Irritability That Comes With Your Period - Why PMS Turns To Rage

Severe anger, rage, irritation that varies with a cycle consistently obviously has hormonal roots. It is well known that estrogen dominant women under long-term treatment with synthetic drug contraceptives experience side effects causing loss of zinc and retention of copper. Both copper and zinc act as coenzymes manufacturing neurotransmitters in the brain. The effects of an imbalance of copper and zinc can include mood swings and making handling stress difficult. Chronic copper excess can cause psychotic episodes. Dr. Lee believes that this imbalance first identified by Dr. Ellen Grant is what can cause severe rage and anger.

What Does This Imbalance Lead To?

Symptoms of excess copper include anxiety, depression, mood swings, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, achy joints, muscle pain, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and insomnia. Severe copper toxicity can cause hallucinations, paranoid schizophrenia, and symptoms of senility.

When copper goes high, the zinc goes low. Ellen Grant M.D. thinks that high copper levels and low zinc levels are caused by estrogen dominance (too much estrogen). The high copper and low zinc correlates with the anger and rage experienced by women with severe PMS. Oral contraceptives are known to lower zinc levels and raise copper levels. Zinc deficiency can also shift levels to an end balance of essential fatty acids, which can also increase inflammation and PMS symptoms.

Zinc deficiency symptoms include a loss of sense of taste and smell, brittle or peeling fingernails, premature graying hair, hair loss, acne, fatigue, infertility, poor memory, blood sugar imbalances, and chronic infections.

How Do These Symptoms Relate To Irritability?

Enzymes are special proteins that are made by the cells in our body. Enzymes perform biochemical work of the cell turning food into energy, building important modules, destroying toxins, and making the necessary materials for life. Sometimes these enzymes need a specific vitamin or mineral cofactor. Without these cofactors, the enzyme is rendered impotent.

Copper and zinc are involved with the enzymes in the brain cells. The balance of zinc and copper is extremely important in creating the correct level of neurotransmitters in the brain. Ellen Grant, M.D. has associated high copper levels and low zinc levels with the rage associate PMS long term exposure to excessive estrogen can lead to copper and zinc imbalance. Long-term exposure to xenoestrogens raises the protein, ceruloplasmin. Ceruloplasmin binds to copper and prevents the copper from entering into brain cells for proper enzyme function. Simultaneously, excess estrogen increases copper levels in the blood and decreases zinc levels.

Blood copper levels rise; more copper is lost in sweat and air. Brain cell copper is depleted. Copper and zinc levels in the blood have an inverse relation. Thus, high copper levels deplete brain copper stores and cause reduced blood zinc levels. The imbalance of these two minerals result in the unbalanced activity of the enzymes that need them as cofactors. The patient experiences exaggerated stress reactions, serious mood swings, and depression.

Restoring Copper And Zinc Levels Is Easy!

Restoring normal copper and zinc levels is simple for me. All you need to do is to remove xenoestrogens from the environment of the patient. Then the copper levels will go down and the zinc levels will come up.

Unfortunately, blood serum levels do not accurately show the cellular levels of these minerals. If you take a sample of blood, and hold it in a test tube with an anticoagulant, the blood separates into serum on the top (watery fluid), and red blood cells on the bottom. The serum level of these minerals is different from the cellular level of these minerals. The top and the bottom of the test tube have different levels of these minerals. You must measure the copper and zinc levels in the cells, not the serum levels. Healthy cell membrane allows just the right amount of potassium, magnesium, copper, and zinc to be kept within the cell. Xenoestrogens and progestins, the unnatural hormones, mess up the action of the cell membrane. It is important to remove xenoestrogens from your environment.

Xenoestrogens - Chemicals Or Herbs That Act Like Estrogen

Xenoestrogens in concert with your estrogen act together to give you estrogen dominance (too much estrogen). Xenoestrogens are chemicals or herbs that mimic estrogen.

