What Supplements Help With PMS?

Dietary supplements are intended to supplement your diet and are different from conventional food. They come in many forms like tablets, capsules, soft gels, powders, gummies, and bars. Common supplements include vitamins, minerals, botanical herbs, etc.

They help in maintaining overall health and meeting the daily requirements of essential nutrients.

Apart from treating PMS symptoms through traditional methods like medicines, certain supplements have also been mentioned to relieve PMS symptoms.

Note:
Before you start taking any supplement, consult a healthcare professional to discuss the benefits and the risks.

1. Vitamin B6

Warning:
Always consult a healthcare professional before taking Vitamin B6 supplements.

What Is Vitamin B6?

Also known as pyridoxine, vitamin B6 is a water soluble vitamin. The body does not store vitamin B6 and releases any excess in urine, so people need to get vitamin B6 everyday.[1]

The following are good sources of vitamin B6:

• chickpeas
• beef liver
• yellowfin tuna
• roasted chicken breast
• potatoes
• banana
• tofu
• nuts

How Does Vitamin B6 Work?

Vitamin B6 has been used to treat symptoms of premenstrual syndrome, or PMS, including anxiety, depression and irritability. This is partly because vitamin B6 is necessary for creating neurotransmitters that regulate emotions, including serotonin, dopamine and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA).

Vitamin B6 may also play a role in decreasing high blood levels of the amino acid homocysteine, which have been linked to depression and other psychiatric issues.[2]

What Is the Efficacy of Vitamin B6 for PMS?

Methods: Several studies were done that utilized the randomized controlled trial designs to assess the effectiveness of vitamin B6 in reducing PMS symptoms. The efficacy of vitamin B6 alone at certain doses, comparison between B6 and placebo, and combined effects of vitamin B6 with magnesium were studied.[3][4][5]

Results: Vitamin B6 supplementation (at doses of 50–80 mg/day) consistently demonstrated a significant reduction in premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms, particularly in emotional and mood-related domains such as irritability, anxiety, and depressive symptoms.

One study reported that 60% of participants on vitamin B6 achieved full remission, while another found it to be more effective than magnesium or placebo in reducing both psychological and physical symptoms.

A crossover trial revealed that the combination of magnesium and vitamin B6 had the most pronounced effect on anxiety-related symptoms, suggesting a synergistic benefit.

Conclusion: These findings support the use of vitamin B6, either taken alone or in combination—as a safe, accessible, and evidence-backed strategy for managing PMS.

What Are the Side-Effects of Vitamin B6?

Consuming vitamin B6 through food appears to be safe, even in excessive amounts. When used as a supplement in appropriate doses, vitamin B6 is likely safe.

Short-term effects: Nausea, stomach pain, headache, and loss of appetite

Long-term effects: Peripheral neuropathy, ataxia, and skin lesions.[1]

2. Calcium

Warning:
Always consult a healthcare professional before taking calcium supplements.

What Is Calcium?

Calcium are minerals defined as chemical elements required as essential nutrients to maintain body functions.[6]

Calcium can be found in a variety of foods, including:

• Dairy products, such as cheese, milk and yogurt
• Dark green leafy vegetables, such as broccoli and kale
• Fish with edible soft bones, such as sardines and canned salmon
• Calcium-fortified foods and beverages, such as soy products, cereal and fruit juices, and milk substitutes.[7]

How Does Calcium Work?

Calcium decreases with rising estrogen concentrations which leads to decrease in neurotransmitter synthesis and release, leading to decrease in serotonin levels, causing mood changes during PMS. The calcium effect on PMS is correlated to the production of serotonin and tryptophan metabolism.[9]

Calcium supplementation may act by resolving an underlying physiologic deficit, suppressing parathyroid hormone secretion, and, ultimately, reducing neuromuscular irritability and vascular reactivity.[13]

Recommended dose: ACOG recommends supplementation of 1.2 mg calcium daily to alleviate both physical and psychological PMS symptoms, especially reducing water retention and breast tenderness.[8]

What Is the Efficacy of Calcium for PMS?

Methods: All three studies used randomized, double-blind designs to evaluate the effect of calcium supplementation on PMS symptoms. Sample sizes ranged from 39 to 466 women, with calcium doses between 500 mg and 1,200 mg per day, administered over 2 to 4 menstrual cycles. Interventions were compared against placebo, and in one study, also against fluoxetine.[9][10][11]

Results: Across all three studies, calcium supplementation significantly reduced PMS symptoms. There was a ~48% reduction in symptom severity by the third cycle in the calcium group, compared to ~30% in the placebo group. Significant improvements were noted in emotional and somatic symptoms over two cycles with 500 mg/day calcium (p ≤ 0.01). In the another study, calcium showed modest symptom improvement (effect sizes 0.10–0.44), though less effective than fluoxetine. Overall, calcium was consistently more effective than placebo.

