If you are a woman, there is a good chance that you have experienced the lovely symptoms of PMS at least once in your life. From bloating, to mood swings to unbearable headaches, pre menstrual syndrome is thought to be one of those things that you just have to “bear with” – but this is certainly not so!

The natural remedy I am about to share with you can be used by anyone at any age as it is completely harmless to your body, and will not clash with any ethical or religious beliefs.

Let me introduce you to the maca root!

This wonderful root is native to South America, but thankfully in most parts of the world it is available in powder form in natural health shops. I have previously written a little bit about the other benefits of maca here and you can buy it online here.

How to take maca:

Maca is sweet-ish in flavour and has a curious but pleasant aftertaste. It somewhat reminds me of the taste of papaya seeds, though nowhere near as strong.

It’s great in smoothies and for adding to porridges, cereals or granola in the morning (just mix it in before pouring the nut milk). One tea spoon to one table spoon daily is enough.

How long till PMS symptoms go away:

Please note that this is a preventative cure, and will not work if suddenly on the day of your period you remember to take your first tea spoon of maca powder.

Start taking it as soon as you buy your first batch, how long it takes will depend entirely on your body – we are all different after all! For me it took merely a month to notice a significant difference, no more headaches, just a slight feeling in my stomach that told me that it was “that time” and that was it. I’ve been taking maca for over a year now and every month I have been totally symptom free!

What if you stop taking maca:

About 6 months ago when I moved to Bali, I stopped taking maca powder as here it is expensive (here’s a link to a cheap but still organic one), and I stopped eating breakfast, which was the main meal I used to mix it in.

So far so good! Perhaps all you need is a few months and you will no longer have to deal with PMS, you wont know until you try.

Out of all the awful medications people prescribe women during our time of the month (none ever worked for me!), there is certainly no harm in trying it the natural way.