Healing Your PCOS Symptoms Using Food
Article by Lizzy Cangro ANutr
Did you know that approximately one in ten women have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)?
Whilst it’s common, it’s not very well understood, even among medical professionals which often makes for a long and frustrating journey to diagnose and heal your PCOS. For example, you may have been told by your doctor that you just have to ‘put up with’ irregular periods, acne, facial hair growth, hair loss, and difficulty losing weight. Or perhaps they’ve tried to palm you off with a prescription like the contraceptive pill that’s not actually going to get to the root cause of or heal your symptoms. That’s completely backwards, so here are some natural solutions to improving your symptoms and feeling better using the healing power of food.
What is PCOS?
PCOS is diagnosed using the Rotterdam criteria, which stipulates that, in order to have PCOS, you must have two of the following three symptoms: irregular menstrual cycles, elevated androgen levels, and/or multiple cysts on your ovaries.
These symptoms can be driven by various physiological mechanisms, including insulin resistance, inflammation and nervous system dysfunction. Knowing the root cause of your PCOS is vital so that you can implement a focused and effective strategy to manage and reverse your PCOS symptoms.
Insulin-Resistant PCOS
Insulin-Resistant PCOS is the most common type of PCOS, affecting around 70% of those diagnosed. With this type of PCOS, you experience issues with blood sugar control, sugar cravings, and weight gain.
When it comes to addressing and correcting insulin resistance, nutrition is key. For example, eating adequate protein and fibre at each meal is one of the most effective things you can do to manage your blood sugar. That’s because they help slow the release of glucose from food into your bloodstream.
Protein is also essential in maintaining muscle mass. As muscle is responsible for 70-90% of glucose disposal, ensuring you preserve and build muscle is critical for reversing insulin resistance and improving your PCOS symptoms.
Inflammatory PCOS
In the case of Inflammatory PCOS, you’ll likely experience fatigue, joint pain, breakouts, gut issues, and thyroid conditions like Hashimoto’s as a result of chronic inflammation.
With this type of PCOS, it’s essential to incorporate anti-inflammatory compounds such as omega-3 fatty acids from salmon, flax seeds and walnuts, as well as antioxidants such as vitamin C, vitamin E and selenium to protect your body against oxidative stress.
Conversely, it’s important to consider reducing the amount of foods you eat that have the potential to fuel inflammation such as those that contain added sugars and hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Post-Pill PCOS
Whilst less common, some women develop PCOS only when they come off of the oral contraceptive pill. In this case, restoring communication between your brain and your ovaries by lowering your cortisol levels and restoring your nervous saystem function is vital in healing your symptoms.
Ensuring you eat breakfast within the first hour of waking up, getting sunlight exposure in the morning, and daily journaling are all simple yet highly effective strategies for managing cortisol and regulating your nervous system.
As your adrenal glands are responsible for cortisol production and they rely heavily on sodium, potassium and vitamin C in order to function optimally, it’s important to include enough of these nutrients in your diet. Some of the best food sources of these include citrus fruits, berries, bananas, and unrefined salt.
Summary
It’s essential to identify the underlying root cause of your PCOS; whether that’s insulin resistance, inflammation or a rebound effect of coming off of the contraceptive pill. Once you know this, you can focus on nutrition and lifestyle strategies to help regulate your blood sugar, improve your insulin sensitivity, ease inflammation, lower excess androgens and support your body’s nervous system, which will ultimately help you manage and reverse your PCOS symptoms.
If you’re interested in identifying the root cause of your PCOS and having a personalised nutrition and lifestyle plan to support healing and reversing your symptoms, I invite you to head to the Nutrition by Lizzy website and book a complimentary call with me.
Refefences
The Endocrine Society (2022) Polycystic Ovary Syndrome https://www.endocrine.org/patient-engagement/endocrine-library/pcos#:~:text=Polycystic%20ovary%20syndrome%20(PCOS)%20is,6%20million%20women%20have%20PCOS.
Christ, J.P. and Cedars, M.I., 2023. Current guidelines for diagnosing PCOS. Diagnostics, 13(6), p.1113.
Jensen, J., Rustad, P.I., Kolnes, A.J. and Lai, Y.C., 2011. The role of skeletal muscle glycogen breakdown for regulation of insulin sensitivity by exercise. Frontiers in physiology, 2, p.112.
This article was written by Lizzy Cangro who is a registered associate nutritionist (ANutr) and multi-award-winning author who specialises in helping women like you balance your hormones so that you can feel your best even when life is busy. For more information and resources, connect with Lizzy on Instagram @nutritionbylizzy.