PCOS favours the fat women- Be thin, be free of PCOS

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome or Disease (PCOS or PCOD) is the modern day nightmare for 1 in 10 women in India. For many unknown causes, apart from heredity, female reproductive system can malfunction at the ovaries and this leads to PCOD. Susan M Simrans, in her article in Dec 2013, correctly summarises the many problems of PCOD- masculine type facial hair, unpredictable menstrual cycle, hormonal imbalances, delayed or troubled pregnancy and childbirth issues.

Obesity and PCOS

If you are a little heavy weight person and suffering from PCOS, you must have observed that your periods are more irregular than your under/ normal weight friend with PCOS. Furthermore, as indicated by Richard Legro in his manuscript dated Oct 2012, obese females are prone to higher male dominating features of PCOD, like facial hair growth and elevated testosterone levels. This is because obesity triggers your hormones involved in this disorder to malfunction more rapidly.  The most dangerous effect of being obese in PCOD is that you are more inclined towards getting the Dreadful D- Diabetes (Jeanes YM et al, June 2017)!

Your doctor must have implied the need of weight loss for better hormonal control. If she hasn’t, well, better change your doctor along with your diet!

The MIRACLE Diet for PCOS

Sorry. There is no such thing. One single miraculous diet does not exist. Please do not fall prey to these marketing gimmicks. Just like your food likes and dislikes differ from the person next to you, your diet plan will differ too. Having said that, every weight loss diet has a few fundamental rules- the deal breakers. These form the base of your weight loss regime and your diet plans become the continuum. Today, this blog aims at providing a little insight on these fundamental deal breakers which will help you move towards your weight loss goal with ease, thereby becoming thin and becoming free from PCOS signs and symptoms.

• The article submitted by J Hadrevi on Feb 2017 illustrates that fibre from fruits and vegetables are the undeniable first line of attack on your weight. Your main meals should include tons of raw and cooked veggies, both greens and otherwise, whilst the in-between snacks should be packed with fruits in solid, raw form. Cherries, plums, grapefruit, corn, kiwis, apples, coconut water, tender coconut, grapes, etc. are ideal snack partners.
• If you are inclined on munching, then always carry around almonds, walnuts, lotus seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, raisins, black currants, dried fruits, etc. for those munching pangs.
•  Not only the quantity but also the quality matters. We are talking about your oil preference. Kindly shift to olive oil/ rice bran oil/ sesame oil/ soya bean oil for better results.
• Regular screening for vitamin and mineral deficiency is very important to attune your diet. Many researchers point to significant Vitamin D deficiency in PCOD patients.

Diabetes and PCOS

Most practitioners prefer to give Metformin, the anti- diabetic drug, along with regular PCOD medication. This has multiple benefits like keeping diabetes from setting in or maintaining/ reducing elevated blood sugar levels and also helping in reducing weight. One should regularly undergo diabetic screening and keep this major problem at bay with proper diet, lifestyle and medication.