With actors like Sara Ali Khan and Sonam Kapoor talking about their fight with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), experts have pitched for maintaining a healthy body weight through right diet to manage the hormonal disorder.
Typically characterised by irregular menstruation cycles andinfertility, an elevated level of male hormone (gonadotropin), obesity andoften diabetes, PCOS is a hormonal disorder which continues to baffleresearchers till date.
However, experts believe that with one out of 10 women andyoung girls affected by the disorder, it is very important that people knowthat most of the clinical manifestations of PCOS can be managed simply bymaintaining a healthy body weight.
“Most of the girls keep struggling with theconsequences of the PCOS without knowing that solutions to most of theseproblems lie in maintaining healthy body weight,” Shikha Mahajan, aDelhi-based senior nutritionist and head of Diet Podium, said.
According to a research published in the Lancet in 2017,weight loss is found to improve all the features of PCOS, and therefore, alongwith lifestyle changes, weight management is recommended as the first linetreatment for for it.
Swapna Chaturvedi, a dietician from AIIMS, said diet playsan important role in controlling PCOS and maintaining ideal body weight isimportant.
“A high fiber diet, low fat diet with Mufa(monounsaturated fatty acids) rich and Omega 3 source of fats, antioxidants inthe form of fruits and vegetables should be included. Refined carbohydrateshould be avoided like maida, sooji, sugars. Physical activity and a healthylifestyle is important,” Chaturvedi said.
According to Manjari Chandra, consultant and functionalnutritionist at Max Healthcare, polycystic ovarian disease (PCOD) isessentially a hormonal disbalance that happens because of insulininsufficiency.
Controlling or reducing the intake of carbohydrates andsugar in the diet and increasing fibre and antioxidants goes a big way inhandling the disease, she explained.
So does this mean the women with PCOS should always follow aweight loss diet?
“Not really”, Mahajan said, adding since a highlevel of insulin can cause ovaries to produce male hormone, therefore it is theeffective control of insulin hormone which is most crucial in PCOS management.
So the diet that helps in the PCOS treatment is the one thataids in insulin production and resistance. Such a diet, which also helps inweight management, is actually quite simple to follow.
While experts are all up for weight management to controlPCOS, they also have some word of caution, especially for young girls whoeasily fall for trendy diets.
PCOS, like many other disorders, responds positively tolifestyle modifications, which primarily include diet and physical activity.However, when we talk about dietary modifications, it does not mean followingfancy diets like keto, paleo, etc, as they are often nutritionally deficientand impractical to follow in the long run, experts say.”In fact, the best way to tackle PCOS withdiet is to create a simple food list that can be easily followed,” Dr MalaSrivastava, a senior consultant, Dept of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at SirGanga Ram Hospital, said.