Posts Tagged ‘nutrition’

How to do a Mini Detox for PCOS

Thursday, May 12th, 2011

When you have PCOS it’s vitally important to minimise exposure to environmental chemicals, as many of them can disrupt your hormones and overall health. But minimising exposure often isn’t enough, as the Power Over PCOS book explains. To get the best health results, you also need to maximise elimination of these chemicals and waste products from your body, especially if you’re overweight, because fat cells act as storage sites for toxins. When you lose weight, these toxins are released, which can create a lot of stress within the body until they are eliminated. They can even cause you to have a ‘plateau’ in your weight loss.

You can enhance the elimination of toxins and wastes by performing a proper detoxification program. By proper, I mean one that is safe and clinically effective, not one of those rapid detox fads. The exact program I have used with myself and my patients is in my book, and is often the missing link in many PCOS treatment programs. Today I will share with you a shorter version of this program, what I like to call the ‘mini-detox’. Although I recommend doing the full program at least once, the mini-detox is a good program to do periodically to keep your body working well. It can also be a good introduction to detoxing if you haven’t done it before.

For 7 days, adhere to the following….

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Can You Get Pregnant When You Have PCOS?

Thursday, July 9th, 2009

The answer is “YES”.

Many women are told by doctors “You have PCOS… You won’t be able to have children”, but this is wrong. Yes it can be difficult for some, but not impossible.

There are many women who have gone on to become mothers, either naturally, or with the help of medical treatments.

Ideally, four to six months of natural health promoting treatments should be employed first, before resorting to invasive procedures. Even if you don’t achieve conception this way, your health will be in a much better state to prepare for treatments such as IVF.

To give your body the best chance of conceiving, you need to have optimal nutrition through diet AND supplements, aim towards a healthier body composition (losing fat can help fertility), remove excess toxins from the body via detoxification, and create the right mindset around conceiving… this means focusing on the outcome of what you want and believing it is possible.

A great way to believe that you can conceive, is to read success stories.

I have created a new ebook just for this purpose – to inspire you and show you that you CAN become a mother. It’s called CONCEIVABLE and you can download it here:

http://www.conceivewithpcos.com

Julie

Top 7 Diet Tips For PCOS

Sunday, May 3rd, 2009

Here’s a video of my top 7 diet tips for PCOS, enjoy!

You Are What You Eat – ‘Food Matters Movie’

Wednesday, March 11th, 2009

When it comes to PCOS, what you eat each day can have a significant effect on your symptoms. Our bodies take the nutrients from food and use them for the structure and functioning of the human body. Without adequate supplies, chemical processes can be disrupted and symptoms can result.

So is it enough to just eat a healthy diet? maybe not. The problem is, our modern food supplies are becoming increasingly deficient in nutrients due to farming practices like green harvesting, long periods of storage, food processing, and artificial ripening. Supplements are becoming a necessity for optimal health rather than a luxury.

A new film discusses the issue of nutrition in our modern world, and the emergence of a health crisis, as well as what you can do to deal with these problems:

More in info here: FOOD MATTERS

WATCH THE TRAILER:

4 Nutrients Important For PCOS

Saturday, January 17th, 2009

For PCOS, certain nutrients are often needed in larger amounts, to help regulate things such as insulin function, hormonal production, and weight control. These include chromium, magnesium, essential fatty acids, and antioxidants.

 

Chromium helps insulin exert its effects on cells, allowing them to take up glucose from the bloodstream to produce energy. Good food sources include: brewers yeast, eggs, mushrooms, beef, liver, spinach.

 

Magnesium has been found to be low in people with insulin resistance. It also helps with blood glucose control, as well as producing energy, and relaxing the muscles and nerves. Good food sources include: green leafy vegetables, bananas, avocados, nuts, and seeds.

 

Essential fatty acids are those fats that must be obtained from the diet. They include omega 3 and omega 6 fats. Omega 3 is usually the type most deficient. Women with PCOS often have chronic low grade inflammation in the body, and EFAs such as omega 3 are anti-inflammatory, as well as having many other beneficial effects in the body. Good sources include: fish such as salmon, mackerel, sardines, or fish oil supplements. Linseeds/flaxseeds or flaxseed oil, and even spirulina.

 

Antioxidants help to combat oxidation in the body, and women with PCOS have been shown to have an increased state of oxidative stress, which requires more protective antioxidants. Foods such as fruits, vegetables, and berries will supply antioxidants, but it can be hard for some people to get enough, and this increased oxidative stress creates damage to cells and DNA. Supplementation can be beneficial.

 

Julie

What’s the difference between low GI and low GL?

Thursday, November 6th, 2008

A low GI and low GL diet is known to be beneficial for PCOS, but what’s the difference?

A low Gi diet is one that focuses on foods that have a GI value of 55 or below. The sugar/glucose in these foods is absorbed more slowly into the bloodstream, reducing the demand for insulin (high insulin worsens PCOS). Low Gi foods can make you feel more full and satisfied for longer, reducing cravings and hunger, and stabilising your mood and energy.

A low GL diet takes into account both the GI value of a food and the amount of carbohydrates per serving, so it is looking not only at how quickly the sugar is absorbed, but how MUCH will be absorbed as well.

The GL of a food can be worked out by the following formula:

GL = (GI value x carbs per serving) divided by 100. (source: The shopper’s guide to GI values www.glycemicindex.com )

 

 It is important to not just look at the GL of foods though, because you can have a low GL food with a high GI and vice versa. For best results, choose low GI foods that also have a low GL.

 

Julie