Typical PMS advice isn't very useful. When you're suffering through crippling cramps, a foul mood and an urge to eat your weight in Wagon Wheels, a handful of calcium supplements would be better used to pelt the individual who recommended them in the first place. There's about 8.6 million women over the age of 15 in Australia and each one might have up to 500 periods in her life - that's a whole lotta period pain. And according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, 85 per cent of these menstruating women will get PMS at some point too. Humph. The real solution to easing the Monthly Scourge is to make a few simple lifestyle changes.

Get on the floor
A simple yoga pose like a reclining bound angle will open up the pelvic area to relieve bloating and cramps, says Patricia Walden, co-author of Yoga for a Healthy Menstrual Cycle. How to do it: sit on the floor with a long pillow behind you; the bottom touching your sacrum (base of the spine) and a folded blanket covering the top. Lie back onto the pillow, resting your head on the blanket. Put the soles of your feet together and let your knees and thighs fall to the sides. Stay in the pose for five to 10 minutes, breathing deeply.

Avoid the Cadbury diet
Focus on small meals consisting of both protein and fibre to keep your blood sugar levels even, slow your rate of digestion and reduce your urge to overeat, says dietitian Nadine Taylor, author of 25 Natural Ways to Relieve PMS. See the sample meal plan, below.

Pop these pills
Ask your GP about tweaking your contraception. In a recent Yale University School of Medicine study, oral contraceptives reduced PMS symptoms by 50 per cent in nearly half of the participants using 24 hormone pills and four sugar pills (instead of the traditional 21 and seven). The baby sister to Yasmine, YAZ, is one such pill now available in Australia; it also shortens the length of your period. For severe mood swings, your GP might prescribe a class of antidepressants (SSRIs) that increase your serotonin levels, like Prozac and Zoloft. Taking them during the second half of your cycle or in a low dosage (which your doctor will have to determine depending on which medication is prescribed) may be sufficient, says Dr Diana Taylor, author of Taking Back the Month.

Your PMS meal plan

Follow from day one until symptoms fade:

BREAKFAST

• 30g oats
  1/2 cup skim milk
  1 piece wholemeal toast with 1/3 cup low-fat cottage cheese

LUNCH

• 60g tuna in springwater and 2 tsp low-fat mayonnaise on two slices of wholemeal bread
  salad of 1 cup spinach leaves, 1/2 grated carrot, 1/2 tomato, olive oil dressing
  1/4 rockmelon

DINNER

• 85g steamed salmon, 1/2 cup brown rice, 1/2 cup steamed broccoli, 1 cup blueberries

SNACKS

• morning: 1/3 cup soy nuts (at health food shops), 1 peach
  afternoon: 30g low-fat cheese, 30g wholewheat crackers
  evening: 1 wholemeal or bran muffin, 1 cup plain fat-free yoghurt sweetened with 2 tsp honey