What is PCOS?
PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) is an endocrine disorder that can begin during or near puberty. It affects 5-15% of women of childbearing age.
How is PCOS diagnosed?
It is considered that to be diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, at least 2 of the following 3 criteria must be met:- Hyperandrogenism: characterized by the presence of acne, hirsutism and androgenic alopecia. Hirsutism is the presence of hair in more masculine areas. A priori, a woman should not have excess hair in areas such as the face, chest, back...
- Menstrual alteration: it is common for women with PCOS to present amenorrhea (absence of menstruation) and/or oligomenorrhea (less than 9 menstrual periods per year).
- Polycystic ovarian morphology
For a correct diagnosis, it is recommended to go to a gynecologist and/or endocrinologist, since they will be the professionals in charge of doing the relevant tests and carrying out a thorough diagnosis. With this clarified, let's learn about the important role that diet plays in the life of a person with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.
Diet and PCOS
In women with PCOS, there is often intrinsic insulin resistance, which increases the risk of diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. Furthermore, when we are faced with this clinical picture, there is also usually infertility. For this reason, it is essential to take care of your diet when you suffer from polycystic ovary syndrome. The first thing we recommend is that you do not take the guidelines as “being on a diet”, but rather as a lifestyle that will benefit you in the long term. It seems obvious, but when the person is not psyched in this way, it is very difficult for them to continue with the given guidelines for a long time. As a diet therapy, the ketogenic diet has achieved good results in women with PCOS. It has been observed that it improves the lipid profile, lowers levels of inflammation, and much more stable insulin levels in the blood (which translates into greater satiety over time and less anxiety about food). It has been shown in scientific studies that the ketogenic diet is a good option, since you can maintain muscle and at the same time lower the fat percentage if necessary. As we always say, it is one more alternative that can adapt to your needs, and not the only one that exists. You can have a varied, balanced diet that benefits us without having to label it and restrict food groups. We must take into account the combination of foods, their cooking method, as well as try to increase the intake of all those that will help you if you have PCOS.
carbohydrates
We do not recommend eliminating this group in your diet. Avoid taking those refined and enriched with sugar, as it would raise blood glucose levels much more. We recommend eating whole-grain carbohydrates, not overcooking pasta, avoiding white bread and increasing the consumption of whole-grain oats, barley, buckwheat, rye...
Legumes
Very good option to include in our diet. Depending on your tolerance to legumes, it is recommended to consume them 2-3 times a week. They contain a lot of protein and help fill us up. We take this opportunity to deny that soy is dangerous in PCOS or other hormonal disorders. As with any person, we would consider whether it was necessary to restrict its consumption, but in healthy people there is no problem and it has also been proven that it is associated with a lower risk of ovarian, colon, and breast cancer...
Fruit
We recommend that you take them whole. When we crush the fruit, apart from the fact that we need a large number of pieces to fill a simple glass of juice, we remove the fiber that is so necessary and beneficial for our body. The fruits that we recommend most in context with PCOS are: strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, cherries. And those with the highest glycemic index are: mango, grapes, pineapple... Those that are usually avoided are fruits in syrup, processed fruit jams or dehydrated fruits. This does not mean that we cannot introduce it into our diet, we simply recommend varying consumption and letting you know the effect of each food.
Vegetables
Eat a variety of them since they provide us with many vitamins, minerals, antioxidants... Those with the highest glycemic index (due to starch) are: pumpkin, sweet potato, potato, cassava... And those with the lowest glycemic index are those with green leaves (lettuce, spinach, lamb's lettuce...). Depending on the context, the possibility of consuming more foods with a higher glycemic index may be considered, since some people, due to their level of physical activity, require it to be able to perform at their best in their workouts. One way to lower the glycemic load of a food is to refrigerate it for 24 hours after cooking it. Combine all the vegetables and make sure you eat variety.
Proteins
The general recommendations are 0.8g of protein/kg of weight, but ingesting about 1.8-2g/kg of weight has not been seen to have an impact on health. In fact, when we eat enough protein (animal or plant origin), there is greater satiety and it is very positive in weight loss. Foods high in protein: egg, chicken, turkey, salmon, tuna, textured soy, seitan, almonds...
Fats
There are women with very low HDL cholesterol levels, and therefore they may suffer from amenorrhea. There are foods that contain very healthy fats necessary for the proper functioning of the endocrine system. Always prioritize fats from foods and not processed ones. Extra virgin olive oil is a superfood that we can include in our meals. We can also obtain healthy fats through dairy products, nuts, avocado, and cow's butter (eliminate margarines and similar). Even in weight loss diets, fats remain essential, as long as the quantities are controlled, but it is never recommended to eliminate them 100%. We recommend that you add turmeric to your dishes or infusions, a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory that has been proven to help women's fertility. We recommend mixing it with black pepper, since this way you will increase its degree of absorption.
Chocolate
Being of good quality, and more than 85%, it will always be a success to include it in the diet. It can help improve the menstrual cycle, improve insulin resistance. It is always better to combine it with other foods to improve absorption and not cause anxiety to eat more. For example: an ounce of chocolate when you finish eating, or with your morning oatmeal bowl.
Vitamin D
It is common to find it low in the analyzes of patients with PCOS, therefore, we recommend supplementation guided by a professional and focusing on the consumption of foods such as tuna, sardines, mackerel... A low level of vitamin D is associated with fertility problems.
Coffee
Coffee is also recommended, as long as there is not great abuse in its consumption. If you have a good tolerance and use quality coffee, you can drink it pre-workout, or when you need to snack between meals it can help you control it. It is always advisable to use natural coffee, and it is preferable to sweeten it if necessary with stevia.
PCOS and sport
We always recommend that the diet be accompanied by a good physical exercise routine. Various studies show that in women with PCOS, it is highly recommended to do strength training about 2-3 times a week, combining it with an active life where movement prevails, whether it is walking, dancing, climbing stairs, getting off a subway stop. before... There are numerous ways to increase physical activity in your daily life and it will help you better cope with the possible effects of this syndrome. This is the minimum recommended, from there, everything you do more will continue to bring you benefits. Of course there are athletes in various sports who have reached the top even though they were diagnosed with PCOS. Therefore, we encourage you to not let this be a barrier in your life, and to take your health very seriously. Content written by: https://fabsnutri.es/ https://www.instagram.com/fabsnutri/
