If you experience PMS (moderate or severe ones), you might be more likely to develop hypertension or high blood pressure later in life. And with hypertension comes a greater risk of health problems like heart disease.

According to the study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, significant PMS symptoms like mood swings, food cravings, and breast tenderness can make women 40 percent more likely to have health risks before hitting 40 than those who have no PMS symptoms.

Why? It could be that those with "clinically significant" PMS symptoms have an abnormality in their hormonal system that regulates blood pressure and fluid balance. This results in a change in sodium balance, blood flow, and blood volume through the arteries. (The same thing happens to those who are obese, BTW.)

So how do we get rid of moderate or severe PMS symptoms? Researchers suggest eating more food rich in thiamine and riboflavin (two kinds of B vitamins). Although more study has to be done to prove a solid link, they did observe that higher levels of thiamine and riboflavin lowers the risk of PMS by 25 to 35 percent, hence lowering your risk of hypertension in the years to come. So make sure you load up on the dairy, eggs, and green, leafy veggies.

If you have horrible PMS regularly, see your doctor and get your blood pressure checked too. If you're taking birth control pills and they relieved you of PMS, you're not in the clear. The pills just lessen the symptoms, not your risk.

This story originally appeared on Cosmo.ph.

* Minor edits have been made by the Femalenetwork.com editors.

PHOTO: Flickr/Pauline Leclercq