Survey study, 2026
Does eating more antioxidant-rich foods help prevent or reduce PMS?
Yes. Women eating the most antioxidant-rich foods had 64% lower odds of PMS than those eating the least, with the biggest improvements in anxiety, exhaustion, irritability, depression and muscle/joint pain.
What they did
A cross-sectional study of 490 healthy women aged 18-38. Researchers measured diet using a food frequency questionnaire, calculated dietary antioxidant content using the ORAC method, and assessed PMS using the Arabic Premenstrual Syndrome Scale. Women were divided into three groups by antioxidant intake and compared after adjusting for age, BMI, energy intake and lifestyle.
What they found
33.7% of women had PMS. Higher antioxidant intake was linked to better eating patterns (more fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains; less red meat, refined grains, salt). Moving from lowest to highest antioxidant intake, there was a substantial decrease in moderate-to-severe symptoms including anxiety, exhaustion, irritability, depression and muscle/joint pain (all p<0.01). Women in the highest antioxidant group had 64% lower odds of PMS than the lowest (OR=0.36, 95% CI: 0.23-0.56, p<0.001).
What it means for you
Eating more antioxidant-rich foods like fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains may help prevent PMS and reduce symptom severity in a dose-dependent way. However, this is cross-sectional, showing association not causation, and was done only in women with normal BMI, so results may not apply to all women.
490
women studied
33.7%
had PMS
64%
lower odds of PMS with highest antioxidant intake
About the study
- Original title
- The association between dietary total antioxidant capacity and prevalence of premenstrual syndrome among women of reproductive age: a cross-sectional study
- Authors
- Hawal Lateef Fateh
- Journal
- Nutrition & Food Science
- Year
- 2026
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 490
- What was tested
- None - antioxidant intake was measured
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1108/nfs-10-2025-0348
Topics
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