PCOS Diet Blog

Add a little spice to your life ...

A new US study published in the Journal of Nutrition has found that adding adding spices to meals can greatly improve the health benefit of the meal.

 
The researchers compared meals containing antioxidant spices (including cinnamon, tumeric, black pepper, cloves, garlic powder and paprika) to identical meals without the spices and found that:

• the body released 30% less triglyceride (a blood fat that can increase your risk of heart disease) into the bloodstream; and
• the insulin response (amount of insulin released after the meal) reduced by 20% - good news for PCOS and anyone with insulin resistance.

Even though this study wasn't conducted in women with PCOS, the results are still promising and back up other research in this area. Spices are also a naturally occurring ingredient which are cheap and easily accessible to most people. So add a little spice to your life today!

Claire

Claire Daly, Accredited Practising Nutrition, EatWell Nutrition  Melbourne

 

What's the best food for PCOS?

So what would my top 5 'try and include these in your diet regularly foods be?

Vegetables. For sure this is number one, and the more intense the colour and more variety the better! When you think of vegetables do you think of boring plates of single vegetables? It doesn't have to be that way. There are heaps of exciting and interesting ways to prepare vegetables. One of the simplest is to add them to a stirfry. When you do a stirfry, try and see how brightly coloured you can make it so you get a good range of health enhancing antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and fibre. Choose your veggies in season for better value and delicious taste!

 
 

Legumes, which includes lentils and dried peas and beans. These are low in fat, low GI and full of great nutrients to help PCOS. If you keep your serving size moderate (say 1/2 cup cooked legumes as a serve with lots of vegetables or salads. Now that we are getting into Autumn here in Melbourne, one of the best ways to get more legumes is add them to a soup. A yummy bowl of minestrone and a small grainy roll is a great lunch for a cooler day.

 

Fish. So many awesome Omega-3's in fish, especially the oily type. These help maintain good health and prevent the development of heart disease and stroke. Try and eat 2-3 serves of fish each week. (Some people including pregnant women and small children need to limit some very large fish - for more information, check this fact sheet from Food Safety Australia). A great way to cook fish fillets is to make a parcel - place the fish in some foil or baking paper, add some lemon or lime juice (or slices) and a few sprigs of fresh herbs. Cook in the oven (and be careful when you are opening so the steam doesn't burn you).

 
 

Wholegrains. This includes foods such as wholegrain bread and crispbread, wholemeal pasta, wheat, oats, barley, rice, millet, rye, noodles, wholegrain cereals. Wholegrain varieties include the whole grain (the bran, germ and endosperm) and contain lots of health enhancing antioxidants, phytonutrients, vitamins, minerals and fibre. These foods are also usually low glycaemic index. A dietitian can help you with portion sizes and the amount of these foods to have each day, so it's good to include wholegrains. A quick way to get some wholegrains in your diet for PCOS each day is to include a wholegrain roll, like this delicious smoked salmon roll below. A bowl of wholegrain natural muesli with berries is also a great way to get some wholegrains.

 

 

Milk and yoghurt (or fortified substitutes such as soy). These are a great source of protein, calcium and also Vitamin D if they are fortified. These foods are also low glycaemic index. Choose lower fat varieties (e.g. less than 2g fat per 100ml). These foods make a great snack! A great way to get some calcium is to make a tasty fruit smoothie. Mix 250mls of low fat vitamin D fortified milk (I use Physical low fat) and a small banana, a kiwi fruit or 1/2-1 cup of berries and some ice. A delicious way to get all those healthy nutrients and some fibre too.

 

Of course there are many other great health foods as well. If I was to list more than 5 then avocado, berries, garlic, cinnamon. lean meat, nuts, fruit, herbs, soy foods and many many more would be on my list for sure! The key is a varied diet full of nutrient dense food in appropriate portions which a dietitian can help you work out, just for you. Don't forget it's also about enjoying your food!.Who said a healthy diet has to be boring? It's all about balance and portion size.

I hope this post has given you some ideas about some healthy inclusions to your PCOS healthy diet. If you'd like to use this article on your own blog or newsletter just email me and ask!

