PCOS and Gluten Free??

I was interested in what you had to say concerning PCOS, my daughter has it and doesn't have the cyst problem but struggles with excessive hair and weight due to high levels of tetostrone. Are there any solutions offered for those problems? By the way , it took her 6 years to get pregnant after she was married and it was a heart breaking 6 years. I feel for any woman who has this syndrome.

I have PCOS and from all the research I have done, the best diet I have heard is a low GI diet. We are insulin resistant (so think like a diabetic) and you want to keep your sugars stablized. This often helps with the acne, hair growth etc. Not sure about the cysts but I couldnt imagine doing a gluten free diet. You need to find a diet that can become your lifestyle..I even saw in the bookstore PCOS diet book and it said low gi. Good luck!

I was diagnosed this winter as being gluten intolerant. I also have PCOS. I had been on prescription hormones for 10 years and desperately hated putting that synthetic crap into my body. Since February, I have lived essentially gluten free, and this spring, I took myself off the hormones, which primarily, were used to regulate my cycles. For the first time in my life, I am having normal cycles and without the use of hormones. So far, anyway. I am still keeping my fingers crossed.

Living gluten free isn't as hard as I thought it would be. Initially, it was a challenge, reading the labels on everything, but before long, I had found my new favorites. I eat a lot of whole foods anyway, which reduces the odds of gluten being in the diet. Most packaged goods contain it in one form or another, yet gluten is not on the label - it's hidden in things like modified food starch.

There is a very informative book on the topic called Life After Bread.
Good luck and thanks for this post!

I was diagnosed with PCOS when we had been trying for a baby for 6 months as my cycle was almost non existent, i had been very irregular since i got my first AF at the age of 9, I had various treatments that didtn work and was put on the waiting list for IVF but told to loose at least 3 stone.
I did manage with the help of Slimfast, in order to make my meals as healthy i naturally fell into a lower GI diet. Result i lost 3 stone and within a couple of months i was pregnant without any further treatment. So in my case i think that a lower GI diet did help me with my PCOS.

To those of you hoping to conceive and worried about your PCOS, i just want to say never stop believing it really can happen

this is very interesting! thanks for the info!

PCOS is a nutritional problem. I have PCOS. Our bodies do not absorb insulin the way it should. We are insulin resistant. Essentially we are diabetic. The best course of action from doctors and nutritionists, I was told to almost live as a diabetic would. Cutting out gluten is a good place to start. But focus on cutting out simple carbs, foods that are high in sugar, processed and pre-packaged foods, and and fast and junk foods. Focus on eating lots of veggies, lean meats and grains such as quinoa. This is the best course of action.