Gluten Free to Manage PCOS

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JackiLean
JackiLean Posts: 62 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was 17. I've bounced around weight, acne issues, birth control/hormone issues and all sorts of problems stemming from the condition.

In a last ditch effort to gain some semblance of normalcy back from taking birth control pills (they make me bat-s**t crazy), I decided to go with the Mirena IUD.

The surgeon inserting it asked if I had ever been told to go on a gluten free diet.

No, no one has ever said that to me. I had no idea they were even related.

So, he convinced me to try and I am. I don't feel very different yet, but I've been gluten free for a total of 2 weeks now.

Is there anyone else with PCOS that's going or has been gluten free? Do you honestly feel better? Is this a lifestyle you're absolutely committed to?

Please feel free to add me as well! I need all the help I can get :)

Replies

  • ALLENFLO
    ALLENFLO Posts: 61 Member
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    Take diet advice from a diet expert that studies diet on a regular basis. The rules are changing every year and the normal health care doctor is not worrying about diet for their main profession.

    Just a word of advice
  • JackiLean
    JackiLean Posts: 62 Member
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    Take diet advice from a diet expert that studies diet on a regular basis. The rules are changing every year and the normal health care doctor is not worrying about diet for their main profession.

    Just a word of advice

    Thanks for the advice. I've mentally questioned his authority over the subject a few times, but he is a gyno and deals with PCOS constantly, so at least he understands half of the problem?

    Which is why I'm here, to see if there are other women who were told the same thing. But you're right! I definitely need to see a nutritionist about this.
  • happyheathen927
    happyheathen927 Posts: 167 Member
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    Insulin resistance goes hand-in-hand with PCOS. The best type of diet to manage insulin-resistance is low-carb. So, not just gluten-free, but grain-free.
  • kgoodman0108
    kgoodman0108 Posts: 158
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    Insulin resistance goes hand-in-hand with PCOS. The best type of diet to manage insulin-resistance is low-carb. So, not just gluten-free, but grain-free.

    This. Its carbohydrates that are the problem, not just gluten in general. I've been eating low carb for the past several months and my PCOS symptoms have greatly improved.

    *edit - This is assuming your PCOS is caused my insulin resistance, rather than hormones.
  • kenzietate
    kenzietate Posts: 399 Member
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    Insulin resistance goes hand-in-hand with PCOS. The best type of diet to manage insulin-resistance is low-carb. So, not just gluten-free, but grain-free.

    This. Its carbohydrates that are the problem, not just gluten in general. I've been eating low carb for the past several months and my PCOS symptoms have greatly improved.

    *edit - This is assuming your PCOS is caused my insulin resistance, rather than hormones.

    PCOS isn't caused by insulin resistance. It caused it. Elevated testosterone causes your body to be more resistant. Even if you haven't developed insulin resistance yet, eating low carb will help you avoid it. Low carb is awesome! I was diagnosed at 18 and I have struggled for so many years. Low carb is the best thing that I ever found out about! All my symptoms are reduced 10 fold and it has only been since the end of June that I have been on it.
  • bookyeti
    bookyeti Posts: 544 Member
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    Insulin resistance goes hand-in-hand with PCOS. The best type of diet to manage insulin-resistance is low-carb. So, not just gluten-free, but grain-free.
    I have to second this...
    There are cases of PCOS without related insulin resistance, but they are less prevalent.

    I have PCOS, am insulin resistant and hypothyroid. I was unable to lose weight - despite strict calorie counting for years (eating at a reasonable deficit) and hours of exercise every day - until I started reducing my carbs. Finally starting to see some results! I followed a ketogenic diet for 2 months (25-30g carbs/day), which I found was helpful in weaning me off carb cravings... then I *slowly* raised my carbs from there. Now I eat under 100g of carbs a day.
  • JackiLean
    JackiLean Posts: 62 Member
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    I followed a ketogenic diet for 2 months (25-30g carbs/day), which I found was helpful in weaning me off carb cravings... then I *slowly* raised my carbs from there. Now I eat under 100g of carbs a day.

    WOW. I just read what the Ketogenic diet is and HOLY CRAP... How are you still alive?! That sounds so incredibly restrictive. I guess if you're feeling better, then maybe it really does work?
  • kenzietate
    kenzietate Posts: 399 Member
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    I followed a ketogenic diet for 2 months (25-30g carbs/day), which I found was helpful in weaning me off carb cravings... then I *slowly* raised my carbs from there. Now I eat under 100g of carbs a day.

    WOW. I just read what the Ketogenic diet is and HOLY CRAP... How are you still alive?! That sounds so incredibly restrictive. I guess if you're feeling better, then maybe it really does work?

