What is Polycystic Ovarian Disease (PCOD)?
PCOD (Polycystic Ovarian Disease) is getting common day by day. It is a lifestyle disorder, which starts with immature eggs converting into cyst and these cysts lead to imbalance in hormones.
This imbalance may further leads to insulin resistance. Women with PCOD see fat percentage increasing very quickly this can be attributed to high insulin levels in the body. Insulin promotes fat storage in the body though there are few solutions to high insulin levels
- Exercises — Start doing cardio exercises for 30 to 40 minutes every day, if that doesn’t work one must consult gynaecologists. Once doctor starts with medicine insulin resistance reduces and fat loss is visible. It is advisable to follow a low-fat diet which is high in fibre and exercise for at least 40 min. This will lead to lot of fat loss as well as the hormonal balance can be restored.
- Binge Eating — People feel there is intense craving for food. It is because of high levels of ghrelin and cholecystokinin and leptin in the body they make you eat more and more food. This leads to difficulty in losing weight. The solution to this problem is to increase protein rich and fibre rich food in the diet. These foods take longer to get digested and hence have a high satiety value. High protein foods will include milk, egg, tofu, pulses, chicken, curd, soya etc. An adult names 40 grams of fibre per day. Fibre can be included in form of salads, cooked vegetables, fruits, pulses, whole grains, nuts and seeds.
Thin PCOD (Polycystic Ovarian Disease) is getting common. People with optimum BMI can also have polycystic ovaries. In fact it might go undiagnosed for a long time because of lack of testing. Such cases only come in light when periods become irregular or there is unusual hair growth or acne.
Low glycemic index diets help in such cases along with a proper exercise regime and lifestyle change. Lifestyle change would also include proper sleep cycles. Ideally, we must sleep for 8 to 9 hours. Try to hit the bed between 9 to 11 p.m. Following natural circadian rhythm helps to regularize hormones.
Myths Around PCOD
1) Stop Gluten — This is not right as it is important to reduce overall calories and increase overall intake of fibre in diet. Some of the grains or millets might be high in carbohydrate. Hence it is better to consult an expert before switching.
2) Quit Milk — Being a vegetarian milk is an important source of protein and calcium. There are a lot of people who quit milk if they have PCOD, but that’s not true. It is best to having moderate amount of milk and milk products. Milk and its products contribute to achieve RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance) of protein as well as calcium. Not only this it makes a healthy snack to have in between meals and keeps away from junk food and non-nutritious calories.
3) PCOS Causes Infertility — PCOD leads to hormonal imbalance and a disturbed menstrual cycle but it is not true that a person with PCOD cannot bear children. Fertility will depend on the severity of PCOD.