PCOS Diet Book: How you can use the nutritional approach to deal with polycystic ovary syndrome. Theresa Cheung
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of all human bodily functions – to allow the activities that occur within your body to be carried out. They are called micronutrients because the body needs them in relatively small amounts compared with other nutrients like carbohydrates, proteins and fats. You can get all the vitamins and minerals you need for survival from fresh, healthful foods and sunlight, but you may need to boost with supplements to stay in the best of health for the long term.
IO STEPS TO A HEALTHIER YOU
In 1992 the US Department of Agriculture suggested that:
This is generally held to be a good model. Our diets would be far healthier if we stuck to these guidelines, but the truth is that the average Western diet consists of 37 per cent fat and 50 per cent refined carbohydrates and refined sugars. This diet is not healthy for most people, and can actually make the symptoms of PCOS worse.
The PCOS healthy eating plan has no gimmicks or secrets. You’ve seen that there is a link between nutrition and PCOS, and that changing the way you eat can ease symptoms now and protect your health in the future. Food is fuel. It helps your body function more smoothly. Scrimp on the quality and quantity of fuel and your body pays the price. That’s true for everyone, but especially true if you have PCOS, because what you eat, when you eat and how much you eat directly affect your blood-sugar levels and hormone function.
So how do you eat right for PCOS? The principles are basically the same as for any healthy diet – sufficient complex carbohydrates, moderate amounts of protein, sufficient essential fats, a minimum of saturated fats and plenty of water. Each of the 10 easy-to-follow steps that follow focuses on one aspect of your diet.
1) Drink More Water
Drink plenty of water each day. Try to drink at least 11/2 litres/23/4 pints (6 to 8 glasses) of fresh water each day.
Why?
We can exist without food for almost five weeks, but without water we can’t last more than five days. Water gives us life and keeps us alive, yet we hardly give it a thought. Water is an essential – but often forgotten – nutrient. It’s also absolutely crucial if you have PCOS.
Your body is made up of two-thirds water, so water intake and distribution is vital for hormonal function. You need to drink lots of water to keep your hormone systems working at their best. Water also helps to lubricate dehydrated and parched tissues, as well as aiding the body to eliminate waste by making fibre in your food swell and perform its function. It keeps your skin glowing and your cells working, and it delivers vitamins, minerals and other nutrients to your organs. For your liver to break down and excrete toxins and for your glands to secrete the correct balance of hormones, you need to drink plenty of pure water.
How?
If you don’t drink enough you will start to feel dizzy, tired and could get headaches and stomach upsets. It’s very important that you drink pure, clean (filtered, if necessary) water throughout the day, even if you don’t feel thirsty. If you are feeling thirsty you are already dehydrated.
Should you have poor digestion, drink more water between meals and less during meals. When you’re sick or under extra physical or emotional stress, drink more. If you’re shorter or lighter than average you don’t need to force yourself to drink as much as a taller, larger person. If it’s hot or you are losing more fluids through perspiration, your fluid intake needs to be increased.
Don’t forget that when you exercise your need will increase dramatically. Athletes in heavy training can use as much as 10 litres a day. Becoming dehydrated during exercise will have a major impact on your performance or ability to continue and get the maximum benefit. Even small losses of 2–3 per cent result in a 10 per cent reduction in strength.
Limit your tea, coffee and alcohol intake. This is because coffee, tea and alcohol raise blood-sugar levels, and therefore insulin levels. Water is the best drink for quenching thirst and hydrating the body to help prevent dry skin, sore eyes and wrinkles. Fresh fruit juice or diluted juice are suitable. Watch out for fruit juice ‘drinks’ posing as fresh fruit juice but which are really just expensive fakes. Try some of the better-quality squashes and cordials. There are also a wide number of very good herb and fruit ‘teas’ available (they aren’t, strictly speaking, teas, but just use the name as they are infused with hot water).
Fruits and vegetables count towards your fluids because they consist of around 90 per cent water. They supply it in a form that is very easy for your body to use, at the same time as providing the body with a high percentage of vitamins and minerals.
One way to make sure you drink enough fluids is to fill a pitcher or a bottle with your targeted amount of water and drink it throughout the day. Take it with you in the car or to work, or keep it nearby when you’re reading or doing other activities. If the container is empty by bedtime, you’ve achieved your goal.
2) Eat Five Portions of Fruit and Vegetables Each Day
Ideally, aim to eat at least three pieces of fruit and five portions of vegetables a day – that way you’re bound to manage at least five. A vegetable portion is 1 to 2 cups of raw vegetables, 1 cup cooked. A fruit portion is 1 medium-sized apple, banana or orange.
Why?
For women with PCOS, all vegetables and most fruits are nutritional superstars. They are powerful sources of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals (plant-based hormones). The vegetables highest in phytochemicals, such as cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and broccoli, contain compounds which can help to lower androgen levels in the body (androgens are the male hormones responsible for PCOS symptoms such as acne and excess hair).
In addition to the newly discovered phytochemicals, orange, yellow and green fruits also provide the antioxidant beta-carotene, so helpful in boosting immune function. The dark green leafy vegetables such as broccoli are high in minerals that help make bones strong and can also calm the nervous system and help ease depression and anxiety. Fruit and vegetables also aid digestion because of their fibre content.
How?
Fruits are limited more than vegetables on the PCOS diet because many women have the tendency to eat them alone – particularly those like sugar-rich bananas and raisins which can give you an insulin rise if you don’t eat them with proteins like a handful of nuts. All-fruit meals can upset your blood-sugar levels, creating that familiar peak followed by a slump in mood.
It may seem hard to fit in so many portions of fruit and vegetables, but vegetable soups and frozen and tinned fruits and vegetables all count. A very good way of boosting your intake is to invest in a juicer and make your own freshly-pressed juices such as apple and carrot, banana and apple, apple and celery, mango