PCOS Diet Chart: What to Eat & Avoid?

Diet and exercise are important parts of managing PCOS. This is because young women with PCOS often have higher levels of insulin (a hormone) in their blood, and many have trouble maintaining a healthy weight. Getting the right PCOS diet chart including the kinds of food to limit can improve the way one heals. It will also help in losing weight. Eating well, staying active, and maintaining a healthy weight (or losing even a small amount of weight if you're overweight) can improve PCOS symptoms. But, it is important to understand that one PCOS diet chart cannot be the right fit for everyone. Every person has an individual body type or prakriti (Ayurvedic body constitution) and shows different PCOS symptoms; hence they require a tailor-made solution for the health problem. At Jiva, our doctors suggest a customised diet chart for PCOS patient. Till you start with the treatment procedure, through this blog, you can know about the foods that are recommended to include in the diet and the foods one should avoid when suffering from PCOS.

You don’t need to go out of your way to buy any special foods for PCOS.  Just like with any healthy diet plan, your meals should include a healthy balance of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, plant-based protein, lean meats, and healthy fats.

Foods to Eat

High fibre foods: Add fibre-rich foods to your diet like oats, beans, broccoli, buckwheat (kuttu ka atta), flaxseeds, sprouts, sweet potato and pumpkin. Fibre is beneficial for you in different ways. It can reduce the impact of sugar in the blood. It is also helpful in maintaining a healthy weight.

Antioxidant-rich foods: Women with PCOS have been shown to have a higher level of oxidative stress, which can then be combatted by eating higher levels of antioxidants in the diet. E.g. berries, nuts like almond and walnuts, sunflower seeds, tomatoes, spinach and green tea.

Lean protein: Consuming more lean protein like tofu, chickpeas, peas, amaranth and quinoa will keep you fuller for longer and prevent you from reaching for unhealthy snacks. This way, you won't be adding too many calories and can maintain weight.

Foods to Avoid

Processed foods: Processed foods have high sodium content and may contain unhealthy fats that may only worsen your case. Make sure you limit your consumption of processed foods like junk food, canned products and fried foods.

Sugary foods & beverages: Sugary foods such as cakes, candy, ice-cream, cookies and beverages such as soda and energy drinks increases the blood sugar level and weight which directly affects PCOS symptoms. Therefore, limit your intake of such items.

Red meat & dairy products: Excessive consumption of red meats such as pork, beef and mutton may aggravate hormonal problems as they are high in cholesterol and saturated fats. Also, limit your intake of artificial or heavily processed cheese, alcohol and caffeine.

Jiva’s Treatment Approach for PCOS

At Jiva, our doctors start the PCOS treatment by taking a detailed history and understanding the prakriti (body constitution) of the patient. Based on this information, they suggest a personalised treatment plan comprising of medicines, a customised lifestyle plan and a PCOS diet plan chart.  The diet plans are tailor-made for each patient as every individual has a particular prakriti or dosha type. Imbalance in the doshas leads to hormonal imbalance and other problems in the body. Ayurveda treatment helps you regain the lost balance and good health with the help of medicine and lifestyle chikitsa.