PCOS and Food Cravings: How to Beat Urges, Live Healthier During Pregnancy and Beyond

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects an estimated 1 in 10 women of childbearing age worldwide. We know the predominant symptoms of the hormonal disorder range from irregular menstrual cycles to thinning hair to weight gain and even infertility. But did you know that many women with PCOS report an increase in food cravings? Research backs this up: a high proportion of women with the endocrine disorder exhibit clinically significant binge eating behavior and food cravings-trait scores. Women with PCOS who are obese present with significantly higher scores regarding food cravings than women with PCOS who are lean. With no exact cure available yet to those suffering, managing PCOS symptoms through targeted diet and lifestyle change is key. Healthy weight management can lower risk of food cravings and binge eating behaviors as well as more serious complications associated with PCOS, such as diabetes, heart disease and stroke. What is PCOS? With PCOS, the ovaries produce an abnormal amount of androgens, which are male sex hormones that are usually present in women in small amounts, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. The exact cause of PCOS is unknown but researchers believe that the onset is related to genetic and environmental elements as well as the following factors: High levels of androgens: excess production in the ovaries and/or adrenal glands can contribute to symptoms such as acne, unwanted or thinning hair, and irregular periods. Insulin resistance: in PCOS, the body may become less sensitive to insulin and lead to high blood glucose levels. This cascade can contribute to weight gain and even higher levels of androgen production. A polycystic ovary: a cyst on at least one of the ovaries Some women present with only one of the above factors, while others may experience two or all three. Understanding the functional changes of a client’s PCOS symptoms is important when matching the appropriate protocol and lifestyle modifications to rebalance the body. RELATED: How I Changed My Diet to Manage PCOS and Finally Feel Better PCOS and Food Cravings Clients who develop insulin resistance may experience intense food cravings—especially for refined carbs such as white bread, pasta and pastries. These cravings may lead to overeating, weight gain and additional complications triggered by PCOS (irregular periods, infertility, diabetes). Having a management plan specific to food cravings may be valuable for clients experiencing these symptoms. Strategies for Reducing PCOS-Related Food Cravings They include: Food timing: suggest eating every 3-4 hours to regulate blood sugar and keep cravings at bay. Encourage eating a combination of protein, healthy fats and fiber. Remove triggers: work with your client to cut down on foods that contribute to more intense cravings (processed/packaged foods and artificial sweeteners above all). Replace triggers with healthier alternatives: when sugar cravings hit, try using spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg which can be helpful in curbing a sweet craving. Sipping unsweetened herbal teas is also a great strategy that will have negligible effects on blood sugar. You can also try incorporating cashews and pecans as they are “sweet” nuts, and the fat and protein will help with satiety too. RELATED: Sugar Cravings: 4 Reasons They Happen and How to Stop Them PCOS and Pregnancy PCOS is one of the most common causes of female infertility, affecting as many as 5 million U.S. women of reproductive age. Excess androgens or the presence of a polycystic ovary led to disruptions in proper ovarian functioning and make it more difficult for women with PCOS to become pregnant. Some women may not even realize they have PCOS until they are trying to conceive. For pregnant women with PCOS, there is an increased risk of complications. This includes: Preeclampsia: a condition characterized by high blood pressure during pregnancy, and Gestational diabetes: a type of diabetes that develops during pregnancy in women who don’t already have it. Both of these conditions can lead to potential risks for the baby, including premature birth, excessive birth weight and miscarriage. Strategies for a healthy pregnancy Strategies to manage symptoms and maintain a healthy pregnancy are similar to most PCOS protocols: Managing a healthy weight — even a 5% to 10% loss in weight has been shown to significantly increase the chance of becoming pregnant. A plant-based, low-glycemic diet Regular exercise In certain cases, doctors may prescribe fertility medications to help with ovulation or suggest a surgery to remove tissue that produces excess male hormones in the ovaries. In vitro fertilization (IVF) is also common for women with PCOS, although this option is expensive and usually considered when all other lifestyle interventions have been unsuccessful. PCOS and Insulin Resistance: Newest Findings The connection between PCOS and insulin resistance has been well-established and widely recognized. More recently, it’s been found that in addition to insulin sensitivity, women with PCOS may have unbalanced adipokines, which are cell-signaling molecules produced in fat tissue. Adipokines include leptin and visfatin, two hormones involved in regulating body weight and blood glucose. The following lifestyle modifications can help counter insulin sensitivity and adipokine secretion, leading to better metabolic health and reproductive outcomes. 5 Ways to Improve Metabolic Health Living with PCOS doesn’t have to mean experiencing metabolic disorders or food cravings. Luckily, there are many tools we can employ to help alleviate and even reverse the symptoms of PCOS in women. Here are five diet and lifestyle modifications proven effective. Adopt a low-glycemic diet With insulin resistance affecting up to 70% of women with PCOS, keeping blood sugar in check with low-glycemic foods is highly important to stabilizing glucose levels. Foods to incorporate include: whole grains, non-starchy vegetables, low-sugar fruits like berries, legumes, dairy, lean proteins and healthy oils. RELATED: Managing Blood Sugar: Nutritious,Tasty Snacks and Breakfast Ideas Make breakfast a priority Starting the day with a balanced, low-glycemic breakfast can lead to better blood sugar stabilization throughout the day. Reduce chronic stress In women with PCOS, chronic stress can make symptoms worse by further increasing blood sugar levels via an excess production of cortisol. Quality nutrition, sleep and exercise can all help to