Until next time,

Claire

Accredited Practising Dietitian www.eatwell.com.au/pcos

 

 

 

Healthy BBQ Ideas ...

It's definitely BBQ season here in Melbourne with the kids on school holidays and the nights warm and balmy. I love a BBQ with friends and family. I like to try and plan the BBQ meals so they fit in with a healthy PCOS diet / eating plan. there's lots of great things you can choose. Here's what I had with a salad last night - lean beef and vegetable kebabs.

These are so easy to make and many butchers sell them already made up as well. I love the taste and texture changes the different BBQ vegetables add. Try baby tomatoes, wedges of onion, baby mushrooms, slices of baby zuchini and eggplant and brightly coloured capsicum. Instead of beef you could use skinless chicken or cubes of tofu are delicious too. You can get metal skewers, or cheap wood ones in the supermarket (soak these in water before use so they don't burn on the BBQ).

Larger zuchini and eggplant slices are also great by themselves on the BBQ, as are corn cobs. Fish cooks great on the BBQ as well and is a great choice for women with PCOS. You can either cook it directly on the grill plate, or wrap it in foil on top of the BBQ. 

Serve with a healthy green salad  (an olive oil based dressing is fine) and a small serve of grainy bread and there you have dinner. Stay tuned for my next blog post where I will post some healthy salad ideas. Until then have a happy and healthy week,

Claire

Claire Daly is an Accredited Practising Dietitian / Accredited Nutritionist who works with women and families. She has particular interest in working with women who have PCOS (Claire has PCOS herself), fertility problems or who are wanting to achieve a healthy weight and good health prior to and during pregnancy. Claire has her own private practice in Melbourne. For more information visit www.eatwell.com.au

Like to use this blog post in your own newsletter or publication? Just email Claire to let her know which article you would like to use and how I would like you to acknowledge the source of the article, then you are on your way.

Lose weight with PCOS this year...

Of all the nutrition and lifestyle issues that women with PCOS come to me with when they come along for a consultation, 'I want to lose weight' is by far the most common and probably the most frustrating for women with PCOS. I won't lie to you and say it is easy, because I have PCOS myself and know that isn't the truth. The benefits to your PCOS symptoms, health risks, self esteem and fertility are HUGE though, so keep at it!

 

You have probably heard the energy argument, that energy in from food has to be less than energy expended on physical activity to lose weight. To a certain extent that rings true for women with PCOS, but there's a whole lot of complicating factors which make losing weight anything but black and white. So why is it a little harder for women with PCOS to lose weight?

I think the biggest culprit is insulin. Even without the extra weight, women with PCOS are very likely to be insulin resistant, which means we have higher levels of insulin floating around in our blood (because the body is resistant to the effects of the insulin, we need more for the insulin to work if that makes sense?). Those higher levels of insulin have some unwanted effects such as increasing appetite, bringing on sugar cravings all of which effect how we eat. If we give into those sugar cravings (rather than eating something with a lower glycaemic index) the body is more likely to store the extra calories as fat as well. On top of that the blood sugar fluctuations often leave us feeling tired and lethargic so we don't exactly feel like springing off the couch and grabbing our runners now do we?

By this stage you are probably feeling so depressed that you want to sit down with a large carton of gourmet ice-cream! Don't despair though, as I do have some good news. It is possible to get feel better and it is possible to lose weight witrh PCOS by looking at ways to improve that insulin resistance. So let's do it! I need to lose some weight myself, so come along on the journey with me! Over the last few years while I have been at home with my youngest son, I've gained weight. That wasn't helped by a couple of traumatic things that happened in our family. My brother died suddenly in late 2006, and my nephew has a car accident late 2007 resulting in a spinal injury. My world sort of fell apart after those two horrible things happening so close together. Like many women I turned to food for comfort and to cope. As time has moved on I have learnt to cope with my feelings in other ways and I'm ready to shed the weight I have gained.

I'm not planning on setting any specific weight loss goals, because I know that the best resolutions are those which focus on changing some behaviours. Below I have written some behaviours that I think if you follow most of the time, will result in the changes you are after. Remember it's not all about the number on the scales. You need to look for the NSV too - that's the "Non Scale Victory". Have you changed some behaviours? Do you clothes fit better? Do you have more energy? In fact rather than the scales, one of the best ways to measure your progress is your waist circumference. Decreases in your waist circumference are a sure sign you are losing tummy fat and decreasing your risk of diabetes and other chronic diseases.