The herbs can be natural and organic but have estrogenic effects. For instance Bloch M.D., a pediatric endocrinologist, had three young boys with gynecomastia, otherwise known as "man boobs". He found that their parents were giving them tea tree oil and lavender. The measure that the blood levels of their own hormones and found them to be normal. So the hormones responsible for causing the gynecomastia or not coming from the boys themselves. He took away the tea tree oil and lavender. The gynecomastia disappeared within 3 to 4 months.

He then took the lavender and tea tree oil separately and put them in breast cancer cells in the test tube. These breast cancer cells were sensitive to estrogen. The breast cancer cells proliferated. This proves the lavender and the tea tree oil acted like estrogen. He then took the tea tree oil and lavender oil and put them in breast cancer cells that were sensitive to testosterone. He found that the tea tree oil and lavender oil blocked testosterone. So the lavender and tea tree oil both mimic estrogen and blocked testosterone. Even though these herbs were natural and organic they caused hormone disruption.

Xenoestrogens can also be synthetic chemicals. For instance, synthetic estrogen from brand-name synthetic oral contraceptives are estrogens that are chemically modified from the natural molecule. According to the physicians desk reference some of these synthetic estrogens and progestins can cause malignant mammary tumors in Beagle dogs. The hazards of taking synthetic estrogens are now well known and can be found in any physicians desk reference.

Synthetic Estrogens Can Do What To Me?

For instance, there are studies that indicate high exposures to certain phthalates may cause cancer and sex developmental abnormalities (decreased testosterone, decreased sperm levels, malformed sex organs, shorten pregnancy, lower sex and thyroid hormones, reduce sperm quality, shorten anogenital distance in male newborn boys). The FDA has no guidelines for phthalates since they do not believe they cause a risk to your health. However, in 2004, phthalates were banned by the European Union and children's toys. Plug-ins, sprays, or liquid or gel air fresheners are used in 75% of US households. Phthalates are used in flexible PVC plastic toys that are mouthed by infants and newborns. Even products listed as natural, unscented were found to have wide range of phthalate content. Many contain a phthalate known as DEP. DEP is found by the California EPA's office of environmental health hazard assessment as a developmental toxin and a female and male reproductive toxin. As of 2012, the EPA listed eight phthalates as appropriate subjects for developing assessment management strategy.

The key to avoiding xenoestrogens in your environment is to do the 20% effort to get the 80% effect. Anything on the skin is 10 times more potent compared to what you eat orally. The reason this is true is because anything you put on the skin goes directly to the body while anything that you eat is 90% first pass metabolized by the liver. So, it is important to pay attention to things that are topical on the skin as opposed to watching your diet. Just as nicotine patches and estrogen patches deliver nicotine and estrogen to the body, so anything that you can put topically on the skin including laundry detergent, shampoo, conditioner, lotions, cosmetics, lipstick, mascara, deodorant, toothpaste, and spermicide will all deliver chemicals and herbs into the body. Some of these chemicals and herbs mimic estrogen. Some of these chemicals and herbs also are hormone disruptive. Therefore, it is important to realize what you're putting on the skin is going into the body.

If you buy any product from us we will include a list of chemicals and herbs to avoid. You will also include a list of safe products that you may use that do not have any hormone disruptive chemicals or herbs are estrogen mimicking chemicals or herbs (xenoestrogens).

Progesterone Can Balance Out Small Amounts Of Weak Xenoestrogens

Progesterone can balance out small amounts of weak xenoestrogens. Taking topical natural progesterone can assist you into balancing out your hormones and body. However, if you take strong potent xenoestrogens with progesterone, you will get worse. If you take chemical herbs that block progesterone at the receptor level, the progesterone will not work. If you take a xenoestrogens with progesterone after two months, the progesterone will sometimes stop working. However, if you eliminate xenoestrogens totally from your environment, you will not need any progesterone at all.

How Can This Be?

