Women’s hormones and how to balance them is a very popular subject nowadays. Many women deal with often very painful symptoms due to conditions such as endometriosis, PCOS or uterine fibroids.
If you are finding yourself suffering from discomfort when it comes to your own reproductive cycle and want natural relief, this is the article I wanted to tackle one out of these three main issues and how to address it with dietary shifts and medicinal herbs. If you are subscribed to my email list you will know when the other articles come out regarding endometriosis and uterine fibroids as well, so make sure you are subscribed.
What is it?
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is mainly a hormonal issue that commonly shows up with women during their reproductive age. Women that are dealing with PCOS experience prolonged or infrequent periods and may also have elevated male hormone levels (androgens). Ovaries in women with PCOS often develop small collection of fluid and a woman can fail to have a regular release of egg. So far the specific cause of PCOS is unknown but it is important to see your doctor to get a diagnosis of PCOS so you can better know if that is the issue you are dealing with and not something else related to your reproductive cycle like endometriosis. (1)
Symptoms
A lot of women experience symptoms of PCOS later on in life but they may also show up during puberty. Often a woman will see her doctor for another issue such as trying to conceive or maybe is dealing with adult acne and the doctor will do a series of tests for hormone levels, insulin levels, thyroid levels, as well as ultrasounds to see what is causing the issue.
One of the most common symptom is irregular or infrequent periods and prolonged menstrual cycles. Also having abnormally painful periods is a common complaint. Looking at your own cycle, tracking it, and seeing if you have fewer than 9 periods each year or regularly go more than 35 days between periods can be an indicator of PCOS.
Because PCOS affects mainly the male hormones, women may show signs of severe acne, hair loss or baldness, excessive facial hair and excessive body hair because of excess androgens.
Women who suffer from PCOS may have enlarged ovaries that contain follicles that surround the egg resulting in ovaries that do not function as they should which may affect fertility for women who wish to have children.
Diet
Diet for PCOS might seem a bit obvious as it means that you need to be cutting out junk foods and including nourishing foods that are anti inflammatory. Inflammatory foods that are high on the list to cut out are processed sugar as PCOS is linked to insulin resistance, alcohol, any processed foods and fast food. It is possible to get an allergy test from your doctor that measures IGG to see if certain foods like dairy, gluten and eggs cause you inflammation. (2)
Another thing to consider is your cortisol levels as they trigger inflammation as well. When looking into food specifically, beverages like coffee acts as a stimulant but it causes cortisol levels to be increased which snowballs into your hormones being affected spiking inflammation. (3)
Swap
The first thing to swap out is the thing that you know is causing harm to you which you are willing to swap out for a healthier alternative. So if you love your Starbucks dairy rich, sugar rich drinks make the switch to green tea instead.
If you eat mainly processed sugar, make the swap to a healthier alternative such as stevia or eating fruit instead. This is a hard process and will take some will power in the beginning because we are so used to a certain taste, but one step at a time and one swap at a time so you stick with the changes.
Fast foods and processed foods that you think is innocent in your local grocery store are actually full of additives and preservatives which may interfere with your hormones. If you eat processed foods or fast food on a regular basis you might consider looking into making a meal plan every week with foods that you know you can cook and eat. On my Pinterest board of meal planning you will find some idea as well as foods on the anti inflammatory food list to try to plan with those.
The main type of foods to look at is a whole food, low fat, plant based diet. The diet plays an important role because it decreases insulin resistance and therefore decreases PCOS symptoms. Many women that have PCOS find it difficult to loose weigh or are told to manage their weight in order to reduce their symptoms and following a plant based diet will most likely also help with weight loss as long as you are not just eating bread because you are hungry.(4)
If you need help with this part of the plan and do not know where to start, do not hesitate to reach out for your free 20 min consultation.
In a nutshell, you are trying to regulate weight and help with insulin sensitivity looking into foods such as:
- Fruits
- Whole Grains
- Legumes
- Non starchy vegetables
- Leafy greens
Grab your FREE printout and sample of an anti inflammatory diet here.
Herbs
Along with a anti inflammatory diet herbs can help to really balance things in your body in terms of PCOS. Herbs to look into are:
Reishi – This is a medicinal mushroom with many benefits due to its adaptogetic properties and for those suffering from PCOS it is extremely helpful because it is anti adrogenic. (5) If you are buying it make sure it is in a double extraction form to get all its medicinal properties out.
Vitex/ Chaste Tree– Vitex is a very popular herb within women’s health as it is mainly known for balancing hormones. If you have normal LH levels (the levels that trigger ovulation) and high prolactin levels, Vitex is a good herb to look into. However if you have high LH levels (as with some women in menopause or pre menopause) Vitex might actually worsen your symptoms. (6)
Yarrow– Yarrow is mainly known for its effects on wounds and stopping excess bleeding, but historically it has been used to treat all sorts of women’s disorders such as ovarian cysts, endometriosis, cramping and UTIs. It is extremely popular to use if you have a heavy cycle due to PCOS.
Black Cahosh – When PCOS interferes with trying to conceive then this herb is the one to look into. It has the ability to regulate cycles increasing a woman’s chance to get pregnant.
Berberine – Berberine is popular with PCOS because over 50% of women who are diagnosed with PCOS also have type 2 diabetes. (7) It has the ability to support weight management as well as improving cholesterol levels. Overall, it helps women with insulin issues.
Final thoughts
PCOS diagnosis may seem scary at first but when you become committed to changing your lifestyle and incorporating herbs to manage symptoms, you gain a lot of control back over the diagnosis.
Be patient with the process as it may take at least 3 months for the body to adjust.
Grab your printout here for the food list and meal plan.
If strategic help and accountability is what you think you need, do not hesitate to reach out for your free 20 min consultation to see if we can be the right fit in working together towards your health goals.
God bless you and yours,
Krystina