    I am on this now. I love it! It only feels restrictive at first. Once you can break they cycle of constantly wanting carbs, you don't feel restricted. I mean come on...we can eat bacon, full fat cheeses and dressings, eat meat with the fat on, chicken with the skin on and not feel guilty! Where I used to eat something sweet after dinner, now I eat bacon! Also, there are low carb desserts and things of that nature if you use stevia, splenda or other no carb sweeteners. I have been researching this a lot and I am finding many, many people who stay low carb for 20 years, 18 years, 8 years, etc. It is really cool!
  • bookyeti
    bookyeti Posts: 544 Member
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    WOW. I just read what the Ketogenic diet is and HOLY CRAP... How are you still alive?! That sounds so incredibly restrictive. I guess if you're feeling better, then maybe it really does work?
    "Restrictive" is a relative term. It's all about perspective. Eating bacon, lobster, butter, cheese, heavy cream, coconut oil, luxurious cuts of meat, seafood, lots of green veggies... to me, that wasn't restrictive at all. But to carb addicts it may be. Eating like that really does make you feel great, once you're in it full swing. I didn't go through "induction flu" (the first week being extremely low carb) because i gradually reduced my carbs down to Ketogenic level over the course of a month. I would still probably be eating Ketogenic, if it weren't for migraines that were related to high dietary fat intake (I'm prone to migraines and certain things set it off). It's a very healthy way of eating, especially for those of us with insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and/or PCOS.

    In fact, the National Institute of Health did a study and found it was a very good way of eating for women with PCOS: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16359551
  • Rebekah513
    Rebekah513 Posts: 2
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    Yes I'm gluten free for three weeks now. My husband and I want to try to conceive at the end if the head and I'm trying to balance my hormones naturally and get in shape. I feel better already but I am also only eating whole foods. Very low carb and organic as much as possible.
  • Rebekah513
    Rebekah513 Posts: 2
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    End of the year*
  • hapachicana
    hapachicana Posts: 1
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    I have been both gluten free and dairy free since December. My new doctor recommended it, and I have lost close to 20lbs with exercise. Prior to this and because of my PCOS, I had difficulty losing weight no matter how hard I worked out. I feel so much better than I used to. You might want to check out sites like PCOS Diva and PCOS Nutrition to learn more.
  • bribrijean234
    bribrijean234 Posts: 90 Member
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    I have PCOS and insulin resistance, and I've had miscellaneous stomach/digestion issues since I was a teen. I was tested recently for celiacs disease and the results were negative. My doctor suggested I could still be gluten intolerant (which On a side note: I've noticed that many women with PCOS have sensitivities to gluten and often benifit from cutting it out of their diet) and to try going gluten free for 4 weeks then reintroduce it to see what happens. I'm two weeks in and I have to say that I haven't had any of my typical stomach or digestion issues and I haven't felt bloated either. Two more weeks and I'm interested to see what happens when I have a Martins Potato Roll again...

    I also noticed that since being diagnosed and cutting back my overall consumption of carbs, I've felt better, more able to make it through the day without getting tired mid-afternoon. Regardless of if you go gluten free or not, I do believe that cutting back your carbs and processed foods in general can make a big difference with PCOS symptoms- and that's speaking from my own experience.
  • Carnivor0us
    Carnivor0us Posts: 1,752 Member
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    I followed a ketogenic diet for 2 months (25-30g carbs/day), which I found was helpful in weaning me off carb cravings... then I *slowly* raised my carbs from there. Now I eat under 100g of carbs a day.

    WOW. I just read what the Ketogenic diet is and HOLY CRAP... How are you still alive?! That sounds so incredibly restrictive. I guess if you're feeling better, then maybe it really does work?

    Edit: Didn't realize this thread was just risen from the dead. Sorry.
  • JackiLean
    JackiLean Posts: 62 Member
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    UPDATE!

    This post has been resurrected a few times! Yay! Glad I'm getting so much feedback! Thank you!

    I think when I go in for my yearly physical, I'm going to get tested for Celiac's. I was GF for three months before Christmas. When I went on Christmas break, I reintroduced gluten back in my diet for two weeks. I thought, hell, it's the holidays. Might as well!

    I gained 12 lbs in 10 days. I didn't eat any MORE than usual, just added gluten.

    Not to mention, I got really sick. BAD sick.

    I never had that reaction before but I think I might have been having bad reactions all along, but it was part of everyday life.

    No gluten forever from here on in.
  • Amandabelanger614
    Amandabelanger614 Posts: 110 Member
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    I am non-celiac gluten intolerant....

    I am not sure what you will feel becauase you don't have an allergy, but i would say that giving up gluten made me have more energy throughout the day. That was not a symptom of my allergy, just an added bonus of giving it up.

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