Is dieting the answer to PCOS?

PCOS – Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome, a hormonal & endocrine disorder estimated to affect 1 in 10 women (1).

One of the most common recommendations to support the impacts of PCOS is dieting for weight loss. This is often down to the insulin resistance that is thought to be in association with the condition (2), which can disrupt how effectively cells use insulin and contribute to higher androgens in the body, which then aggrevates symptoms. With this in mind, it’s not a huge surprise that obesity or higher weight ranges are often associated with PCOS.

However, 20-50% women who have PCOS, fall in to the healthy weight range (3), suggesting there is much more to look at here, beyond the vague guidance of ‘weight loss’. Focusing on weight loss can often be unhelpful, especially in women who have a long history of dieting, plus common weight loss methods can adversely affect PCOS symptoms. On top of this, rates of eating disorders are found to be higher in women suffering with PCOS (4), showing higher rates of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder when compared with women without PCOS (5), with particular attention needed in women with higher BMIs (6) . Which begs the question; why are we talking about dieting at all…?

Inclusion over exclusion

When figuring out where to start with managing PCOS, it’s pretty easy to find long lists of all the things to avoid, but what about all the things to include? An inclusion approach focuses on what to add in to your diet & lifestyle, rather than remove. There are many nutrients that have been found to be useful for supporting symptoms.

Magnesium

Magnesium is often found to be low in women with PCOS, and contributes to many systems in the body; regulating insulin levels, blood pressure, sleep, energy production, hormone production and mood (7, 8) . Magnesium is found in:

• Pumpkin seeds
• Brazil nuts
• Almonds
• Cashew nuts
• Peanuts
• Sunflower seeds
• Soya beans
• Spinach
• Marmite

• Oysters
• Shellfish – especially crab and lobster
• Red meat
• Cashew nuts
• Chickpeas
• Baked beans
• Fortified breakfast cereals

Anti inflammatory foods

There’s evidence to suggest that anti inflammatory foods can help to reduce inflammation and manage PCOS symptoms (10). These include:

•  Berries
• Green leafy veg
• Avocados
• Oily fish
• Turmeric
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Tomatoes
• Almonds
• Walnuts
• Seeds
• Wholegrains

• Movement – that feels good! Whatever feels good to you is the best place to start.
• Stress – cortisol can play havoc in our hormone balance, try managing stress through calming actives such mindfulness, yoga, meditation, reading, journalling (12)
• Sleep – you need to prioritise your 8 hours. An under slept body is a stressed body! (13)
• Hydrate – A minimum of 2 litres a day is what keeps your body where it wants to be.