How to get your period back without dieting when you have PCOS
If you struggle with not having a period with PCOS then you’ve come to the right place! Today we’re going to break down different aspects of nutrition and other factors that may help you get your period back. And guess what? It doesn’t involve cutting carbs, losing weight, or eating less food.
Just a little run down -- PCOS is a common condition that affects the ovaries and ovulation which can result in insulin resistance, missed or irregular periods, abnormal hair growth, and metabolic complications. If you’re wondering why a missing period or irregular period is something to take note of, check out this blog post.
Unfortunately, with this diagnosis comes a lot of diet advice among healthcare professionals. While I’m sure they mean no harm, dieting or restricting food DOES cause more harm than good in individuals with PCOS, or anybody for that matter. Because it’s such a complex condition, depriving your body of vital nutrients it needs is only going to exacerbate the severity of your symptoms.
The good news is that there are nutrition and lifestyle interventions that we can work on together to help manage your symptoms! This blog post is going to discuss factors that may help you get your period back or make your period more regular.
Balance blood sugar by adding foods in
Many of my clients with PCOS are told to diet or restrict their carbohydrate intake to get their period back. However, this often leaves them not eating ENOUGH food overall.
If you’ve been told to not eat carbs as a way to help your blood sugar stabilize, here’s your sign to NOT do that. Just because you may experience insulin resistance, doesn’t mean that your body doesn’t need carbs -- glucose is still your body’s preferred source of energy, like every other human.
A helpful tool is to pair your carbohydrate with protein, fat, or fiber. This helps to slow the digestion of the glucose in the carbohydrate and prevents your blood sugar from spiking.
Examples of carb pairing are:
Apples with peanut butter
Scrambled eggs and toast
Yogurt with chia seeds or nuts
Pasta with shrimp
Other foods to focus on adding to your meals and snacks are omega 3 fatty acids, and fruits and vegetables. Omega 3’s have been shown to decrease inflammation in the body and insulin resistance is linked to inflammatory pathways in the body. Some sources of omega-3s include olive oil, avocado, nuts, seeds, fish and seafood.
By adding more fruits and vegetables to snacks and meals, you’ll naturally be adding in more antioxidants and fiber. Like we said earlier, fiber can help slow down the digestion of glucose making your blood sugar levels more stable.
Check out these previous blog posts if you’re wanting to learn more about why macronutrients and micronutrients are important for women’s health.
Non-food factors that affect your period
Now that we’ve talked about food, let’s talk about other factors that influence health -- yep, it’s not all about food. Diet culture tends to hold nutrition front and center when discussing health but in reality, what a person eats is not the end-all-be-all of their health status.
So what else can impact my period?
Stress
Stress increases the hormone, cortisol, which can negatively affect your reproductive hormone levels and lead to irregular or missed periods. Chronic stress and trauma can affect your reproductive health too. Mental health therapy & stress management are key to helping alleviate this.
Joyful movement
Finding joyful movement throughout your day is a way to relieve stress because it releases endorphins. Adding in movement has been linked to better sleep, improved cognitive function, and improved overall mood. Another neat thing about movement is that research suggests it may improve insulin resistance and promote ovulation. Some types of movement that you might like are jump roping, walking, dancing, or riding a bike. It’s important to note that exercise is a type of stressor that, if done too frequently and of very high intensity, can cause more harm than good. (150 minutes per week of moderate movement or 75 minutes per week of vigorous movement is what is recommended).
Smoking & Alcohol
Nicotine has been shown to have a significant impact on fertility, specifically, by increasing the amount of oxidative stress in the body. Oxidative stress has been shown to negatively impact insulin resistance. Alcohol is another toxin that increases the amount of oxidative stress in the body and has been shown to possibly exacerbate age-related infertility, but low to moderate drinking (<1 drink per day) is likely OK. Just like when you're eating, it's important to be mindful of alcohol consumption and how you feel around it is all part of an intuitive lifestyle!
To sum it up, it’s important to find ways to relieve stress and to be mindful of all factors that can influence your health and period.
Supplements that may help
The last thing we’re going to talk about is supplements. When working with clients who have PCOS, I often recommend inositol and fish oil to start off.
Inositols
Inositols act as second messengers for insulin and people with PCOS are often deficient. I recommend a 40:1 ratio of myo to d-chiro inositol for my clients as correction of these deficiencies has been linked to regular menstruation and ovulation in PCOS.
Fish oil
Fish oil supplements contain omega 3 fatty acids. People with PCOS may benefit from supplementing with omega 3 fatty acids because research shows it may help with insulin resistance and hyperandrogenism (this is what causes a lot of the symptoms of PCOS). I help my clients choose a fish oil supplement high in DHA as research suggests that this may help with mental health symptoms and is important for fetal brain development if pregnancy is desired.
If you’re interested in using supplements to manage your PCOS symptoms, make sure to look for 3rd party testing (USP or NSF certified is great) and talk to your dietitian about dosing. Your dietitian may also run labs to check for deficiencies and recommend additional supplements based on the medications you take and your symptoms.
Are you looking to move away from dieting towards a more intuitive relationship with food while managing your PCOS?
I would love to work with you! Click here to learn more about 1:1 nutrition therapy and apply to work with me.