PCOS or Polycystic Ovary Syndrome is a common endocrine condition amongst women in their reproductive age. Some of the key symptoms of PCOS are:
- thinning hair
- irregular periods
- weight gain
- ovarian cysts acne
See, you need to understand that the causes of PCOS are quite complicated. However, hormone regulation and insulin resistance are the prevalent factors. You can curtail these factors, manage your symptoms via a few lifestyle changes and the inclusion of certain dietary supplements.
However, you need to know and understand that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to the treatment. Hence, before you try any alternative treatment, you must speak to your doctor and discuss with them the interactions, side effects, and probable dosage.
Here, we will enlist some tips that can help you deal with PCOS.
Find yourself an experienced doctor
There are several different combinations of PCOS treatments, which include lifestyle changes and medications. More so, the symptoms can occur differently from one woman to another. Your doctor should carefully review the lab tests and the symptoms, and then based on it; they will tailor a treatment plan for you.
Only an experienced doctor, which is experienced in treating PCOS will be equipped to do this. Thus, it would help if you spoke to your primary care professional for a recommendation or a good PCOS doctor referral. It could be an endocrinologist or an OB/GYN.
Be careful with the calories.
A study found that your caloric intake directly impacts insulin, glucose, and testosterone levels. Reducing insulin can rightly help you combat infertility issues. In women who have PCOS and consumed maximum calories in their breakfast for twelve weeks, the glucose and the insulin levels improved. It also lowered the testosterone levels by up to fifty percent compared to the women who consumed maximum calories during dinner time.
For women, the effective diet comprises nine-hundred and eighty calories in breakfast, six-hundred and forty calories during lunch, and one hundred and ninety calories during dinner time.
Keep your weight in check.
Janet, an online computer science tutor, states that maintaining healthy body weight is a vital part of keeping your PCOS symptoms in check. The primary cause of PCOS is also believed to be the additional weight, which puts them at a greater risk of diabetes, heart disease, and other problems associated with metabolic syndrome.
There is not enough understanding to state clearly whether PCOS makes it challenging to shed weight or whether being overweight aggravates PCOS.
Regardless of the situation, losing about five percent of the bodyweight provides you instant relief from PCOS symptoms.
To shed weight, you will have to make some lifestyle changes, such as eating a healthy and balanced diet, engaging in a lot of physical activity, and cutting calories. This can help you shed some pounds and simultaneously lower your risk of health complications.
Consume five smaller meals a day
This is great to keep your insulin levels at an aggregable level. You can replace the unhealthy inclusions in your diet with some healthy fats, such as nuts, seeds, avocado, oily fish, oils, and organic protein.
Further, you should also add a good proportion of fruits and green leafy vegetables to your diet. Also, cut refined sugar, soy, wheat, dairy, caffeine, or any other stimulants from your diet. Lastly, take some time to chew your food slowly and cherish it. You can replace all of this with green tea, quinoa, oats, spelt, goat’s milk, coconut sugar or syrup, and almond milk.
Get the correct dose of supplements and herbs.
In people with PCOS, it is vital to get the right dosage of supplements. This can help the body’s process of elimination and the functioning of the organs. Some of the useful ones that you can add to your diet are omegas, a multi-vitamin and mineral, magnesium, cod liver oil, calcium, zinc, magnesium, and vitamin D.
Eliminate coffee
Caffeine leads to changes in your estrogen levels. It also brings in a shift in hormone behavior. If you consume coffee to boost your energy levels, you can switch to decaf alternatives, such as herbal tea. Kombucha’s probiotic properties also work well.
In case you find it impossible to do without a caffeine boost, you can switch to green tea. Green tea betters insulin resistance and can help with weight management in women with PCOS.
Quit smoking
Smoking can aggravate the androgen levels in your body. The hormone is mainly responsible for PCOS symptoms. Quitting smoking can lower the androgen levels and prevent symptom flare-ups. More so, smoking cessation also has plenty of other health benefits. It reduces your risk of developing oral cancers, cardiovascular diseases, lung cancer, and other health conditions.
So, these are some lifestyle changes that you can make to deal with PCOS. Have more suggestions to add to our list? Let us know in the comments below.
