Diet For PCOS

When people think of diet, they only think of food. However, a structured diet also includes how and when you eat food. Several factors influencing your eating behaviour and health are factored into a diet. Food is only one component of a diet, and other dietary factors are equally important.

Therefore, a diet isn’t just a simple change in ingredients you can pick with a glance. It is a serious health commitment you must make to yourself. It will include some important dietary and lifestyle changes that may influence the success and rate of results. You must pay attention to every part of the diet to ensure the best results.

Gynovedic Diet for PCOS

The focus of the Gynovedic diet for PCOS is to curtail the formation of Ama. Wrong food and unhealthy eating habits keep adding Ama to your system. Eventually, it leads to PCOS. Therefore, this PCOS treatment & prevention diet plan ensures new Ama doesn’t get added to your system.

Generally, when women start taking medicines to treat PCOS, they incorrectly assume that their medicines can offset the side effects of their regular diet. That’s a misconception you must eliminate.

Ayurvedic medicines will indeed help in clearing out the Ama from your system. However, following an unhealthy diet will add new Ama to your body.

Thus, it will never allow you to heal completely. You’ll always remain trapped in the vicious trap of PCOS.

You must understand that PCOS is a lifestyle disorder. If your diet and lifestyle are faulty, the problem will recur.

The Ayurvedic medicine treatment plan will always have a fixed time. Once your Ayurvedic medicines stop, only your diet and lifestyle keep you healthy. If you don’t follow a Gynovedic diet and lifestyle, the chances of PCOS recurrence are high.

How Does A Gynovedic Diet Help?

The root cause of PCOS is Ama. When there is too much Ama in the bloodstream, it raises the acidic nature of the blood. The alkalinity in the blood comes down, and so does the pH balance. Maintaining the pH balance of the blood is very important.

Ayurvedic herbs and the Gynovedic diet eliminate Ama, bringing down the acidic level in the blood. The herbs lower the already present Ama in the bloodstream, and the diet prevents the formation of new Ama. Once the blood has the optimal pH balance, it helps your reproductive system function normally. Your ovulation and period cycle get regulated. You will also witness a balanced flow during your periods.

Most women remain over-stressed about the symptoms but don’t pay attention to the root cause of the problem. Symptoms are just the consequence. Once you heal internally, all the external problems like acne, hair fall, and facial hair growth will vanish.

All you need to do is follow the Gynovedic diet to help you shift the pH balance from acidic to alkaline. You shouldn’t worry about the symptoms because they will go away automatically. From period irregularities to excessive flow, all such issues will subside naturally. Not only that, this positive change will be permanent. There will be no more recurrences of the same problem.

Basics Tenets of the Gynovedic Diet

In the name of diets, most people are busy selling half-baked formulas. Some want you to cut carbs, while others want you to cut fat. The whole concept of diets has become a trial and error game. This has also brought down the credibility of the diets to a large extent. Most fad diets prove to be ineffective in the long run.

The Gynovedic diet isn’t a fad diet. It is a deeply researched life science based on the rich principles of Ayurveda. However, unlike most diets, it doesn’t just focus on the food you eat but also on how and when you eat it.

The Gynovedic Diet Has 3 Important Aspects

• How to Eat
• What to Eat
• When to Eat

Following these simple eating principles can ensure a disease-free life. A Gynovedic diet can make your kitchen the natural pharmacy that prevents most illnesses.

While most people are overly stressed about what to eat, they seldom pay attention to the other two aspects.

Did you know that drinking water with meals can hamper the digestive process? It will directly lead to indigestion and the formation of Ama. Every day, we make this innocent mistake that causes several problems. Therefore, how to eat is as important as what to eat.

Similarly, random eating is something that has corrupted our eating practices recently. Earlier, eating used to be a regulated practice. Limited availability of the prepared food was also a constraint. These days, packaged food is easily available everywhere. Besides that, refrigerated food, ready-to-eat packets, and restaurants have made it easy to have food whenever you want. However, does that mean eating anytime is permitted? Unregulated eating is the biggest cause of obesity and diabetes. It adds excess calories to the body and also damages the insulin-response system in the body. Hence, when to eat is also an equally important concept in the Gynovedic diet.

These days, most of our eating habits are influenced by marketing mediums. Drinking cold beverages with food was never a part of our culture. It isn’t even healthy. Yet, most of us follow that as a trend.

A Gynovedic diet simply tries to correct these mistakes that can harm you.

Some Important Rule to Follow While Eating

• Drink water 40 minutes before and 90 minutes after any meal
• Chew your food well
• Overeating is unhealthy, don’t do it
• Have your 3 meals daily at fixed times
• 12-hour overnight fasting is necessary

Some Important Changes for Your Kitchen

Say No To Refined Sugar: The white crystal sugar is bad. It is highly refined and passes through a lengthy chemical process, making it unhealthy for us. Wherever possible, use healthier alternatives for white sugar like jaggery and honey.

