If you are suffering from PCOS you should pay attention to the food you are consuming as it can alleviate or worsen the situation.By following a proper diet you can manage PCOS in a better way.As PCOS is a hormonal issue it can be controlled with a proper well-balanced diet.
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome is now a common condition affecting around 20% of the women around the globe. The most unpleasing fact about PCOS is that a female suffering from it find very difficult to conceive. Medical Science has come up with multiple treatment methods to combat PCOS.
However, these treatments won’t work successfully until and unless accompanied by a PCOS diet. A proper diet is very crucial to improve the symptoms of PCOS. To help you out, we have given down a detailed information about the PCOS diet plan.
Table of Contents
PCOS Diet Plan
Breakfast
Finish your breakfast within 1 hour after you wake up. Try finishing your breakfast by 8.30am. Few of the breakfast options are:
2 eggs poached or fried/1 slice of salmon or any lean meat/2 mini frittatas/protein shake/quinoa + half bowl of stir-fried or boiled vegetables like basil, broccoli, cucumber, or any other leafy vegetable + half cup of coffee or tea (optional)
Mid-Snack
Mid-snack is a small meal before lunch. It is to reduce the quantity of lunch. Try finishing your mid-snack by 11 am.A few options for mid snack are:
4 Vita Wheats and 2 slices of cheese/ a bowl of blueberries and strawberries or any fruit of your choice/ small cup greek yogurt
Lunch
Lunch is always a bit heavier than dinner. It should include all the essential nutrients required by the body. Try finishing your lunch by 2.30pm. A few options for lunch are:
Tuna wrap/ chicken salad with mixed green vegetables/ smoked salmon rolled with spinach/ turkey wrap/ sliced roasted beef with vegetables + a bowl of vegetable soup
Evening Snack
Evening snack is a small snack before dinner. It is to again fill you up with something nutritious and to avoid high intake during dinner. Try finishing your mid snack by 4.30 pm. A few options for mid snack are: Small mixed nut bar/ a small bowl of roasted lotus seeds/ a small bowl of fruits
Dinner
Dinner should be light. Try to finish your dinner by 8.00 pm. You should at least leave 1 hour of gap between your dinner and sleep time. A few options for dinner are: Grilled salmon or any lean meat/ chicken salad/ beans salad/ vegetable salad + half a bowl of vegetable soup.
PCOS Diet Plan Indian
An Indian PCOS diet plan may contain non-vegetarian or vegetarian food items or a mixture of both of them.
Down below, is an Indian PCOS diet plan to help you with your diet:
Breakfast
Finish your breakfast within 1 hour after you wake up. Try finishing your breakfast by 8.30am.
Few of the breakfast options are:
1 small serving of fruit like apple, banana, strawberry, etc. + 2 whole eggs boiled or fried/ a small bowl of Upma/ a small bowl of Paneer flavored with few herbs and spices/ a glass of protein shake
Mid-Snack
Mid-snack is a small meal before lunch. It is to reduce the quantity of lunch. Try finishing your mid-snack by 11 am.A few options for mid snack are:
1 multigrain toast with peanut butter/ a small bowl of roasted makhanas/ a small bowl of masala corn
Lunch
Lunch is always a bit heavier than dinner. It should include all the essential nutrients required by the body. Try finishing your lunch by 2.30pm. A few options for lunch are:
1-2 egg whites/ 1 piece of chicken breast/ 1 piece of grilled fish/ 1 bowl of paneer bhurji + 2 multigrain roti/ a bowl of brown rice + a small bowl of dal + a small bowl of green salad
Evening Snack
Evening snack is a small snack before dinner. It is to again fill you up with something nutritious and to avoid high intake during dinner. Try finishing your mid snack by 4.30 pm. Evening snack options are same as mid-snack options.
