Diet tips & lifestyle strategies to help PCOS symptoms

PCOS is a condition that affects your ovaries and endocrine system. It is one of the most common endocrine disorders in women of reproductive age and is estimated that between 5-15% of women are affected.

Risk factors that can contribute to the incidence of PCOS include

• Insulin resistance
• Obesity
• Family history of PCOS
• Stress
• Nutritional deficiencies
• High glycaemic load diet
• Sedentary lifestyle
  

Common signs and symptoms of PCOS include:

• Enlarged ovaries usually due to having multiple cysts
• Irregular or having no period/or ovulation
• Hirsuitism - excess hair growth on the face and other parts of the body
• Central obesity – carry extra fat around the belly and torso
• Infertility, generally due to lack of ovulation
• Elevated male hormones- specifically testosterone, androstenedione, and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS), causing hirsutism and occasionally masculinisation.
• Male-pattern baldness
• Jaw-line acne, oily skin, seborrhoea
• Acanthosis nigricans (associated with insulin resistance)
• Prolonged periods of PMS-like symptoms 
• Sleep apnoea
• Chronic pelvic pain
• Blood sugar dysregulation – e.g., hypoglycaemic episodes, diabetes,
• Hypothyroidism

Early diagnosis and treatment remains poor as a lot of women remain undiagnosed until later in life when they seek treatment for fertility problems which is unfortunate as PCOS carry many other health risk factors.

PCOS Health Risks

Besides infertility women can also experience a higher risk of developing:

• insulin resistance, diabetets
• metabolic syndrome
• poor cardiovascular health
• obesity
• high cholesterol
• endometrial cancer
• anxiety and depression resulting from experiencing severe symptoms

PCOS diet and lifestyle strategies- what can you do about it.

If you have diagnosed medical condition please work with a holistic and integrative practitioner that can create a dietary and lifestyle plan personalised to your circumstance. In the mean time however you can start implementing below strategies.

Deal with your stress

The number one factors impacting aetiology and worsening of symptoms includes stress. So start there.
Find solutions to manage your stress. Learn how to breathe, meditate and practice specific strategies that can reduce cortisol production and keep you nice and relaxed throughout the day and no just 10 minutes in the morning.

2. Stay Active and exercise daily

Daily walking and exercise can help regulate hormones, reduce inflammation and stress and improve mood. If you are serious about getting well then exercise must become a part of your daily routine.

3. Get proper sleep

During sleep your body repairs, helps you lose fat and regulates all your hormones including insulin and appetite hormones.
Aim to get 7-8 hour every night of good quality sleep such that you wake up nice and refreshed every morning. Keep stable waking and bed times and reduce bright lights and blue light exposure after sunset to increase melatonin which can help facilitate sleep but also reduce inflammation and excess cortisol. 

4. Optimise your diet 

Diet is a key part of staying healthy and regulating your hormones. As such please ensure that you:

• keep regular meals every 3-5 Hours and don't skip meals not matter what
• yes have breakfast within 30 min of waking up
• aim to have a small amount of protein at every meal and keep animal protein to max once a day
• reduce intake of saturated fats - red meat, dairy, coconut oil
• increase intake of fibre coming from fruit and vegetables
• aim to have a big salad everyday and 3-4 pieces of fruit (grapes, red apple, oranges, lemons, limes)
• eat daily 1-2 cups of cruciferous vegetables- broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, radish, Brussel sprouts, rocket, bokchoy, watercress
• avoid all processed foods, vegetable oils (olive oil is ok) and sugar
• move to eating only organic particularly is consuming animal based products
• ask your practitioner about what supplements you should take as PCOS requires additional nutritional support.

5. Learn how to breathe properly

Yes you read that right. Breathing through your mouth, shallow, rapidly in your chest can dysregulate hormones, create nutrient deficiencies and impact every function in your body.
When the body doesnt receive the oxygen needed nothing works as it should.
For more details on how to breathe properly please read https://www.ancavereen.com/how-to-breathe

Seeing a PCOS dietitian will help

The right dietitaion will be able to put together a meal plan with the foods you need to avoid as well as the foods that will benefit you.
Also bringing in techniques with better breathing will help your health overall and we do run breathwork classes.

Anca Vereen is an Integrative Dietitian and Nutritionist, Psychotherapist, Breathing Coach, Sound Therapist who specialises in weight loss, hormonal imbalances and lifestyle optimisation.
For more details or to book a consultation please visit https://www.ancavereen.com/weight-loss-program