Why Daphne Oz Unapologetically Prioritizes Herself

Wellness is essentially part of Daphne Oz’s DNA. The daughter of two health experts, Dr. Memet Oz and Lisa Oz, she grew up with health trends and the latest nutrition stats as regular dinner conversation. So it’s not surprising that she’s dedicated her life to healthy living. The New York Times bestselling author, chef, and former Emmy Award-winning co-host of ABC’s The Chew has recently added beauty entrepreneur to her resume.  Oz is the co-owner of LOUM, the new ethically formulated, clean beauty brand featuring products that are specifically created to fight the negative signs of stress on skin.  “I’ve always been a product junkie and loved researching the latest and greatest in clean living and personal care,” Oz tells Nutritious Life. “Obviously food is my first medicine, but I love a holistic inside-meets-outside approach to health and beauty.” We chatted with Oz about how the pandemic has actually helped her find more sanity, go-to healthy meals, and why she unapologetically prioritizes self-care.  Read on to learn how she lives a nutritious life and steal her tips on prioritizing what’s important. Tell us, how has life changed for you since the beginning of the pandemic? The pandemic has forced, or shall I say allowed, all of us to reprioritize. The beginning was so hard because I thought I could just keep doing everything with basically no boundaries between home and work, plus distance learning. Needless to say, that was misguided. I had to figure out what my new markers for success and efficiency were going to look like. It definitely took a few crashes and burns to realize I was being unrealistic, and also that being ruthless with the things that do not matter (a stoic guiding principle my grandmother turned me onto that has basically become my life motto this year!) could give me back a little bit of sanity. My goal is to be able to be fully present—focused on what I’m doing at work when I’ve carved out the time for that and then completely present when I’m spending time with my husband and kids. My kids are back in school now which has made a world of difference. I think one thing we will always hold onto is that taking time to really unwind and stop feeling pulled in 100 different directions is as valuable for happiness as anything else we actively do to find that balance. Why did you want to partner with LOUM? Throughout my life and especially as a busy working mom of 4, I can see that the more stressed I am, the worse I look and feel.  When the LOUM team shared their research showing the link between stress and our skin, I wasn’t surprised, but I was shocked this was the first line that really set out to be the “antidote” to stress on skin.  Our mind and our skin are hardwired together  and when we are stressed out, it shows up so clearly on our skin as wrinkles, dryness, dullness, and even oiliness and breakouts.   Clean beauty is hard to achieve. What were your priorities with this brand? Our skin is our largest organ, so what we put on our skin truly matters especially if we stay consistent like we’re supposed to.  I look at the ingredients of everything that I put into my body, from food to skincare, so it was crucial to me that any line I partnered with be clean according to the highest standards possible (free of toxic parabens, silicones and hormone-disruptors).  Another really important piece of the puzzle for me was an easy skincare routine. Something straightforward enough to be used every day without adding more stress to your life. We’re all busy! Self-care has to be easy and effective if we’re going to stick with it.   What causes you stress?  How do you alleviate that stress? Life is stressful, especially now. Deadlines, headlines, everyday kid concerns, the fact that there is no such thing as getting to the bottom of a never-ending to-do list. I try to look at stress as motivation, a chance to get rid of things that toxically overwhelm me where I can and to try to handle the things I can’t totally control with less resistance. The only way I find mental and emotional stamina to do any of this is with great relationships that I invest in, and one of those is with myself. I try to make a little time for myself every day, whether that means a calming skincare ritual, cooking for my family, or working out.  One of the motherhood quotes we hear often is “You can’t pour from an empty vessel,” and I think this is a big learning from the past year. If we take good care of ourselves, it will enable us to better take care of those around us. What are your go-to healthy meals? Breakfast: I’m obsessed with these healthy pancakes I started making for the kids and now enjoy a couple mornings a week myself. They are basically oatmeal plus a protein shake as pancakes which basically equals perfect!  Lunch: I load up on salads at lunch, usually with arugula (my favorite), a dollop of hummus, tons of crunchy peppers, cucumbers, carrots, shaved raw beets, and a quick lemony shallot vinaigrette. I will sometimes pair with a quick open faced sandwich on sprouted Ezekial toast with turkey or a thin spread of almond butter, especially if I got a workout in. My other favorite is veggie scrambles. I basically use it as a chance to sauté any leftovers and veggies in my fridge with a little olive oil and coconut aminos and tamari, scramble with eggs and scallions, serve with a little avocado and plenty of hot sauce!   Dinner: Usually we have a larger protein, usually chicken or fish that we’ll grill or roast, though maybe we’ll do a steak once or twice a month. We do lots of roasted veggies, we all love them. I’m a huge

Syncing With My Cycle Changed My Life Forever. How It Can Change Yours, Too.

