PCOS and Nutrition
How Can Nutrition Help?
Luckily, more than you might think.
Because of the importance of insulin levels in the development of symptoms and the risk of developing diabetes it is important to control blood sugar levels. A diet high in refined foods (white bread, pasta, sugar, biscuits, cakes etc) causes a lot of glucose to be released into the blood stream quickly and therefore causes insulin levels to rise. To reduce levels of insulin and help balance blood sugar:
• Reduce your consumption of refined carbohydrates. Instead eat more fruit and vegetables, lentils and beans as your main carbohydrate source, supplementing with complex carbohydrates such as brown rice, butternut squash, quinoa, sweet potatoes, celeriac and parsnips.
• Choose foods with a low glycaemic index that release glucose into the blood more slowly.
• Make sure you get enough protein. Protein helps modulate insulin production. Try to have some protein with every meal or snack. Choose fish, poultry, lowfat live yoghurt, tofu, nuts, seeds, beans and pulses in preference to other sources of animal protein, which are high in saturated fat. Reducing saturated fat in the diet has been shown to increase insulin sensitivity (hence reducing insulin production).
• Eat regular meals and snacks. Start the day with a good, slow sugar releasing breakfast such as porridge with seeds and an apple, or natural yoghurt, seeds and fruit. Breakfast is critical to help keep blood sugar levels even. Try to incorporate some protein and greens every morning. Protein smoothies, oats, protein bars.
• For lunches at work, make double your dinner the night before, or make up salads in a jar.
• Eliminate sugar and refined foods from your diet. They lead to high levels of circulating insulin, make it increasingly difficult to maintain stable blood sugar. Processing sugar also utilises vital nutrients such as zinc, chromium and B vitamins, many of which are important in balancing hormones.
• Avoid other stimulants such as tea, coffee, alcohol, chocolate and cigarettes.
• Avoid pesticides, chemicals and additives where possible. They can have hormone disrupting effects and our bodies have to detoxify them, using up vital nutrients and putting a strain on the liver. Eat foods in their natural state and avoid processed food and foods full of additives.
• Avoid excess oestrogens by drinking purified or bottled water and by eating organic dairy products and meat.
• Eat as much fruit and vegetables as you can (try to have at least 3 portions of fruit and 3 portions of vegetables per day. These will provide you with vital nutrients and fibre. The fibre helps remove toxins that can affect hormone balance and mood and assists the body in eliminating excess oestrogen.
• To provide essential fats have a serving of seeds a day (or take a supplement and eat oily fish twice a week.
• Intermittent fasting can help reduce insulin levels, fight stress and inflammation. Try the 5:2 or the 16:8.
• If you are up to it, try a retreat with a juice fast
Beneficial nutrients:
• Essential fats: Important to balance hormones, elevate mood and to improve sensitivity to insulin. In particular, omega 3 essential fats (e.g. fish oils) produce prostaglandins which reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and non-insulin dependent diabetes. Omega 6 fats (e.g. Evening Primrose oil) control water retention. Also avoid trans fats and hydrogenated fats, which interfere with the metabolism of essential fats. Food sources: nuts, seeds, cold-pressed nut/seed oils – especially flax, walnut, soya, oily fish (esp. sardines and mackerel).
• Chromium: Important in blood sugar control and a lack reduces insulin sensitivity. Food sources: Brewer’s yeast, wholegrains, asparagus.
• B Vitamins: Elevate mood, egg production, used by liver when detoxifying excess oestrogen, important in control of blood sugar and insulin levels. Food sources: wholegrains, nuts and seeds, pulses, green leafy veg, Brewer’s yeast.
• Zinc: Important because of its role in reproductive health and its role in the metabolism of the essential fats. Food sources: wholefoods, wholegrains, nuts, seeds, fish and meat.
• Magnesium: Elevates mood, increases tissue sensitivity to insulin, important in the metabolism of essential fats. Food sources: green leafy veg, nuts and seeds
• Many PCOS women are unable to convert folic acid into folate because they have a variant on their MTHFR gene.
• Inositol. A vitamin found in whole-grain foods and made by the body from glucose. Inositol helps with insulin sensitisation and women with PCOS commonly benefit from supplementation.
• 75% of PCOS women have a vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D works to dampen inflammation.
• Warm water with lemon. Lemon water is a great way to hydrate and energise first thing. It also will reduce bloating and help you better absorb nutrients all day.
• Add any of the following to cold water to help the flavour:
• Lemon – Stimulates the liver and helps release digestive enzymes. Contains useful antioxidants and electrolytes (potassium, calcium, magnesium) and is a rich source of vitamin C
• Ginger – Great pain reliever. Energising
• Strawberries – Packed with vitamins, minerals and other antioxidants. Contain potassium, vitamin K, magnesium and biotin. Can also help ease inflammation.
• Coconut water – contains antioxidants, amino acids, enzymes and minerals like iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, manganese and zinc, vitamins B and C.
• Apple cider vinegar can drop blood sugar levels by 6 percent and can work as effectively as metformin. CONSULT YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE HAVING THIS DRINK, AS COMBINING METFORMIN WITH APPLE CIDER VINEGAR CAN DROP YOUR BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS TOO LOW
• Drink the following before every meal:
• To a medium sized glass of water, add 2 tsp ACV, 2 tsp lemon juice, a sprinkle of ground cinnamon and a dash of cayenne pepper ( this last one is optional!)
Other advice
• Drink lots of water (3 litres/day)
• Eliminate alcohol while trying to control symptoms and achieve an ideal weight.
• Exercise at least three times per week. Research has shown that symptoms of PCOS can be greatly reduced with weight loss and regular exercise. However, 25% of PCOS women have adrenal fatigue. Over-exercising will only exacerbate this, and any exercise programme should be started slowly and consistently.
• Reduce stress levels – elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol are associated with many of the symptoms of PCOS and also increase the level of insulin resistance.
• Plan your meals and your snacks.
• Diet Coke. No! The sweeteners confuse the body and dull the senses. Artificial sweeteners cause us to crave more sweet foods and drinks. It raises your risk of diabetes, stroke and heart disease. It is associated with depression and osteoporosis. It has no nutritional value.
Good Foods:
Apples
Berries
Brown Rice
Cinnamon
Dark chocolate
Green tea
Leafy green vegetables
Maple Syrup
Nuts and seeds
Oats
Chronic inflammation is a big part of the problem, it is important to remove inflammatory foods from the system. The most common allergens are:
Peanuts
Tree nuts
Milk
Eggs
Wheat and other grains containing gluten
Soy
Fish
Shellfish
Corn
Gluten is the most likely to be responsible for low-grade inflammation
Dairy. Grass fed butter and ghee are ok as they contain no or very little amounts of casein or lactose
Soy. Women with PCOS should limit their exposure to soy as it can interfere with hormones. Soybean protein contains phytoestrogens called isoflavones that may mimic the activity of the hormone oestrogen in the body. Soy is also a goitrogen that suppresses the thyroid gland and interferes with thyroid hormone production.
Start by eliminating gluten, dairy and soy. If you are feeling better after eliminating these, you can experiment with removing the others one at a time and seeing if your body responds in order to identify any other inflammatory foods you may need to avoid.
Good fats:
• Avocado and avocado oil
• Grass-fed butter
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Coconut oil
• Nuts and seeds and their butters
• Fish and fish oils
What your plate should look like:
Fill ½ of the plate with leafy greens or nonstarchy veggies
Fill ¼ of the plate with starchy root vegetables or a gluten-free whole grain
Fill ¼ of the plate with a lean protein
Add a portion of healthy fat