Hello ladies,
My best friend has PCOS and I recently suggested that she try LC because of what Dr. Atkins says in his book about the disease. She didn't want to try Atkins, but she saw something on TV about the South Beach Diet and has decided to try it. My first question is: Which LC diet has helped your PCOS the most? (I'm worried that South Beach might not be LC enough to help her and she'll give up.)

My friend is not trying to conceive, she just wants relief of her symptoms. However, when I was trying to conceive my son last year I belonged to the list "ONNA" and I remember many of the list members there had PCOS and it was a terrible struggle for them. I didn't know anything about Atkins back then, but now I'm wondering -- could it really aid conception for women with this problem? Have any of you experienced this?

I'm sorry if these are nosy questions & I hope I haven't inadvertedly said the wrong thing. Since starting this WOE I feel like I'm sitting on a gold mine and, if it will help, I'd like to share it with those I care about.

Thanks,
Rosa

Rosa, I think it's great that you are concerned for your friend... I had been on maintenance level low carb woe for about 12 cycles when we conceived...

PCOS, as I understand it, is when your body does not respond correctly to insulin... The high insulin levels can prevent the ovary from releasing an egg, making it very difficult to get pregnant...

The high insulin also causes your body to produce testosterone which is what causes the additional symptoms of PCOS... Stuff like excessive hair growth...

By controlling your body's insulin production and keeping it at a steady level, you are also controlling your body's testosterone production which helps control the symptoms that come with PCOS...

Insulin resistance can also lead to other conditions such as heart disease and diabetes so keeping your insulin production under as much control as possible is always beneficial in the long run (as well as the short run)...

As for what diet works the best for me, I can't say... I just follow general low carb guidelines and keep an open mind about aspects of each plan... Certain peoples insulin production is triggered by completely different things than other peoples insulin production, so it can be just a trial and error type of thing... Some people can live off of 80-100 grams of carbs per day and their glucose levels remain normal, others have to reduce their carb intake further... It's really something that depends on each individuals chemical makeup...

Just thought I'd let you know that I run a yahoo group for women with PCOS who LC diet. MANY of the women who were TTC by using the LC diet, either alone or with Metformin (glucophage) have been successful in getting pregnant.

MOST of the women on the group use the LC diet to relieve symptoms, either with or without Metformin.

Best of luck to her, have her look up PCOS_Low-Carb at groups.yahoo.com if she's interested in learning more

Karen
PCOS.net

Hello,
For me, with my PCOS I try to eat the lowest carbs possible. I'm on Atkins and I'm very close to the Induction level and have been for six weeks. I range from 20-25 net carbs per day. The one variance from induction is that I eat nuts and some berries. And I've felt fantastic doing this. I have no blood sugar swings. I fear adding any more carbs because I know what my reactions to them are.

I follow the Insulin Resistance Diet and eat about 50-70g carbs a day. I have had no problem losing weight.

Thank you everyone for your responses.

Tink, you look beautiful! Congratulations on your soon-to-arrive sweetie-pie.

Karen, I will definitely pass that info on to my friend.

Thank you again!
Rosa