Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is a complex multigenic life-long disorder, with strong epigenetic and environmental influences, which is good news as this means you can improve your symptoms into remission and manage it well through the right diet, lifestyle and nutritional support.
One of the key ways to address this condition is to reduce inflammation and regulate insulin – assuming that you have PCOS with insulin resistance. There are different ways to work with PCOS, and as I always say, its about knowing what tools you can add to your toolbox and use, this could be a combination of Western Medicine, nutrition and lifestyle changes and Chinese Medicine.
Here are some of the episode highlights:
- Western medicine used to optimise fertility with PCOS
- Eight nutritional guidelines to get you started:
- Eat 3 regular meals a day
- Aim for 8-10 servings of vegetables a day
- Limit to about 2 pieces of fruit a day
- Small amounts of Complex Carbohydrates
- Animal sourced protein and nutrients
- Eat a diet rich in colour to get a range of anti-oxidants
- Significantly reduce or eliminate alcohol
- Beware of natural sugars
- Harmful foods
- Supplements, herbs and adaptogens:
- Zinc
- Inositol
- Vitamin D
- Cinnamon
- Spearmint tea
- Green tea extract
- N-acetylcysteine (NAC)
- Minimizing stress and maximising sleep
- Wise exercising
- Chinese medicine options
- Testing
- Potential approach to fertility
Recommended reading:
There was obviously a lot I didn’t cover, as it’s a large topic and I certainly couldn’t do it justice in a 40 minute episode. This is why I have provided some excellent further reading resources for you:
- Claire Goodwin: Getting Pregnant with PCOS
- Fiona McCulloch: 8 Steps to Reverse Your PCOS
References:
- Clomiphene: Ovulation and Ovulation-Inducing Fertility Medications for Treating Infertility in Womem. Available at: https://www.pacificfertilitycenter.com/treatment-care/clomiphene. Accessed 21/09/21
- Klonoff-Cohen, H., Lam-Kruglick, P., & Gonzalez, C. (2003). Effects of maternal and paternal alcohol consumption on the success rates of in vitro fertilization and gamete intrafallopian transfer. Fertility and sterility, 79(2), 330–339. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0015-0282(02)04582-x
- Abdelhamid, Amr Mohamed S.a,b; Ismail Madkour, Wael A.a,c; Borg, Tamer Farouka Inositol versus metformin administration in polycystic ovarian disease patients, Journal of Evidence-Based Women’s Health Journal Society: May 2015 – Volume 5 – Issue 2 – p 61-66 doi: 1097/01.EBX.0000462483.99152.8d
- Tea for PCOS: https://rootfunctionalmedicine.com/tea-for-pcos/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5788221/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4673950/
- Are the Rotterdam Criteria Still Relevant in PCOS Diagnoses? Weighing the Consensus’ Current Relevance (2020). Available at: https://www.volusonclub.net/empowered-womens-health/are-the-rotterdam-criteria-still-relevant-in-pcos-diagnoses-weighing-the-consensus-current-relevance/ Accessed 21/09/21
Relevant blogs:
Further Endo Fertility resources:
- Join my Endo Fertility community! Find us in the Thrive and Conceive with Endometriosis Facebook Group.
- Follow me on Instagram and Facebook
- Music Credit: Intro/Outro music Optimistic Future
This episode is sponsored by the Endo Fertility Resource Library where you can get your 3 amazing freebies: E-Book:
- 5 Things I Learnt to Drop My Pain & Optimise My Fertility,
- Your Guide to Super Sperm
- 88 Ways I Dropped My Pain and Got Pregnant.
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This podcast is for educational purposes only. As I do not know your personal circumstances, none of my podcast episodes, blogs, guidance in the Facebook group or any other materials available to you where I have not taken you on as a one to one client shall be construed as medical advice and I shall have no liability to you in any circumstances should you choose to rely on any of the materials I publish.
