent the eosinophils and mast cells to cause inflammation we are going to better support women with PMA.

Here are some ways to increase estrogen:

Increase healthy fat intake. Our hormones are made from cholesterol. A healthy amount of avocados, olive oil, or fatty fish is a great place to start.

Herbs/Nutrients: Maca root, flax seeds, vitamin E and magnesium are great for hormone support.

Birth Control: while I am not a fan of birth control since I believe women have so many other ways to not only prevent pregnancy but also bad PMS, I know birth control is for so many women the last resort.

Increase progesterone

Mind your stress ladies, stress blocks ovulation and without ovulation you are not making progesterone.

Herbs/nutrients: herbs like vitex aka chaste tree, Vitamin B6 and vitamin C can further support progesterone production.

Hormone replacement: yes you can do birth control but you can also consider bio identical hormone replacement therapy. Talk to your doctor about the best option for your body’s needs.

Increase testosterone

Sleep, weight training, decreasing alcohol and marijuana intake, keeping a whole food anti-inflammatory diet are all steps you can start taking today.

Herbs like maca, ashwaganda, fenugreek and nutrients like zinc, vitamin D or hormones like DHEA and testosterone can help support hormone production.

Decrease inflammation

Menstruation is an inflammatory process. Women experience pelvic pain, PMS, headaches, cramps, mood changes etc. How many consider decreasing their overall body inflammation. Especially the week leading to your period.

Eliminate:

The common offenders like alcohol, sugar, dairy, gluten, corn, processed foods, coffee, inflammatory fats (vegetable oil), margarine. Mind the toxins in your foods and beauty products and feminine hygiene products.

Add in:

Organic veggies and fruits. Don’t shy away from healthy fats in flax seeds, nuts, pecans, pistachios, pumpkin, sesame and sunflower seeds and avocado and olive oil. Eat quality protein, wild-caught fish. Low iron causes anemia meaning less oxygen for your lungs. Support with iron if need be. Stick to herbal, non-caffeinated teas like ginger, turmeric, dandelion or raspberry leaf tea to support your liver and decrease inflammation.

I understand raw organic food and veggies are expensive. Consider frozen which are just as delicious. Or like me, only buy organic for foods that have been shown to have the highest toxin loads. Check out the environmental working group page for the dirty dozen(food you should buy organic) and clean 15, foods that are ok not buying organic.

Testing

Testing for hormones is complex. You have to work with someone who truly understands the intricacies of managing women’s health and understand that hormones don’t work independently of each other. If there are imbalances in your sex hormones, there are likely imbalances in your adrenal and thyroid hormones as well.

Testing for estrogen specifically is best done around day 3 or 4 of your cycle. For progesterone day 18-21 of the cycle is best, or as we say 5 days after ovulation.

Luckily men can get their hormones tested at anytime.

What do we run: FSH, LH, estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, SHBG(steroid hormone binding globulin), prolactin are just a few basic labs to run for both men and women.

However if you are struggling with hormone imbalances you must ask you provider to also check your thyroid and adrenal health as well. With asthma causing inflammation, looking at inflammatory markers like IgE, eosinophils and C-reactive protein are values your doc can check too.

Talk to us about supporting your hormones

Integrative medicine is the future of health. Our health and wellness providers can ensure that no questions about hormones go unanswered. Click here to discuss with a provider about taking charge your hormone and lung health. Don’t guess…test. Before you send money on anything you read on the blog today talk to your doctor to make sure it is what your body needs to thrive.