Many women confronting fertility problems have a condition called PCOS, or polycystic ovary syndrome. This hormonal disorder is diagnosed among 5 to 10 percent of females and is usually accompanied with overweight, irregular menses, facial hair, acne and depression. In addition to causing infertility, PCOS also puts women at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and hormone-related cancers. Adjusting your nutrition can help you live healthier with PCOS by reducing your symptoms, managing your weight, improving your fertility and lowering your risk of developing chronic health problems.
Avoid Low-Fat Diets
Following a low-fat diet is not the best nutritional option if you have PCOS. Although more research is still needed to fully understand this endocrine disorder, experts agree that insulin resistance is a part of the problem for most women dealing with PCOS, as explained by dietitian Martha McKittrick at OBGYN.net. A low-fat diet always contains more carbohydrates, and carbohydrates can make insulin resistance worse, preventing you from losing weight and getting your symptoms under control. Avoid the traditional nutrition advice recommending a low-fat diet and take a closer look at your carb intake instead.
Restrict Your Carbs
Controlling your carb intake can help you decrease the amount of insulin circulating in your blood and can help your body become more insulin sensitive and less insulin resistant. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggest that 45 to 65 percent of your calories be provided by carbs. However, the best nutrition plan for women with PCOS is to limit your carbs to 40 percent or less of your calorie intake, according to McKittrick. Identify the main sources of carbohydrates in your diet. Breakfast cereals, breads, bagels, buns, pizza dough, crackers, pasta, rice, potatoes, corn, fruits, milk, yogurt, sweets and most drinks are rich in carbohydrates and frequently appear on the menu of most Americans.
Carbohydrate Counting
To get your PCOS under control with the help of nutrition, learn how to count your carbs. Look at food labels and look up the carb content of the foods you eat in an online nutrition database and add up the grams to figure out how much you are consuming on average. To keep your carbs below 40 percent of your daily energy intake, you will need to restrict your daily carb intake to 160 to 180 g of carbohydrates or less, provided that you consume 1,600 to 1,800 calories a day. Distribute your carbs evenly throughout the day. For example, you could aim for 50 g or less of carbs at each of your meal and 15 g or less of carbs at your snacks.
Choosing the Right Carbs
Replacing quickly digested carbs with slowly digested carbs is also important to control the insulin release from your pancreas and lower the insulin resistance that is associated with your PCOS symptoms. Your nutrition plan should eliminate white potatoes, rice, bagels, most types of breads and breakfast cereals, pretzels, rice cakes, soft drinks, candies and desserts. Get your carbs from fiber-rich carbohydrates, such as legumes, quinoa, millet, sweet potatoes, whole grain pasta, old-fashioned oatmeal, nonstarchy vegetables and whole fruits. Accompany your carbs with protein, from fish, meat or poultry, and fat, from olive oil, avocado or nuts, to have a complete and nutritious meal.
References
- PCOSupport; What is Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)?; 2009
- OBGYN.net; PCOS and Diet; Martha McKittrick; 2000
- Today's Dietitian; Today's CPE - Polycystic Ovary Syndrome; Carol Brannon; October 2004
- "Nutrition & Metabolism"; The Effects of a Low-Carbohydrate, Ketogenic Diet on the Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Pilot Study; John C. Mavropoulos, et al.; December 2005