Dinner
Dinner should be light. Try to finish your dinner by 8.00 pm. You should at least leave 1 hour of gap between your dinner and sleep time. A few options for dinner are:
A bowl of vegetable salad seasoned with olive oil/ a bowl of chicken salad/ 2 small moong chillas + a small bowl of vegetable or chicken soup.
Foods To Be Taken For PCOS
Before starting the PCOS diet plan, you must know the role of different kinds of food on your body. You should know the foods to be taken to improve your condition.
Once you know it, it will be easy for you to understand the PCOS diet plan and incorporate food according to your choice.
Down below is a list of food items that you should have in your PCOS diet.
1. Green Leafy Vegetables
Green leafy vegetables include lettuce, kale, spinach, dandelions, basil, parsley, endive, and arugula. They are the best low-calorie, low glycemic index, high fiber rich food with essential vitamins and minerals.
They aid in digestion and absorption of nutrients in the gut and improves the overall glucose regulation in the body. Maintaining the glucose will maintain the insulin levels in the body and ultimately the insulin levels in the body.
Moreoff, leafy green vegetables are a good source of Vitamin B especially folate, the plant form of folic acid. The intake of folate would is necessary for neurological and hormonal health.
Overall, these green leafy vegetables maintain the body functioning and the weight gain too during PCOS.
Nevertheless, to increase the bioavailability of the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K it is best to consume green vegetables with a little oil or butter.
2. Colored Vegetables
Colored vegetables are a powerhouse of vitamins, fibers, minerals, and unique bioactive phytocomponents. These nutrients maintain the glucose levels, reduce body-inflammation, eliminate oxidative stress, and lowers the risk of cardiovascular disorders.
In this category comes vegetables like broccoli, asparagus, carrot, sweet potatoes, beetroot, tomatoes, potatoes, bell pepper, etc.
They all are an excellent source of protein, fiber, phytochemicals, and folate. They also act as antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer agents.
The excellent health fortifying properties help to maintain the hormones of the body and thereby control the progression of PCOS.
You can have these nutritious food steamed, boiled, roasted, grilled, or sauteed. Alternatively, you can dip them in yogurt or hummus, drizzle them sparingly with a little vinaigrette or any salad dressing, or toss them with herbs.
You can consume these in whichever form or way you want to have them. However, be cautious don’t consume a single variety throughout the week. Consume all of them in the rotation.
3. Fruits
Fruits are an excellent source of minerals, vitamins, poly-nutrient, and fibers. However, the fructose in few of the fruits is not fit for women with PCOS. Be wise in choosing fruits for your PCOS diet.
Choose fruits with low glycemic index like kiwifruit, strawberry, pear, cantaloupe, guava, watermelons, apple, and apricot.
In fruit, category berries are too good for PCOS diet. Berries like blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, and cranberries are filled with immune boosting and anti-oxidant properties.
This category fruits also have flavonoids, phytonutrients, and polyphenols to fight again PCOS and body inflammation.
Not only this, a few types of research have found that they can also regulate insulin levels in the body and thereby decrease the PCOS symptoms.
4. Nut And Seeds
Almonds, pistachios, cashews, walnuts, macadamia nuts, flax seeds, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, and hemp seeds are some of the food sources that are protein-packed food items. They also have minerals like calcium, magnesium, and selenium to benefit the functioning of the entire body systems.
When you eat nuts along with fruits or other glycemic index foods they have the potential to lower the glycemic index and improve the glucose-insulin regulation.
Pumpkin seeds, in particular, are very useful for PCOS as it contains the essential fatty acids require by the body. The essential fatty acids regulate the hormonal functioning, regulate the insulin levels, and maintain the hair growth patterns too. Overall, you could regulate your PCOS symptoms by incorporating nuts and seeds in your daily diet.
5. Organic Meat
If you want to eat a healthy protein source than nothing could be better than eating organic meat. The organic meat here means lean meat.
