While PCOS in general is highly overlooked and under recognized, the condition has been largely ignored in women who are past the childbearing years. This is why I am so pleased to share an article I wrote in the February edition of Today’s Dietitian titled ‘PCOS in Aging Women: Beyond Hormones and Hot Flashes.’
I had the pleasure of interviewing Judy Simon, MS, RD,CD, CHES a dietitian and fertility nutrition expert at Mind-Body-Nutrition in Seattle, WA about her novel Food for Fertility Program. Judy is the chair of the American Society Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) NutriSig group. Judy created this 7 week program to help her patients who struggle with infertility by providing support, resources, and nutrition education to women. Most impressive is the group’s zero drop-out rate, amount of women who got pregnant during the groups and the wonderful health improvements her participants experienced.
The NIH Office of Disease Prevention held an important workshop on PCOS that took place December 4-5, 2012. Top researchers in PCOS from all over the world met for this 2 day workshop to present evidence-based information on PCOS and to clarify the following:
After the meeting concluded, an executive summary was drafted. Here are some highlights from that summary and what it means for women with PCOS
photo used with permission from USDA
A phenotype is a unique set of characteristics based on your genetic makeup and influence of environmental factors. In a position paper published in Fertility and Sterility, the Androgen Excess and PCOS Society Task Force suggest that there at least 10 possible phenotypes of PCOS. The difference in phenotypes explains how the syndrome has so much variation in symptoms.
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The earlier PCOS is detected and treated, the better. In this article for Today’s Dietitian titled, Recognize Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in Teens — The Importance of Early Detection and Treatment, I discuss specific factors affecting a young woman receiving a diagnosis of PCOS as well as treatment options and nutritional concerns.
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Diet and lifestyle are the primary treatment approaches for PCOS, yet, so many women find themselves confused by the nutrition recommendations for the syndrome and don’t know who to trust. Sometimes it seems as if every website out there for PCOS has conflicting nutrition information. Some individuals even try and make money off their unproven “theories” and try and sell products women with PCOS don’t need. There’s no question that media and Internet are the main sources where people get their nutrition information today. Unfortunately, a lot of the information for PCOS is false, misleading and in some cases, dangerous. If you are a woman with PCOS, it is important that you are doing the right thing for your body, and not making your health worse. You need to be a critical reader of the nutrition information you are flooded with before making changes to your health. Below are 4 ways to trust if the information is reliable.
