Because the decreased blood calcium acts as a stress, the production of cortisone and aldosterone are stimulated and salt and water are retained in the body, often causing the breasts, hands, face, and feet to swell, weight to increase 5 to 10 pounds, headaches to occur, and resistance to allergies and infections to decrease markedly. Crimes of violence committed by women take place mostly during this period.

The first day of menstruation the blood calcium takes a still-greater nose dive, causing muscular cramps in the emptying uterus and sometimes elsewhere in the body. Should the blood calcium drop dangerously low, convulsions result. Yet if adequate calcium is obtained and efficiently absorbed, both premenstrual tension and menstrual cramps can be prevented.

When cramps occur, 1 or 2 calcium tablets every hour generally bring quick relief. Some calcium supplementation is usually desirable during the second and third days. As menstruation proceeds, however, the blood calcium gradually increases. If the diet is fair, the calcium level in the blood remains normal for the two weeks following menstruation, after which daily calcium supplementation should be started.

If the blood calcium has been allowed to drop so low that it has induced stress, causing puffiness and a weight increase, generous amounts of protein, vitamin C, and pantothenic acid are needed in addition to vitamin D, calcium, and magnesium.

Vitamin D increases calcium absorption, retention, and utilization; and because of the demands of growth, the vitamin-D and calcium requirements are both unusually high throughout adolescence. Teen-age girls given 1,250 milligrams of calcium daily--the amount supplied by 5 glasses of milk--and 650 units of vitamin D excreted far more calcium than they retained; when the vitamin D was increased to 3,900 units daily, ten times more calcium was held in the body.

Other Menstrual Problems

Cessation of menstrual flow or irregular or scanty menstruation are signs of general malnutrition. Girls and women in prison and concentration camps during World War II invariably developed these abnormalities. Such problems are accompanied by a marked decrease in the production of sex hormones and often by a shriveling of the breasts and ovaries.

Occasionally a single nutrient brings marked improvement. For example, either a vitamin-B12 or folic-acid deficiency causes irregular and decreased flow or cessation of flow, but normal menstruation occurs as soon as the missing vitamin is supplied. Sometimes the addition of vitamin E alone corrects the menstrual rhythm and causes small breasts to develop without a corresponding gain in weight. When the diet is made completely adequate, especially in the nutrients that aid the pituitary and sex glands, menstruation usually becomes normal in a few weeks.

Because excessive menstruation can be a symptom of uterine cancer, a physician should be consulted immediately should this abnormality arise. A menstrual flow that continues to be heavy after three or four days has often been corrected within a single month by taking 600 units of vitamin E daily. An excessive flow may indicate that the thyroid is underactive, in which case protein and especially vitamin E should be increased, and probably no less than 5 milligrams of iodine should be obtained daily. Liver damage, which can prevent the inactivation of hormones regulating menstruation, may be responsible and, if so, should be corrected.

Vaginal Discharge, Inflammation, and Itching

One of the most common causes of a vaginal discharge, usually accompanied by inflammation, itching, and perhaps pain during intercourse, is a parasitic infestation of the vagina , known as trichomoniasis. In animals, this infestation develops when the diet is deficient in protein, vitamin A, or anyone of several B vitamins. The doctors making the following reports have not mentioned trichomoniasis, although it was probably present in each case.

Itching around the genitalia has "responded dramatically" when women have been given as little as 6 milligrams of vitamin B2 daily. A rash or dermatitis in the vagina, accompanied by swelling, itching, and even bleeding, has cleared up when vitamin B2 or B6 or both have, been taken. Inflammation and itching of the vagina have also been helped by vitamin and leukorrhea and inflammation have disappeared after vitamin A was given. Women who eat no meat and are therefore deficient in vitamin B12 develop irregular menstruation and a "foul-smelling ,vaginal discharge" which is corrected by adequate vitamin B12.

When nearly 300 obstetrical patients were given 50,000 units of vitamin A daily, inflammation of the vagina and infections of the ovaries, uterus, and Fallopian tubes were only 20 per cent of those experienced by an equal number of women receiving no supplementary vitamin. In case of such an infection, medical care should be sought and not only vitamin A but also protein and vitamins B6, C, E, and pantothenic acid should be kept particularly high.