THE PCOS DIET BOOK

HOW YOU CAN USE

THE NUTRITIONAL APPROACH

TO DEAL WITH

POLYCYSTIC OVARY SYNDROME

Colette Harris

and Theresa Cheung

Copyright

While the authors of this work have made every effort to ensure that the information contained in this book is as accurate and up to date as possible at the time of publication, medical and pharmaceutical knowledge is constantly changing and the application of it to particular circumstances depends on many factors. Therefore it is recommended that readers always consult a qualified medical specialist for individual advice. This book should not be used as an alternative to seeking specialist medical advice, which should be sought before any action is taken. The authors and publishers cannot be held responsible for any errors and omissions that may be found in the text, or any actions that may be taken by a reader as a result of any reliance on the information contained in the text, which is taken entirely at the reader’s own risk.

Thorsons Element

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

Thorsons is a trademark of HarperCollinsPublishers Limited

Published by Thorsons 2002

© Colette Harris and Theresa Cheung 2002

Colette Harris and Theresa Cheung assert the moral right to be identified as the authors of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

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Source ISBN: 9780007131846

Ebook Edition © FEBRUARY 2016 ISBN: 9780007386215

Version: 2016-01-07

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Foreword

Introduction

Part 1 Nutritional Healing for PCOS – Laying the Foundations

Chapter 1 Why Food is so Important for Women with PCOS

Chapter 2 Your PCOS Diet

Chapter 3 The PCOS Detox Boost

Chapter 4 Your Sample Menu and Recipes

Part 2 Tackling Your Problems

Chapter 5 Fine-tuning Your Diet to Beat PCOS Symptoms

Chapter 6 Adapting Your Diet for Your Health – When You Have PCOS and Diabetes, Thyroid Problems or Digestive Disorders

Chapter 7 Losing Weight – Breaking the PCOS Cycle

Chapter 8 A to Z of Useful Supplements and How to Use Them

Part 3 Prepare for Success: Motivation, Support and a Healthy Attitude to Food

Chapter 9 Getting Motivated for Change

Chapter 10 Set Yourself Up for Success

Chapter 11 Healing Your Emotional Relationship with Food

Chapter 12 Support and Information: Useful Addresses and Websites

Keep Reading

Appendix PCOS – Causes, Symptoms, Treatment

Suggested Reading

References

Index

Acknowledgements

Also by the Author

About the Publisher

Foreword

We now know that PCOS is a common condition that must have plagued women for generations. Only a decade ago it was barely recognized by medical practitioners, and most women would have suffered their symptoms in silence. At last, with greater understanding of its underlying causes, PCOS is now being taken seriously. Much of the credit for greater public awareness in the UK goes to Colette Harris and her previous book PCOS: A Woman’s Guide to Dealing with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and for her tireless support for Verity, the PCOS support group.

As a scientist, nutritionist and medical herbalist I am impressed by how far Colette Harris and Theresa Francis-Cheung have delved into the scientific and medical literature to review what is currently known about PCOS and its treatment. In this book they present the information in an easy-to-read form, together with the voices of PCOS sufferers, with whom many women will identify. Sufferers can now see a rational basis for their diverse symptoms, founded on poor utilization of insulin. For example, this new concept goes a long way to explain why weight loss is so difficult for women with PCOS.

But help is at hand!

This book is full of tips on diet and lifestyle changes that can help the body to use insulin more efficiently. It shows how the vicious cycle of weight gain, with increasing difficulty of weight loss, can be broken, and that the debilitating and embarrassing signs and symptoms of PCOS really can disappear.

There is no doubt that, both from clinical data and from my own experience as a practitioner, switching to a healthy diet and adopting a healthy lifestyle would make a huge difference to the well-being of many people in the Western world. However, even with due attention to diet, many women do not reach their recommended target intakes for vitamins and minerals while on weight-reducing regimes. This is the dilemma faced by many women with PCOS, and is where nutrient supplements can be so very helpful. While they should never be a substitute for healthy eating, vitamin and mineral nutrition supplements can be used in conjunction with a good diet to ensure optimal nutrition of the key organs of the body involved in hormone balance.

Valuable guidance is given in this book on appropriate nutrient supplements, together with herbs that may be used to speed the way to health. However, since sufficient detail on the use of herbs cannot be conveyed in a book such as this, women with PCOS would benefit greatly from consulting a professional. If you want to consult a Medical Herbalist, look for the qualifications MNIMH or FNIMH (Member or Fellow of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists, UK) or MCPP (Member of the College of Practitioners of Phytotherapy, UK). These practitioners have had four years of rigorous medical training and will give sympathetic advice on PCOS. The addresses of these organizations are given at the back of the book.

There is no need to suffer in silence these days – if you have PCOS you can choose to have health and well-being. Although it will involve some effort, by following the advice given in this book you can make a positive difference to your own health and take control of your life again. It is an excellent guide to our current state of knowledge and is written from an integrated medical perspective by an ex-sufferer.

Dr Ann Walker PhD MNIMH MCPP

Senior Lecturer in Human Nutrition

Hugh Sinclair Unit of Human Nutrition School of Food Biosciences

The University of Reading, UK

27 September 2001