Conclusion: Calcium supplementation—typically 500–1,200 mg daily—appears to be a well-tolerated, low-risk, and effective option for reducing PMS symptoms, particularly mood-related issues like anxiety, depression, and emotional instability.

What Are the Side-Effects of Calcium?

Short-term effects: Constipation, diarrhea, abdominal pain

Long-term effects: Kidney stones, Cardiovascular problems, colorectal neoplasms.[12]

3. Magnesium

Warning:
Always consult a healthcare professional before taking magnesium supplements.

What Is Magnesium?

Magnesium is naturally present in a variety of foods, available as a supplement, and an ingredient in antacids and laxatives.

Magnesium is found in plant foods like legumes, dark green leafy vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and fortified cereals. It is also found in fish, poultry, and beef.[14]

How Does Magnesium Work?

One of magnesium's many roles in the body is to ensure that muscles and nerves function properly.

During menstruation, the uterus contracts to help shed the lining that has built up over the course of the menstrual cycle. Magnesium helps the uterine muscles relax, and decreases the production of prostaglandin, chemicals in your body that cause pain. Thus, helps in reducing pain related symptoms of PMS.

Emotional symptoms during PMS are related to low levels of serotonin. Magnesium plays major role in the the synthesis and regulation of these neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine which are important for mood stabilization and emotional health. Thus, magnesium help in reducing mood swings, anxiety, and depressive symptoms related to PMS by supporting optimal neurotransmitter function.[15]

What Is the Efficacy of Magnesium for PMS?

Methods: Multiple studies were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of magnesium in treating PMS symptoms, using randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled designs.[16][17][18]

Across these studies, women with PMS were given oral magnesium supplements, ranging from 150–360 mg per day in the form of magnesium stearate, magnesium oxide (MgO), and magnesium pyrrolidone carboxylic acid, for durations ranging from one to four menstrual cycles. A combination of magnesium with vitamin B6 was also studied.

Results: The results showed that magnesium supplementation led to significant improvements in various PMS symptoms, particularly mood-related issues such as anxiety, irritability, and negative affect, as well as physical symptoms like bloating, breast tenderness, and water retention. These effects were more pronounced after continued use for two or more cycles, and the combination of magnesium with vitamin B6 appeared to enhance relief from anxiety-related symptoms.

Conclusion: Consistent magnesium supplementation, especially in better-absorbed forms and in combination with vitamin B6, can be an effective, low-risk intervention for reducing both emotional and physical symptoms of PMS.

What Are the Side-Effects of Magnesium?

Magnesium is safe for most people when taken appropriately. Doses less than 350 mg daily are safe for most adults.

Short-term effects: Stomach upset, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea.

Long-term effects: When taken in very large amounts (greater than 350 mg daily), magnesium is possibly unsafe. Large doses might cause too much magnesium to build up in the body, causing serious side effects including an irregular heartbeat, low blood pressure, confusion, slowed breathing, coma, and death.[15]

Medically reviewed by: Dr Yash Bahuguna.

Researched by: Dr Inara Isani.

Written by: Avantika Sukhia.

References

1. National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. Vitamin B6 - Health Professional Fact Sheet. Bethesda (MD): National Institutes of Health; [cited 2025 Apr 23].
2. Herrmann W, Lorenzl S, Obeid R. Review of the role of hyperhomocysteinemia and B-vitamin deficiency in neurological and psychiatric disorders--current evidence and preliminary recommendations. Fortschritte der Neurologie-Psychiatrie. 2007 Sep;75(9):515-27.
3. Retallick-Brown H, Blampied N, Rucklidge JJ. A pilot randomized treatment-controlled trial comparing vitamin B6 with broad-spectrum micronutrients for premenstrual syndrome. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 2020 Feb 1;26(2):88-97.
4. Ebrahimi E, Motlagh SK, Nemati S, Tavakoli Z. Effects of magnesium and vitamin B6 on the severity of premenstrual syndrome symptoms. Journal of Caring Sciences. 2012 Nov 22;1(4):183.
5. De Souza MC, Walker AF, Robinson PA, Bolland K. A synergistic effect of a daily supplement for 1 month of 200 mg magnesium plus 50 mg vitamin B6 for the relief of anxiety-related premenstrual symptoms: a randomized, double-blind, crossover study. Journal of Women's Health & Gender-Based Medicine. 2000 Mar 1;9(2):131-9.