What I did to manage my PCOS

I was diagnosed with PCOS around the age of 14, I went in as I was experiencing pain and was simply scoffed at by a nurse, shown a screen that was full of cysts and then told I won't have children and to not ask any more questions because ''that isn't something a child should know. '' (and this has since been debunked) Of course, this filled me with a lot of dread, doubts and misery. I never did get help with that pain and I was just left to my own devices. When asking about it at future dates, as somebody who is naturally very small, the typical ''you need to lose weight'' auto response they hand out to the majority of women, would malfunction and turn into '' you need to eat a biscuit'' and I'd say, well.. that wouldn't help my cysts, nor pain. According to what I've read. I was always quite a free thinker but raised to do the ''right'' thing. I soon figured out, perhaps, your local doctors weren't the omniscient beings they strived to give me the impression they were and perhaps.... ''right'' was ever changing. This leads me to the catalyst for diving into learning more, something rather traumatic happened and my body was left destroyed. Doctors weren't interested, laced with the rampant medical misogyny and the overflow in the NHS. I was once again alone, in pain and desperate for answers. These are the things that helped me and currently - touch wood - I have zero symptoms. PROBIOTICS.

One of the key parts of hormone control and immunity is gut health.

Women with PCOS can have high levels of androgens, androgens are crucial for male sexual function and secondary sex characteristics, in women, this can cause symptoms like excess facial hair and can be induced by insulin resistance. Probiotics not only help the correct metabolisation of androgens but increase the expression of adhesion proteins in the intestinal walls, which reduce inflammation and therefore can assist with the uptake of insulin. Lowering inflammation over all helps with all manner of health issues, including high blood sugar and obesity, you'll soon figure out all of these issues are circular. So to me, the best place to start was a good probiotic. After a lot of experiments my favourite came to be ''symprove'' as this contains the key ingredients you need.

I have a discount code at the end of this blog post for anyone interested. DIET.

When you have PCOS, the key is balancing and then avoiding tipping your hormones out of balance. Now i'm not saying you'll never eat sugar, saturated fats and drink coffee or alcohol again! But remember, these things are not your hormones friend. Minimising intake of these things especially in the beginning can help build you back to a place where you don't have to watch everything you eat. If you think of the cysts like little packman monsters, everything you throw at them they will eat, and cakes and coffees are their favourite food. We with PCOS crave more sugar because our insulin spikes, then our insulin spike causes our appetite to be stimulated, we eat more, gain weight and inflammation and then become more resistant. Try and increase your protein and whole food intake to stop those cravings. Beans especially, leafy grees for beneficial fibre to nurture and clean your gut at the same time, as I said before, it's one big circle. BEE POLLEN. A natural wonder, bee pollen has been found to help balance female hormones. I Started by sprinkling a little on my breakfast or in leafy smoothies and now I just take one teaspoon every morning. Post pro biotic, pre breakfast. - Don't forget to take your probiotic at least 10 minutes before food to give the bacteria the best chance of reaching the right places. - Bee pollen has also been found to naturally boost metabolism, reduce artery hardening and lower cholesterol and as PCOS raises your chances of heart disease this is invaluable. MACA: This is something I would dilute and drink once a week, now my symptoms have subsided I only take minimally. It's not the best tasting, but it is very handy.

The alkaloids in maca have been found to assist with thyroid, pituitary and pancreas issues. The pancreas helps produce digestive enzymes, hormones and insulin. The thyroid produces hormones for metabolism and the pituitary controls growth and the thyroid. So we, back in our circle can see the benefits of nourishing these. It also balances FSH, folicle stimulating hormone which is the thing that when out of whack, causes the cysts. EXCERSISE: You don't need to start doing intensity workouts and running thousands of laps around town. Just ten minutes of weighted workouts a day can significantly reduce insulin resistance. SUGAR REDUCTION:

If sugar is a big part of your day, who doesn't enjoy a sweet treat, right? You don't have to go crazy, cutting down on sugar can feel just as bad as cutting out cigarettes. Start slow, drop a little bit as you go and start replacing with fruit. Try manuka honey instead of sugar. FRUIT:

There are some more beneficial fruits than others for PCOS Try to pick seasonal berries and apples over raisins and apricots. Less sugar, higher fibre. One thing in particular that can aid digestion issues I found very handy is the pineapple, but you want the tougher centre. This contains bromelain which is a mixture of enzymes that aid in the reduction of inflammation and therefore digestion. See, that pesky circle again. NUTS: Try to incorporate nuts into your diet, sprinkle them everywhere you can. Chopped almonds or walnuts on a salad, in a smoothie, in your breakfast, if you don't fancy eating them, blend them up in some water. The healthy fats and high protein are a miracle for your hormonal health. As well as a myriad of other health benefits, I recommend them to everyone. Walnuts are particularly good for your brain too, reducing oxidative stress( you can remember this because they look like one!) We all know, fluctuating hormones can cause moods to take a dive. Minimising hunger, you can eat these with fruit when you have those cravings. SPIRILUNA:

Another simple sprinkler, with a big impact. A little bit goes a long way, spiriluna has been shown to possibly reduce high cholesterol and glycative stress. FOLIC ACID: Women with PCOS have been found to have extremely low levels of folate intake. Increasing these levels can help metabolic profiles and is actually despite popular belief recommended for most people outside of pregnancy. All in all, these simple changes ultimately turned my health completely around and show that although it's a rather understudied area, a little bit of mindfulness can save a lot of heartache. Subscribe to my website for recipes and a related PCOS skincare routine coming soon. Discount code for probiotic https://symprove.mention-me.com/me/referee/registerko/144601376/558523560/er/f8ba926c35981fb6bad151fab9fec22c5316952e/ol/cw?epr=1 Let me know your experience below! Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and these are my personal experiences. Please seek professional advice in emergencies, this is just supplemental information based on my own research.