So what sort of behaviours could you look at changing? Here's some ideas. I don't recommend tackling them all at once, but focusing on 1 or 2 until they have become habit and then choosing a couple more.

• Eat smaller portion sizes, especially of carbohydrate foods. Our body can't cope with huge serves of carbohydrate all at once. It causes the insulin to peak higher and that's bad news for our weight. Use some smaller bowls and cut down the serves you have. Less food = less overall calories too!
• For the carbohydrates you do have, choose low glycemic index carbohydrates most of the time. These carbohydrates are much more slowly absorbed into the bloodstream, so you don't get the huge spikes in insulin. Switching from a high gycemic index food to a lower glycemic index version will be great for your PCOS and your weight. For example you could pick one or two of the following changes to make:
  • Instead of white bread, choose a wholegrain bread 
  • Use Basmati or Doongara rice and again watch your serve size
  • Choose a low GI breakfast cereal such as untoasted muesli or rolled oats
  • Add some legumes (dried peas, beans and lentils) to your eating.
  • Have low fat dairy foods like milk or soy drinks and yoghurt as snacks
• Move more. Not only will moving more help burn off calories, it actually helps the body use insulin more efficiently so you become less insulin resistant which makes it a little easier to lose weight. Double bonus!  We're getting a new puppy soon, so I'm hoping that will help me increase my activity levels a little. I'd like to get busy in the garden again too and also get a bike to go riding with my boys. What enjoyable activities can you add to your week?
• Cut down on the unhealthy fats and replace some with the good fats. Now it's new years day, we can say goodbye to all the rich Christmas fair. Foods with saturated fat (and trans fat which is even worse) not only add unwanted calories, but aren't good for our heart. The good news is you need to have SOME fat, and that's best to come from the good fats such as olive oil, avocado, oily fish, canola oil, nuts, olives, sunflower, safflower and soybean oil. So you CAN add a dressing to that salad - an olive oil vinagarette is perfect! Avocado also makes a great spread on toast or a sandwich instead of margarine or butter.

These are only a few of the changes you could look at making and there are lots more! If you would like to lose some weight and get some support from a dietitian with PCOS herself, I'd love to help you be the best you can be. I have appointments available at my new offices in Kew (Inner east Melbourne)  from the start of February (just click the button in the top left corner for more info) so you can get an individual diet plan and be on your way with my ongoing support. If you like to make the changes yourslef, make sure you check back here often so we can help each other along OK?

You  CAN do it. I believe in you :)

Claire

 

 

Feeling down? Changing your diet and lifestyle can decrease feelings of depression in women with PCOS...

Depression appears to be more common in women with PCOS and it's very common in the women who come along to my practice for counselling. Although it's not the primary reason for them being there (that's usually to lose weight or improve health or fertility), we notice that when they adhere to a PCOS friendly diet, their symptoms of depression also improve.

A recent study in Fertility and Sterility supports this. One hundred and four overweight women with PCOS were randomised to one of 3 20 week lifestyle programs:

• diet alone
• diet and aerobic exercise
• diet and aerobic-resistance exercise

Depression levels and overall quality of life were measured at the beginning and conclusion of the 20 weeks. By week 20 all groups had achieved weight loss and improvements in both Depression and overall quality of life scores. The authors concluded that both diet and diet/exercise combinations were effective in improving depression symptoms.

So it doesn't matter which approach you take - start something today! Get some advice and support on a PCOS friendly diet and chat to your GP or an Exercise Physiologist about an exercise program. You will be on the way to feeling better both mentally and physically. Who doesn't deserve that?

(Reference: Fertility and Sterility, 2010 Oct; 94(5): 1812-6. Lifestyle management improves quality of life and depression in overweight and obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome. Thomson et al.)

For individual consultations on PCOS and Diet, contact Claire at EatWell Nutrition and Dietetics in Melbourne.