Lean meat would provide you the essential protein source that your body needs and at the same time would also maintain your weight. Try substituting one meal of your day with organic meat to control the weight gain during PCOS.
6. Low GI Carb
Its inevitable to completely reduce carbohydrates from your body.
Avoiding carbs entirely might seem impossible with the PCOS diet plan to get pregnant. However, it is not true. Any carb with a low glycemic index will not break down immediately to cause a sudden surge of sugar.
They digest slowly and will give you the energy that you need. Nonstarchy vegetables, lentils, and beans are the best sources.
Foods To Be Avoided For PCOS
PCOS diet involves eliminating a few foods from your diet. However, these foods are loved by all of us, but we can for sure sacrifice them for a good health.
So, here is the list of foods to be avoided for PCOS.
1. Dairy Products
Dairy products are not at all good for PCOS. It is because they contain IGF-1 or insulin-growth-factor 1. This factor mimics insulin the body.
So, the more IGF-1, the more the insulin, the more the testosterone, and the more the PCOS symptoms. Dairy items like milk, cakes, shakes, cream, yogurt, etc. are to be avoided.
If you love milk tan you can opt for rice milk, oat milk, and coconut milk. Nevertheless, butter is the only dairy food which does not have too much dairy content in it so you can consume butter.
2. Gluten
Gluten tends to cause general inflammation in the body. With inflammation, the body tends to be more resistant to insulin.
This will ultimately lead to more insulin and testosterone levels in the body. Include gluten-free food with a low glycemic index like buckwheat, Cellophane noodles, corn tortilla, rice vermicelli, soba noodle, quinoa, and wild rice.
Be cautious don’t go for gluten-free food that has a high glycemic index like gluten-free pasta and bread.
3. Soy
Soy products are known to delay ovulation in females. Females with PCOS already struggle with ovulation so adding one more delay factor won’t be good. Soy products will just exacerbate the symptoms of PCOS so it’s better to not have them.
4. Processed Food
Processed foods have high sodium content and many unhealthy fats that may only worsen your case. Try limiting the number of processed foods from your daily diet.
This is another way of managing the symptoms of PCOS and your weight too. Processed foods are the food items that are packed and have lots of preservative in it like canned products, fried foods, etc.
5. Caffeine
Caffeine has numerous disadvantages. Studies suggest excessive consumption of caffeine contained drinks can affect the fertility of women. As PCOS already has an impact on fertility so drinking caffeinated drinks would just make it worse.
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Diet Plan
PCOS diet plan aims to normalize the insulin levels and reduce the weight percentage of the body. Researchers have shown that diet and lifestyle changes are more effective than the medical treatments for PCOS. So, now you know that you need to change the way you eat to manage your PCOS symptoms.
The diet plan includes incorporating more protein and cutting out sugar levels. In a PCOS diet, it is recommended to take five small meals rather than taking three single big meals.
It is because small meals increase the way the body digests the food. Down below is a PCOS diet plan to help you with your daily diet.
How Will The Diet Affect PCOS?
Changing the daily diet is one of the most crucial things that you can do to manage your PCOS symptoms. An effective diet can change the way your hormone works. A variety of researches done on human shows that diet and lifestyle changes are the most effective way of managing PCOS.
Unfortunately, most of you don’t consider it much and tend to go for medications first. Trust me, if you follow the PCOS diet plan regularly than you don’t need to go fo medical treatment also as it is so much effective
The PCOS diet is made in regard to its causes. The diet aims to eliminate the causes of PCOS so as to control its symptoms. However, researchers are still not sure about the causes of PCOS but still have managed to find out a few.
Below are the causes of PCOS that can be treated through diet.
Insulin
Women with PCOS issues are often found to have high amounts of Insulin than the normal levels. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas to convert sugar into glucose to give energy.
Researchers suggest PCOS affect the beta cells of the pancreas which tends to over-respond to any glucose in the bloodstream causing a rush up in the insulin level.