Excerpted from IN THE FLO by Alisa Vitti, reprinted with permission by HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Copyright 2020.  I know firsthand how stressful hormonal problems can be. I struggled with them for a decade, and my journey with a debilitating hormonal condition changed my career and my life.  My issues started in junior high school. I was a very late bloomer in the puberty department. Even though I was the president and founder of the Period Club, I was the last one in the club to actually start my period. I was almost sixteen when I got my first bleed, although it was brown and not healthy. I went to my gynecologist annually but was offered no diagnosis or explanation for the laundry list of issues I was having.  RELATED: The Best Period Underwear for Every Type of Flow Meanwhile, my symptoms worsened throughout high school and in college. At one point, I tipped the scales at 205 pounds; my face, chest, and back were covered in severe, painful cystic acne; and I hadn’t had my period more than a handful of times in a decade. Things got so bad for me, I couldn’t sleep, I binged on food to deal with fatigue and anxiety, I felt depressed, and I struggled to do basic things like be on time for appointments and stick with plans to go out with friends. I was a mess and felt trapped in my own body. One night when I was suffering with my usual insomnia, I headed to the library at Johns Hopkins, where I was a student, and I came across a brief article in an obstetrics journal about Stein-Leventhal disease, which is now called polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). As I scanned the symptoms associated with this condition, I recognized myself immediately.  RELATED: What Every Woman Needs to Know About PCOS “This is it,” I thought! In my book WomanCode, I described in detail how that discovery prompted me to demand that my gynecologist give me a test to diagnose PCOS—a transvaginal ultrasound along with bloodwork. When the test revealed the telltale signs of PCOS—multiple cysts on both of my ovaries—I finally knew what was causing all of my issues. It suddenly made sense to me that all the diets, exercise, and skin care treatments hadn’t worked for me. My symptoms weren’t caused by my not trying hard enough; my hormonal system was so severely out of tune that no ordinary diet or skin cream was going to help.  My prognosis was grim—a lifetime of cystic acne and an increased risk for obesity, diabetes, infertility, heart disease, and cancer. As I sat in stunned silence, the doc dispassionately informed me there was no cure, only a litany of prescriptions—birth control pills to artificially regulate my period, Accutane for acne, Glucophage for insulin problems, Aldactone for hirsutism issues, blood pressure medicine, Clomid when it came time to conceive, and on and on—that I would likely have to take for the rest of my life. The message was clear: go home and suffer quietly. As I was reeling from the notion of a lifetime of pills and problems, a voice welled up from deep inside, calmly reassuring me: “That’s not your path.” My body was sending me a strong message that there had to be a better way. I didn’t realize it in that moment, but looking back, my body was letting me know I had the power to do something, to change my hormonal situation and create a better future for myself. In that moment, I made the switch from having a passive relationship with my body to becoming a champion for my health and well-being. I was in a fight for my quality of life, literally, and if traditional medicine was going to leave me unsupported, I’d look elsewhere for a remedy. For the next two years, I embarked on an exploratory journey to learn as much as I could from experts in a variety of health specialties, including naturopaths, herbalists, and acupuncturists. I tried elimination diets, candida diets, herbs, and supplements, and nothing worked for me. Although these therapies can provide relief for many conditions, they didn’t heal my hormonal problems. In fact, my condition continued to worsen. Out of desperation, I went on the pill, but after just ten days I temporarily lost vision in one eye from an ocular migraine and suffered a cardiac episode of low blood pressure and heart palpitations. After medical evaluation, I was told to avoid synthetic birth control. Finally, after exhausting all of the existing treatments, I tapped into my inner strength as a researcher (I had studied biology and wanted to become an ob-gyn) and began looking into the endocrine system, epigenetics, circadian patterns of the body and hormones (chronobiology), and the five-phase theory from Chinese medicine.  My findings encouraged me to experiment and create a revolutionary new way of eating that ultimately put my symptoms and condition into remission naturally. This is the basis of the FLO protocol I described in WomanCode, which includes using food to stabilize your blood sugar levels and insulin, reduce cortisol levels, restore microbial balance in the gut, and improve the breakdown of estrogen in the liver. Within nine months of following this protocol, my period came back, I lost sixty pounds, my skin cleared up, and my mood and life were transformed. I was beyond thrilled with this transformation, but my journey wasn’t over. I needed to find a way to maintain the changes I had made, and I wanted to get in touch with my cyclical nature by reclaiming a female-centered way of living. The Cycle Syncing Method™ was born from these two fundamental needs. The method is based on the extraordinary blueprint for self-care, biohacking, and optimization on every level provided by our cyclical hormonal patterns. The method allows us to stay connected to our feminine energy despite the cultural conditioning that dictates a linear, repetitive way of living. I certainly wish