You can also get more information about depression at Beyond Blue

Until next time,

Claire

Claire Daly is an Accredited Practising Dietitian / Accredited Nutritionist who works with women and families. She has particular interest in working with women who have PCOS (Claire has PCOS herself), fertility problems or who are wanting to achieve a healthy weight and good health prior to and during pregnancy. Claire has her own private practice in Melbourne. For more information visit www.eatwell.com.au

Like to use this blog post in your own newsletter or publication? Just email Claire to let her know which article you would like to use and how I would like you to acknowledge the source of the article, then you are on your way.

11 Heathy Snack Ideas for PCOS or anyone who wants to eat well ...

Got the munchies? Fuel your body with a healthy, low GI and low fat snack! Here are some ideas:

• A small box (about 30g) of nuts - almonds and walnuts are particularly good! Lots of good healthy fats in these as well as being packed full of feel good nutrients.
• A bowl of vegetable soup with some lentils thrown in. Who said soup is just for meals?
• A small tub (about 200g) of low fat yoghurt, or a skim milk drink. The sugar in milk (lactose) is slowly absorbed into the bloodstream which makes these snacks low GI.
• Home made muffins (use small muffin tins or paper cases) with added oat bran, all bran or ultra bran. Use monounsaturated or polyunsaturated margarine in place of butter. Add nuts and/or seeds for added goodness
•  Vita wheat with low fat cheese, smoked salmon, tomato, hummus, tahini or nut spreads
• Air popped popcorn (1-2 cups)
• Baked apple (apple stuffed with dried fruit and baked in the oven) 
• Low fat flavoured milk and soy drinks (small tetra pack)
• Small tin of baked beans
• Pita bread crisps (wholemeal pita bread baked in the oven and broken up) with low fat dip such as salsa or hummous. 
• Fresh Fruit - natures ready to go snack! Remember the whole fruit is best because you get all the goodness of the fibre and the nutrients under the skin.

What do you think? Have you got any other great snack ideas? I'd love to hear them, just post a comment!

Claire

Claire Daly is an Accredited Practising Dietitian / Accredited Nutritionist who works with women and families. She has particular interest in working with women who have PCOS (Claire has PCOS herself), fertility problems or who are wanting to achieve a healthy weight and good health prior to and during pregnancy. Claire has her own private practice in Melbourne. For more information visit www.eatwell.com.au

Like to use this blog post in your own newsletter or publication? Just email Claire to let her know which article you would like to use and how I would like you to acknowledge the source of the article, then you are on your way.

Six Ways to Make your Lasagna Healthy ...

Lasagna is one of my favourite winter comfort foods, and I know it's a popular one of my clients as well. I often get asked "Is it OK to have Lasagna?", so I thought I would write a post about incorporating this yummy dish into your healthy eating plan.

Here's 6 suggestions for a modifying recipes to make a more healthy beef mince lasagna. Even just modifying a standard recipe with one or two of these ideas will make for a healthier option!

• Use the leanest beef you can find. There is a huge variation in the amount of fat in mince from the supermarket (and this is saturated fat), so choosing the leanest mince will reduce the saturated fat content of the overall dish. Lean beef mince is a more intense red colour and you wind find the specks of white fat through it. Often it's labelled Heart Smart or Premium mince;
• Reduce the fat content of the cheese you choose.Even choosing a 25% reduced fat cheese will reduce the fat content of the overall meal considerably;
• Add some more vegies - maybe some thawed frozen spinach or grated zucchini (squeeze the excess moisture out). This will add extra vitamins and minerals and antioxidants and all the good stuff.
• Add some legumes like some canned kidney beans to the beef and tomato mixture. Beans and legumes add fibre and minerals and are low in fat and low GI. More good stuff!
• Use some wholemeal pasta. Wholemeal pasta includes wholegrains which are full of nutrients and fibre as well - even more good stuff!
• Watch the serving size! If you normally have a piece of lasagna 4 inches x 4 inches and 1 inch thick, and reduce it to 3 inches x 3 inches, you will reduce the kilojoules and fat by over 40%.

Hope that's helped you to see some ways to modify one of our favourite dishes!

Be back soon with more - apologies for the delay in posts over the last 3-4 weeks. Had some other things happening but back into the swing of it now.

