Well, have a look through the check list:

Are you:

1)    A woman who has not gone through menopause.

2)  Struggling more with your skin at certain times of the month – particularly the week before your period?

3)  Do you have other Pre Menstrual symptoms such as sweet cravings, water retention, anxiety or depression?

There are two major hormones involved in the Menstrual cycle.  Progesterone and Oestrogen.  During the first half of the menstrual cycle oestrogen stimulates the working of the central nervous system.  As it declines during the second half, it can cause irritability and depression, chemical instability and a multitude of other PMS symptoms.  Usually progesterone levels increase enormously as the oestrogen decreases.  Progesterone has exactly the opposite effect – promoting a well being feeling, and a good chemical balance within the body.  As the levels of progesterone naturally decline the menses begin.  

If oestrogen levels are too high -  or progesterone levels too low, then the following symptoms may occur : water retention and bloatedness, breast swelling, PMS mood swings and depression, Loss of libido, Heavy or irregular menses Uterine fibroids, Cravings for sweets, Weight gain, aggravated skin problems.

Good levels of Progesterone act as a natural anti-depressant, restoring libido, normalizing blood sugar, facilitating thyroid hormone, serving as a natural diuretic, restoring proper cell oxygen levels, helping use fat as fuel and normalizing zinc and copper levels.  Good zinc and copper levels are also essential for healthy skin.

Imbalances in these two hormones can severely aggravate any skin disorder you may be prone too. 

By looking at what you eat.  Changing your diet can have a substantial effect on your hormone levels, PMS symptoms and Eczema.

The following Hormones And Eczema - Diet Tips will help control the oestrogen/progesterone balance to help with PMS symptoms and Eczema.

 1)     Increase fibre rich foods, such as whole grains,  legumes, root and leafy vegetables, fresh fruits, nuts and seeds.

2)   Reduce meat consumption to 2-3 portion per week.  Vegetarians have far less problems with PMS and related skin disorders.

3)   Take probiotics - Lactobacillus acidophilus helps metabolise oestrogen in the bowel.

4)   Eat organically produced foods -  pesticides can adversely affect hormone balances, as can meat from animals that may have been treated with hormones.

 5)   Soy is a good source of phytoestogens – plant derived that reduce the need for the body to make its own oestrogen.

6)  Increase intake of omega 6 fatty acids (from seeds such as sunflower and sesame, and soy) and omega 3 (from cold water fish and pumpkin seeds).

It’s important to understand how important it is to have the right balance for our chemical messengers too.  These are known as Prostaglandins (modified forms of unsaturated fatty acids).

If there is a disturbance in  prostaglandins it can affect the function of these two hormones, and have a huge impact on our skin.  The truth is a huge percentage of people labelled Atopic are struggling with a deficiency in DGLA (an unsaturated omega-6 acid).   The same deficiency that can cause tremendous problems with the oestrogen and progesterone balance because the messages in the body are all out of time with each other – or simply not functioning correctly.

Increasing your intake of essential fatty acids such as Omega-3 and Omega-6 will improve the chances of your body making sufficient DGLA to help create healthy balanced messengers.   Increasing cold water fish in the diet or taking supplements can help do this.

Studies have shown that supplementing the diet with omega-3 and omega-6 can reduce dry skin and itchiness by up to 43%.

Start changing your Eczema today.