Introduction

      I admit it – I’m nosy. When I’m in the supermarket I can’t help peering into other people’s trolleys. And you can tell a lot about a person from what they buy – the single man with his beer and ready-meals, the girlfriends settling in for a good night of chatting with their Chardonnay and chocolates, the woman with a trolley full of food for her family, with fizzy drinks, crisps and pizzas alongside the fruit and veg and milk and cereal, the woman shopping for herself and her partner, stuffing in his favourite cuts of meat, cheese and bread for sandwiches that she’ll end up eating too. What isn’t so easy to spot is what impact that food will have on our health when we eat it day after day.

      For the one in ten women who has PCOS – and consider that half of them don’t even know it yet – many of the daily food choices of the average Western diet stacked high in supermarkets will damage their health now and make them more likely to get diabetes in the future. I’m one of those women. And I realized how vital taking control of my diet was when I developed debilitating symptoms of PCOS after coming off the Pill aged 23. Slowly but surely my hair started falling out faster and faster, an overwhelming fatigue took over my body, leaving me needing to sleep for 18 hours a day at weekends, unwanted hairs sprouted on my upper lip and abdomen, and livid, tender, lumpy spots became routine, instead of occasional PMS visitors, all over my face, back and upper chest. My periods got less frequent until they dwindled to nothing – my weight, on the other hand, crept steadily upwards. And let’s not even get started on those mood swings!

      After a long drawn-out process of repeated visits to the doctor I managed to get blood tests and an ultrasound scan that gave me the PCOS diagnosis, but when I asked about treatments other than the Pill (I’d never felt well on the several brands I had tried, with regular fainting bouts, dizziness, hot flushes and bloating) I was referred to a gynaecologist with a five-month wait and told they wouldn’t know anything else really, either, but I could go if I really wanted to.

      I was faced with the prospect of five more months of declining health, or taking matters into my own hands. I decided to turn PCOS-detective.

      At that time there weren’t any really user-friendly websites, no support groups, no books other than medical texts and medical studies which were full of difficult jargon. I was – and still am – in the privileged position to be working for the UK’s leading natural health magazine, Here’s Health, with access to a fantastic library and a network of complementary health experts who seemed to know a fair amount about treating women with PCOS. Using their expertise, trawling through books and every website I could find with any useful information on it, I decided to become my own guinea pig and started eating a very healthy vegetarian diet, with very, very little alcohol, caffeine or high-fat dairy foods, plenty of soy, wholegrains, fruits and vegetables and taking the herb agnus castus as well as other supplements including essential fatty acids. I also had reflexology treatment and did a naturopathic detox.

      I was amazed to find that within six weeks my periods were back, my hair was thicker and my spots were vanishing. I was convinced that food was the missing link in treating PCOS. Five years later, this book proves that it really is – the volume of research and scientific interest in PCOS and diet has grown massively over the last few years – there are now support groups and websites, discussion groups and chat rooms, and a whole lot more openness about PCOS and its sometimes embarrassing symptoms. But what hasn’t been shouted from the rooftops enough is the fact that eating a balanced, healthy diet with a few PCOS-tailored twists will not only help you beat your symptoms but it will protect your future health. Because PCOS isn’t just about the day-to-day grind of spots, tiredness, weight gain and wondering when your next period will arrive. The hard facts are that it’s about being at an increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and fertility problems in the long term. And although a lot of medication can help you deal with your symptoms day to day – the simplest, most effective way to cut your risks for all these conditions and boost your fertility into the bargain is to eat well and exercise.

      This has to be one of the most satisfying things for me about managing my PCOS using diet as the essential basis for good health. It’s something simple I can do every day to help myself feel better – and after the long haul of trying to get a diagnosis for my symptoms, and trying to come to terms with having this lifelong condition, it was one of the most fantastic feelings to be able to take control again with the simple act of cooking myself nourishing meals.

      It almost sounds too simple – and maybe some of you are thinking ‘Oh no, not another healthy eating plan, I’ve heard it all before.’ But what’s different about this book is that it’s tailored for PCOS and explains exactly why each step of the healthy eating programme we suggest is good for helping to deal with this condition.

      What’s more, it’s not just a healthy eating plan. Just as there’s far more to PCOS than weight problems, there’s also far more to healthy eating than knowing why you should eat specific foods. Being a health journalist and a woman who uses diet and natural medicine to manage her own PCOS, I can truly understand that massive gap between knowing what’s good for you and actually getting round to doing it! Every day I read and write about why healthy living can boost energy, radiance and vitality – and yet sometimes all I want to do is crawl home and eat my way through a bath of melted chocolate.

      This emotional