Stay happy and healthy

Claire

Claire Daly is an Accredited Practising Dietitian / Accredited Nutritionist who works with women and families. She has particular interest in working with women who have PCOS (Claire has PCOS herself), fertility problems or who are wanting to achieve a healthy weight and good health prior to and during pregnancy. Claire has her own private practice in Melbourne. For more information visit www.eatwell.com.au

Like to use this blog post in your own newsletter or publication? Just email Claire to let her know which article you would like to use and how I would like you to acknowledge the source of the article, then you are on your way.

Fast Fish - Omega 3 for a PCOS Diet

I was after a quick and easy PCOS friendly dinner last night as my husband is away on a golf weekend, and the boys were fed and in bed. I've recently discovered Birds Eye Atlantic Salmon frozen fillets and they were in my freezer all ready to go (helps to be orgnaised for nights like this).

All I had to do was remove the fillet from the plastic and place onto a baking tray lined with a baking tray and bake in the oven for 35 minutes. You can also steam and microwave them, but I like to bake them for that crispy skineffect.I really like that they are portion controlled, already flavoured and they contain STACKS of healthy monounsaturated and Omega-3 fats which will keep my heart and blood vessels healthy.

I added some steamed broccolini and asparagus and there was a quick and easy dinner suitable for someone with PCOS.

Hope you are enjoying the PCOS blog. If you like any of the articles and would like to use them in your own newsletter or website, just contact me so I can let you know the brief acknowledgement I'd like included at the bottom. If you would like some individual help with your PCOS diet plan, I offer individual dietitian / nutritionist services in Melbourne and online Australia wide.

Be back soon with more PCOS diet tips.

Claire

Claire Daly is an Accredited Practising Dietitian / Accredited Nutritionist who works with women and families. She has particular interest in working with women who have PCOS (Claire has PCOS herself), fertility problems or who are wanting to achieve a healthy weight and good health prior to and during pregnancy. Claire has her own private practice in Melbourne. For more information visit www.eatwell.com.au

Like to use this blog post in your own newsletter or publication? Just email Claire to let her know which article you would like to use and how I would like you to acknowledge the source of the article, then you are on your way.

 

PCOS Journal Article Review: Vitamin D and PCOS

There seems to be accumulating research to indicate the having low Vitamin D levels in the blood, may be linked to insulin resistance in PCOS. This is one of the recent articles that demonstrate this association.

Eur J Endocrinol. 2009 Oct;161(4):575-82. Epub 2009 Jul 23. 

Association of hypovitaminosis D with metabolic disturbances in polycystic ovary syndrome.

Wehr E, Pilz S, Schweighofer N, Giuliani A, Kopera D, Pieber TR, Obermayer-Pietsch B.

The researchers measured Vitamin D status, BMI, measures of insulin resistance in 206 women with PCOS. It was found that 72.6% of the PCOS Women had insufficient Vitamin D levels, and the women with Metabolic Syndrome (a cluster of symptoms including insulin resistance) had significantly lower levels than the women that didn't have Metabolic Syndrome. The researchers suggested that large scale studies be undertaken to see if Vitamin D supplementation is of benefit to women with PCOS. We are not sure of the answer to that one yet, so in the mean time, let's look at some of the ways to get sufficient Vitamin D.

Vitamin D is often known as the sunshine vitamin, because our bodies make most of our Vitamin D through exposure of our skin to sunlight. 

The recommended requirement for Vitamin D in Australian women aged 19-50 (including those pregnant or breasfeeding) is 5 microgram per day. It is thought that exposure of 6% of the bodies surface (face, arms, hands) to the sun on a clear day for 10-15 minutes 2-3 times a week will give you the equivalent of 15 microgram a day of Vitamin D. The main dietary sources in Australia are fortified table margarine, fatty fish such as salmon, herring, mackeral and also eggs. Dietary intake is secondary to Vitamin D produced by our body on exposure to sunlight though.

So the take home message? Next time you visit your GP, ask to have your Vitamin D levels tested. As this article has shown, women with PCOS appear to be at higher risk of low levels and may require supplementation. Other groups at high risk include dark skinned women, vieled women and those living at low latitudes or who stay indoors a lot.

