7 PCOS Myths
PCOS, or polycystic ovarian syndrome, is a hormone-related condition that can affect your cycle and infertility. If untreated, PCOS can eventually develop and increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. It is diagnosed by having two out of the following three symptoms listed below. As a syndrome, there is a collection of symptoms that are patient dependent. Due to this, PCOS can present very differently from person to person. It is important to understand your root causes driving your condition and receive proper treatment for each cause.
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome is diagnosed when you have 2 out of the 3 (or possibly all) of the following:
1. ELEVATED ANDROGENS (TESTOSTERONE / DHEA)
Testosterone (ovarian) can be elevated due to insulin resistance. This is because increased blood insulin signals the ovaries to produce more testosterone
DHEA (adrenal) can be elevated due to stress / inflammation. DHEA is an enzyme that combines with testosterone, and at elevated levels leads to acne and hair loss.
2. POLYCYSTIC OVARIES ON ULTRASOUND
Small cysts due to the follicle trying to produce an egg
DIFFERENT from an ovarian cyst
3. ANOVULATORY CYCLES / IRREGULAR PERIODS
Irregular periods due to lack of or delayed ovulation
Stress, high testosterone levels can affect ovulation
There is a lot of confusion and conflicting information out there when it comes to approaches to manage PCOS.
Here are 7 PCOS myths:
1. “You have to cut out carbs for PCOS.”
This PCOS myth stems from the fact that PCOS is an insulin-resistant condition, and people tend to assume when you have blood glucose imbalances and insulin resistance you should avoid all carbs. This is false. Naked carbohydrates (eating only carbohydrates with nothing else) is definitely going to be a burden on your insulin resistance, but this can be fixed if you always incorporate a fat or protein with that carbohydrate. Here is an example, if you just ate a bowl of oatmeal plain made with water this would be a naked carbohydrate meal because the only macronutrient you are eating is the carbohydrate. Now, if you add some nut butter, chia seeds, and berries, now you have a balanced meal of a carbohydrate, fat, protein, and fiber source. Adding a protein and fat source to your meals will slow the absorption of the carbohydrate and will be much better for stabilizing blood glucose levels.
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2. “You can’t ever have sugar with PCOS.”
Take this as another PCOS myth. Again this language of cutting out foods should be a red flag to you when you are listening for advice on how to manage your PCOS. Sugar is the simplified version of carbohydrates. It is quicker to digest and absorb which helps to explain why it can drastically influence blood sugar spikes. A carbohydrate, on the other hand, take oatmeal, for example, will have a much slower time digesting and absorbing because it has to turn into sugar first. Taking this into account, it is important to not completely cut foods out, but you can be mindful of combining the sugar with something with fiber, protein, and fat to slow down the absorption. Again with the oatmeal example before, if you were to add some maple syrup on top of your oatmeal in addition to the nut butter and chia seeds, you would have much more stable blood glucose levels.
3. “You can’t get pregnant with PCOS.”
This is another PCSO myth. No one has the ability to tell you that you can’t get pregnant if your only issue is PCOS. This is because PCOS can be managed by administering healthy lifestyle changes to aid hormones. Fertility is based on hormones. If they are too low, too high, or not in the correct ratio you can decrease your risk of fertility. Make sure you know which hormones are too low or too high when you are trying to improve fertility. With PCOS, your levels of estrogen and progesterone are typically low because of the androgen levels being too high. The good news though is that you can decrease these androgen levels which help improve hormone levels and fertility. It is also important to learn techniques on how to track ovulation properly. Knowing the exact day of ovulation can not be accurately identified through an app because those are based on averages, but there are real strategies you can use to actually know the day you ovulate.
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FREE PCOS 5-DAY MEAL PLAN:
4. “If you have PCOS, just lose weight.”
Weight loss as a means for treating your condition is another PCOS myth. Weight is not the cause of your PCOS, it is a symptom. This myth came about because when you are insulin resistant it is very easy to gain weight without realizing it, so many have come to believe if you lose weight you will balance blood sugar and insulin can restore. This approach is backward thinking, if insulin is the problem then we should fix the problem (insulin) not the symptom (weight). Insulin resistance and blood sugar imbalances can be regulated through eating smaller meals throughout the day and eating a fiber source, fat source, and protein source with every meal. Focus on your root causes instead of PCOS myths.
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5. “Definitely no gluten or dairy if you have PCOS.”
This is another PCOS myth to not fall under the belief that it is true. No study has concluded direct causation that PCOS can be cured with no dairy diets. Evidence of gluten-free diets in the treatment of PCOS has not been done yet either. Some women may find they have better symptoms without gluten, dairy, or both, but this is not a one-size approach for everyone. Every PCOS case is different and treatment needs to be personalized to every patient.
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6. “Keto is the best diet for PCOS.”
Advising the keto diet as a prescriptive diet for PCOS is another PCOS myth. Keto is a diet based on eating about 80% of your diet from fat, 15% from protein, and 5% from carbohydrates. The idea is that if you consume very minimal carbs and mainly fat, then you will burn fat for energy instead of carbohydrates and therefore you will lose weight. This myth ties into the fourth myth where they are both based on the idea that if you lose weight PCOS will be cured, which is false. In addition, keto is not sustainable and is very hard to be maintained over the long term. It also ties in with the first myth because it is believed that eating low carb is best, which we know is false and it is all about consuming your carb sources with fat and protein. Additionally, eating this proportion of fat can be actually detrimental for inflammatory and LDL cholesterol which can increase disease risk. Research has found it to beneficial for the short term but for the long term, the evidence is not clear.
7. “The pill will regulate your period if you have PCOS.”
Another common PCOS myth is that you need to regulate your period by taking the pill if you have PCOS. One of the diagnostic criteria for PCOS is irregular periods, and many believe that getting your period back through taking birth control is a good method. When you are taking the pill, you are administering artificial forms of hormones in your body which shuts off the brain-ovary connection to produce hormones naturally. The pill can restore a cyclic hormone schedule and ‘period’ but this is not a true period because ovulation is inhibited. The period that you get while taking the pill is just a release of blood from a decrease in hormones because oral contraceptives during the menstrual week are just placebo sugar pills. Ignoring your root causes of PCOS by taking the pill to get a period is not going to aid in treating your condition.
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