It’s September which means it is PCOS awareness month and it’s time to talk about one of the most common reproductive health conditions, affecting 1 in 10 females of reproductive age (1).
SO, what is PCOS?
PCOS is a hormonal disorder that presents with a collection of symptoms and is diagnosed based of presenting with two of the following:
· Irregular or absent periods
· Clinical and/or biochemical signs of high androgens
· Polycystic ovaries (determined by ultrasound)
Some common symptoms of this disorder include:
· Anovulation
· Oily skin, acne & darkening of skin
· Excess body hair – stomach, chest, back, face
· Male-pattern baldness or thinning hair
· Weight gain, particularly around the abdomen
· Increased anxiety and depression
· Disordered eating, particularly binge eating disorder (BED)
· Difficulty becoming pregnant
Nutrition and PCOS:
While the research to date involving nutrition for PCOS is limited and better quality studies are needed, the 2023 International Evidence -based Guidelines for PCOS agrees that every single person diagnosed with PCOS should receive diet and lifestyle advice.
Here are some things I address with my PCOS clients to help manage their PCOS symptoms:
1. Insulin resistance
While research shows that no diet composition is better than the other for managing PCOS and insulin resistance (2), I would argue that including low GI carbohydrates, spread out evenly throughout the day, has more benefits than a restrictive low carbohydrate diet that may lack important nutrients such as fibre and B vitamins.
2. Gut health
People with PCOS tend to exhibit lower diversity in the gut microbiome when compared to people without PCOS (3) and there are higher rates of IBS in those with PCOS with 42% of people with PCOS also having IBS compared to those without PCOS who have a 10% IBS diagnosis rate (4).
3. Disordered eating
The prevalence of eating disorders is higher in those with PCOS than those without PCOS - those with PCOS are actually four times as likely to report disordered eating behaviours (5).
This is partly due to the narrative that people with PCOS need to lose weight in order to be healthy, which was debunked in a 2013 study that showed that a low GI diet in women with PCOS did improve insulin sensitivity without weight loss occurring (6).
4. Correcting nutritional deficiencies and ensuring adequacy of diet
There is more to PCOS than a low GI diet. It has been found that 60-80% of people with PCOS are also deficient in vitamin D (7), as well as iron if you are having heavy periods and B12 if you are taking Metformin (8).
Omega-3 fatty acids and protein are also important for reducing inflammation and improving insulin resistance (9).
5. Additional lifestyle factors
Think sleep, stress, exercise, pesticide consumption… this can all contribute to better management of PCOS and the symptoms associated.
It is really no wonder that it is recommended that everyone with PCOS receives diet and lifestyle advice!
Want some help with your own journey with PCOS? Reach out to us here. 😊
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