Back soon with more PCOS nutrition news. Until then stay happy and healthy,

Claire 

Claire Daly is an Accredited Practising Dietitian / Accredited Nutritionist who works with women and families. She has particular interest in working with women who have PCOS (Claire has PCOS herself), fertility problems or who are wanting to achieve a healthy weight and good health prior to and during pregnancy. Claire has her own private practice in Melbourne. For more information visit www.eatwell.com.au

Like to use this blog post in your own newsletter or publication? Just email Claire to let her know which article you would like to use and how I would like you to acknowledge the source of the article, then you are on your way.

PCOS and Carbohydrates - Wholegrains

One of the reasons I don't recommend a very low carbohydrate diet / eating plan for PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome), is that we need our wholegrains to stay healthy, so a bit of carbohydrate is a good thing. Most wholegrain foods also have a low glycemic index (GI). Wholegrains are foods that as the name suggests contain wholegrains (it's OK if it's been dehulled, ground, milled, cracked or flaked).

 

Wholegrains are a powerhouse of nutrients which help protect against cardiovascular disease, diabetes and the risk of being overweight - all great things to protect against when you have PCOS.

Did you know:

• Just 2-3 serves of wholegrain foods a day (a serve is a slice of bread or 1/2 cup wholegrains in this study) reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers by 20-30%. They can also lower blood pressure and products similar benefits to lipid lowering drugs.
• A diet high in wholegrains is associated with  lower BMI, waist circumference and risk of being overweight.
• Diets incorporating frequent consumption of wholegrains can reduce the progression from impaired glucose tolerance (which is very common in PCOS) to type 2 diabetes by up to 58%

(Reference: The Grains and Legumes Health Report - A Review of the Science. Go Grains, April 2010)

That's enough to have me scurrying to the pantry for some wholegrains! You will find plenty lurking there and if not it's easy to make the switch. Here's some great sources of wholegrain foods:

• Multigrain and wholemeal bread
• Wheat flake breakfast biscuits
• Wholegrain breakfast cereal
• Natural Muesli
• Porridge
• Brown rice
• Wholegrain pasta
• Rice cakes
• Popcorn
• Muesli bars (watch the fat content)

One of my favourite ways to enjoy wholegrain bread, is what I had for lunch today - toasted with fresh avocado and black pepper.

 

I didn't use any butter or margarine because the avocado has lots of healthy fats. It's also packed full of antioxidants and other great nutrients like Vitamin A, C, K and lots of dietary fibre.

So go grab some wholegrains today and give your PCOS diet a boost!

Back tomorrow with some more PCOS diet news,

Claire

 

Claire Daly is an Accredited Practising Dietitian / Accredited Nutritionist who works with women and families. She has particular interest in working with women who have PCOS (Claire has PCOS herself), fertility problems or who are wanting to achieve a healthy weight and good health prior to and during pregnancy. Claire has her own private practice in Melbourne. For more information visit www.eatwell.com.au

Like to use this blog post in your own newsletter or publication? Just email Claire to let her know which article you would like to use and how I would like you to acknowledge the source of the article, then you are on your way.

One of the reasons I don't recommend a very low carbohydrate diet / eating plan for PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome), is that we need our wholegrains to stay healthy, so a bit of carbohydrate is a good thing. Most wholegrain foods also have a low glycemic index (GI). Wholegrains are foods that as the name suggests contain wholegrains (it's OK if it's been dehulled, ground, milled, cracked or flaked).

 

Wholegrains are a powerhouse of nutrients which help protect against cardiovascular disease, diabetes and the risk of being overweight - all great things to protect against when you have PCOS.

Did you know:

• Just 2-3 serves of wholegrain foods a day (a serve is a slice of bread or 1/2 cup wholegrains in this study) reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers by 20-30%. They can also lower blood pressure and products similar benefits to lipid lowering drugs.
• A diet high in wholegrains is associated with  lower BMI, waist circumference and risk of being overweight.
• Diets incorporating frequent consumption of wholegrains can reduce the progression from impaired glucose tolerance (which is very common in PCOS) to type 2 diabetes by up to 58%