This is because progesterone and estrogen work together on your body. Chronic xenoestrogens intake on your skin leads your body to try to protect itself. Your body protects itself from chronic xenoestrogens intake by shutting down the estrogen receptors. When you take progesterone, the estrogen receptors are woken up and it seems like you are getting more estrogen even though you're not. This is a typical response that occurs in 40% of our patients who do not modify their lifestyle while taking progesterone. Please do not do this. If you do not change your lifestyle and take progesterone, your failure rate will also be 40%.

What can I liken it to? It is like going to a very noisy wrestling show. People are yelling and screaming and it is noisy, initially. However, after about half an hour it doesn't seem so noisy. The body, in order to protect itself, shuts down the sensitivity of the ears. When you take progesterone, the ear sensitivity goes back up to normal and the concert is loud again. This is similar to the action of progesterone on your estrogen receptors.

What is the solution? The solution is to eliminate all xenoestrogens from your environment for one to three months. It takes one to three months for a topical lotion or shampoo to wash out of your body. This is because many of the chemicals used in these topicals are fat soluble and are stored in the fat. So, it may take one to three months for them to clear out of your body. Furthermore, if you begin to lose fat, the fat, with xenoestrogens stored inside of it, will release the xenoestrogens into your body. So, if you lose fat, the time for the xenoestrogens to wash out of your body may even be longer.

Iodine Seems To Reduce Sensitivity To Xenoestrogens

I usually recommend taking Lugol's iodine or Iodoral.  Both of these types of iodine contains atomic iodine, I2, and iodide, iodine ion, I-.  The reason why it is important to have both types of iodine in the iodine supplement that you are taking is that the body takes up both kinds of iodine. Some tissues take up iodide, some tissues take up iodine and you must have both for optimal iodine supplementation. The problem is that iodine forces out bromine and fluoride.

Many of the toxic reactions to iodine are blamed on iodine and not the true culprit, bromine. When you take iodine it forces bromine out of the tissues and the person experiences bromine toxicity. If you take enough iodine for long enough, the bromine will be forced out of the body and taking iodine will no longer cause you any problems. For instance, when I first started taking iodine, I had heart palpitations and vivid dreams. After two weeks of these side effects, the bromine was forced out of my body and I could take high levels of iodine, about 50 mg per day, with no adverse effects.

Bromine toxicity can be brutal. Bromine toxicity can include acne with a rash, hair loss, brain fog, legs tingling, metallic taste, sinus acne, cherry angioma's,  headache, sedation, lethargy, odd swallowing sensations, body order, hormone changes kidney pain, transient breasts tenderness, dry mouth, frequent urination, diarrhea, constipation, eyelid twitching, for twitching, tingling in the hands and feet, depression, anxiety, emotionality, mouth and tongue sores, vision changes, irritability, increased salivation,  and dream changes. The worst side effect from bromine toxicity is that the thyrocytes may begin to break up and your body may start to mount an immune response to your thyrocytes.  This can be labeled as a Hashimoto's thyroiditis. If your thyroid starts to hurt, please stop the iodine immediately. Then, detox extremely slowly. Sometimes you can detox with sea salt. Is important to remember that iodine is not causing the problem. Iodine is a new treat your body needs. Iodine is really forcing bromine and fluoride out of your tissues. Bromine is the problem. Do not blame iodine.

The Natural Solution

Again, the presence of xenoestrogens cause copper levels to increase while also simultaneously decreasing magnesium levels and zinc levels. Xenoestrogens also cause Vitamin B deficiencies, particularly B6 and B12. Symptoms include irritability, tingling or numbness in fingers and toes, muscle weakness, difficulty walking, confusion, sore muscles, and memory loss. The solution includes 5 steps:

Notes:

1. John Lee, M.D., Jesse Hanley M.D. What your Dr. May not tell you about pre-menopause. Balance your hormones and your life from 30 to 50.  USA:Warner books 1999, pages 142, 194-197, 299.

2. Grant, Ellen M.D. The bitter pill: how safe is the perfect contraceptive? London: Elm tree books, 1985.