High insulin levels create a havoc in the body leading to an array of PCOS symptoms like increased hair growth, weight gain, high cholesterol levels, irregular periods, increased appetite, food cravings, and polycystic ovaries.
Thus, managing the insulin level is one way of managing the symptoms of PCOS. Food like refined carbohydrates causes a rush in the insulin levels so are best to be avoided. A whole grain diet with unprocessed food can manage the level of insulin in the body significantly.
Insulin And Androgens
A few other symptoms of PCOS like hirsutism (facial hair growth), infertility, and acne are caused by the high levels of androgens or testosterone in the body. Now, too many androgens or testosterone comes from higher insulin levels.
The ovaries are responsible for producing androgen, but with PCOS the ovaries become too sensitive to insulin and this causes them to secrete more testosterone or androgens. So, the secretion of insulin indirectly increases the production of androgens or testosterone too.
Overall, it can be said that a PCOS diet that manages the insulin levels can manage the testosterone levels too.
Managing both the hormone levels can improve a variety of PCOS symptoms like hair growth, gained weight, irregular periods, infertility, high cholesterol, etc.
How To Lose Weight With PCOS Naturally?
With PCOS its normal to gain weight, but few lifestyle changes and exercise regimen would definitely help you out. If you can manage yourself than PCOS can do nothing to your weight.
You would be surprised to know that if you follow the PCOS diet mentioned above along with few precautions you can not only manage your PCOS symptoms but also control your weight in the most natural way.
So, down below are a few tips and tricks to lose weight with PCOS naturally:
1. Eat Nutritious Food
Eating right is the key to success. Eat more weight loss foods like salads, lean meat, and soup. Try to avoid all packed processed food, junk food, and sugary items as much as possible.
For an optimal weight loss, your diet should contain 30% of protein and less than 50% of carbohydrates. You can even follow the diet plan mentioned above as it optimal calorie diet plan which can aid in weight loss too.
2. Exercise
Researchers suggest exercise has the power get rid of insulin resistance. You can perform any form of exercises like walking, running, strength training, cardio, and yoga. The rule for exercise is to spend at least 130 minutes in a week on exercise.
If you are a beginner start with 30 minutes of brisk walk or do 30-60 minutes of swimming. For people who are into exercise can do any version of exercises like strength training, HIIT, or cardio. However, if you are doing moderate to advanced level of exercise prefer doing it under a trainer.
3. Measure Your Portions
Controlling the portion is an effective way of reducing the weight. Most of the time distorted portions are a major contributor to weight gain. Measuring portions would avoid overeating.
Your meal should contain more than one bowl of anything. Alternatively, you can opt for a quarter size plate as it is almost equal to one bowl.
If you are consuming a packed food, check the nutritional label at the back. You can even use measuring cups or spoons to measure your quantity of food.
Always drink a glass of water half an hour before a meal. In addition to it, don’t full your tummy that is there should be a little space in your tummy after you finish your food.
4. Prefer Home-Cooked Food
A home cooked-food is fresh and hygienic. The home cooked foods the amount of fat percentage is also as compared to outside food. Most of the time in restaurants more amount of oil is added to make the food tasty.
Try consuming home cooked food maximum number of times. Food brought from outside is not fresh and is full of poor quality items. This habit would surely help to manage your weight naturally.
Final Talk
If you are dealing with the PCOS symptoms, you might feel frustrated at times. Taking proactive steps regarding your health can improve your mood and reduce your symptoms significantly.
Here, proactive steps refer to lifestyles changes which keep your body fit and healthy. One of the best ways to achieve this is to create a food list and do any sort of mild to moderate physical activity on a regular basis. Doing these won’t alleviate your symptoms in a day, but will surely show results in a few weeks.
Nevertheless, managing PCOS in a natural way is most desired as it keeps you away from the side-effects of medical treatment and the results would last for a longer time. If your symptoms persist, consult your doctor.