Limit The Intake Of Iodized Salt And Use Rock Salt Instead: Excessive iodine triggers a high release of thyroxine hormone from the thyroid gland, leading to a condition known as hyperthyroidism. Several studies have proved that hyperthyroidism has strong linkages to female infertility.

Stop Refined Oil And Start Using Virgin Cold-Pressed Oil: 70% of diseases worldwide are Vata-related. Heart disease, blockages in the heart, hypertension, diabetes, paralysis, brain damage, all types of pain and all gynaecological disorders are Vata disorders. Ayurveda says that no gynaecological disorder occurs without an imbalance of Vata energy. The secret to keeping Vata energy balanced is consuming pure oil in moderation. It acts as an internal lubricant. This prevents you from 70% of diseases in the world. The only rule is that the oil has to be PURE. Pure means simple, cold-pressed oil with no chemicals added.

Shift To A Plant-Based Diet: Consume 80% plant-based food and 20% food derived from animals, including milk, eggs, fish, or meat of any kind. Reducing your dependence on meat-based food is healthier.

Food Chart That Works In PCOS

Let us now look at the things you can and can’t eat.

Fruits

Seasonal fruits are great. They have the correct nutrition and freshness to boost your health. Seasonal fruits are always a better option than junk food and packaged snacks. If you suffer from any period disorder, fruits are always the best choice.

While all fruits are good for health and you must add them to your daily diet, some fruits have a high glycemic index, leading to the formation of Ama if consumed in excess quantities. So enjoy fruits like mangoes, lychees, passion fruit, and dry fruits such as dates, raisins, and cranberries in moderation. You don’t need to avoid them completely, simply don’t overeat.

Vegetables

Eat all kinds of vegetables that are available in your area. The secret to healthy living is to let 50% of your daily food intake come from different vegetables. Eating vegetables every day is important for maintaining good health. They contain essential vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients such as antioxidants and fibre.

Include a lot of leafy vegetables in your diet. They contain a good amount of Vitamin B and calcium, which help regulate sugar, reproductive hormones, fat metabolism, and Thyroid function.

Grains

Include a variety of whole grains and millets in your daily diet to get immense benefits. Whole grains contain protein, vitamin B, fibre, antioxidants, and trace minerals like iron, zinc, copper, and magnesium. The high fibre level helps maintain sugar levels, lowers cholesterol, and helps manage weight. Millets help in reducing the Kapha from the body.

Rice & wheat are the most common staple diet globally, including in India.

• Rice: The highly processed white rice loses its nutritional value when the bran and germ are removed and only add empty carbs to your body. You can eat other varieties like hand-pounded or unpolished rice in moderation.
• Wheat: Since wheat increases the level of Kapha in your body, you can have it in moderation.

Legumes, Pulses, and Lentils

They are rich sources of plant-based protein. They can be a great replacement for meat and even help manage weight in PCOS. Beans and legumes help reduce cholesterol, decrease blood sugar levels, and increase healthy gut bacteria. Pulses additionally reduce your risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.

Make it a point to include various legumes, pulses and lentils in your diet to get the best results.

Seeds

Seeds are a great source of plant-based, healthy fats, calcium, fibre and minerals.

They contain healthy monounsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, and other important vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Add them to your daily diet as they help you reduce blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure.

You can include the following:

• Flax Seeds: These are rich sources of omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants. Flax seeds help regulate hormonal imbalance and control side effects associated with PCOS.
• Sesame Seeds: These are rich in calcium, magnesium, and zinc. Sesame seeds also reduce testosterone levels.
• Fenugreek (Methi) Seeds: Methi helps maintain glucose tolerance in the body, which helps in weight loss.
• Pumpkin Seeds: These seeds contain the enzyme that helps control hair loss in PCOS.
• Sunflower Seeds: They help in balancing oestrogen & progesterone and in managing premenstrual symptoms.
• Chia Seeds: They help in restoring your hormonal imbalance. They are a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids.
• Hemp Seeds: They contain protein and omega-3 fatty acids and are rich in fibre.

How to Include Seeds In Your Diet

You can grind the seeds and have one spoon of it in the morning with warm water. Grinding the seeds helps in the easy absorption of nutrients.

Nuts and Dry Fruits

Nuts are a great source of protein and iron. Dry Fruits are also a rich source of Calcium, Copper, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium, Phosphorus, Protein, Riboflavin, Vitamin A-C-E-K-B6 and Zinc.

You can include nuts and dry fruits in your daily diet but ensure that you eat them in moderation. You can snack on a ‘fist full of any one nut’ at a time and that’s the only thumb rule.