How does diet affect PCOS? Dos and Don’ts

Are you suffering from Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome or PCOS? Wonder- ing what to eat and delete? Knowing the dietary dos and don’ts will lead to making better choices. With September being the PCOS Awareness Month, maintaining optimum weight and adhering to a well-balanced diet will be helpful in managing the symptoms of PCOS.

It is a reproductive metabolic syndrome and imbalance or an endocrine metabolic problem. Those women having PCOS may have infrequent or pro- longed menstrual periods or excess male hormone (androgen) levels. Moreover, one’s ovaries build up numerous small collections of fluid (follicles) and fail to release eggs regularly.

One may suffer from PCOS if the insulin is the hormone that is produced by your pancreas that tends to allow cells to use sugar, which is the body’s primary energy supply. Furthermore, one’s blood sugar level can rise, if one’s cells become resistant to the action of insulin. Hence, one’s androgen production can be increased owing to the ex- cess insulin, and one may have difficulty when it comes to ovulation. It can be heredity; even excess androgen can be the reason as the ovaries produce abnormally high levels of androgen, causing hirsutism and acne.

Women having PCOS tend to experience a low- grade inflammation that stimulates polycystic ovaries to produce androgen, which can invite heart and blood vessel problems. Irregular menstruation and having polycystic ovaries can be the signs of it. Here, your ovaries might be enlarged and contain follicles that surround the eggs. Due to which, your ovaries may not function properly. Thus, one will have to take the right kind of nutrition to tackle PCOS.

The right kind of diet that women with PCOS can follow in a nutshell.

The writer is a dietician at Apollo Spectra Hospital, Delhi.