Understanding PCOD: Personalized Care for Women’s Health
PCOD is a common hormonal condition affecting many women today, and understanding its underlying mechanism is the first step toward effective management.
PCOD is a medical condition in which the woman’s ovaries produce immature or partially mature eggs in large numbers, which, over time, become cysts in the ovaries. It affects nearly 10% of women worldwide and may arise due to poor lifestyle patterns such as stress, obesity, and hormonal imbalance.
PCOD generally doesn’t affect fertility, as women are usually able to ovulate and can get pregnant with proper medical guidance.
Symptoms: PCOD, most often shows up as an irregular menstrual cycle, abnormal weight gain, lethargy, and unnatural mood changes and can also extend to hormonal imbalances.
Causes: It is linked to poor dietary habits and a sedentary lifestyle, leading to obesity that shows up as a higher BMI, abdominal obesity, or a normal BMI with a TOFI body (Thin Outside and Fat Inside).
Treatment: Making lifestyle changes that include appropriate nutrition, adequate physical activity, stress management, and quality night-time sleep, all of which put the body into fat-burning mode, along with medical treatment, can aid in the reversal of PCOD
Appropriate Nutrition: Since women who suffer from PCOD are low in energy, lethargic, and experience mood swings and sometimes hormonal imbalances, giving wholesome nutrition that comprises cell wall intact carbs, adequate protein, sufficient good fats, and loaded with vital vitamins and minerals provides the body with consistent energy through the day and also puts it in a fat-burning mode. Consistent energy reduces mood swings, and adequate protein and good fats reduce hormonal imbalances and thereby makes the person more energetic. Depending on the type of obesity, caloric intake and nutrition composition vary. Appropriate nutrition becomes the basis for a person to indulge in suitable physical activity, reduced emotional eating, stress management, and quality sleep.
Adequate Physical Activity: Most women with PCOD fall under obesity grade 1 and upward because of more food becoming fat instead of muscle energy. Therefore, adequate physical activity that is sustainable over the long term is extremely crucial for the reversal of PCOD. The type of physical activity, duration, and intensity vary depending on the type of obesity and current condition.
Stress Management: Women with PCOD generally have a lot of cravings, several episodes of emotional eating, and binge eating as their body is in a fat accumulation mode. The first step is to fix their nutrition which takes care of 70% of their health and thereafter follow ‘mindfulness’ techniques to indulge in favourite foods without feeling guilty or gaining weight.
Sound sleep: Sumptuous balanced nutrition throughout the day that keeps us comfortably full without relying on willpower to control hunger/cravings, along with adequate physical activity that tires the body, can put the mind & body at ease and help in getting quality sleep at night.
Indians & PCOD
Indians suffer from protein deficiency and a large part of the population indulges in consuming excess calories from quick-digesting carbs with minimal fibre intake which shifts the body into fat accumulation mode, increased cravings, mood changes, lethargy, and also leads to hormonal imbalances.
Therefore, having food that includes cell-wall intact carbs with adequate protein and good fats that can be digested comfortably is the first step towards a healthy active lifestyle.
Additional Considerations for PCOD Management
Beyond nutrition, physical activity, stress management, and sleep, several other factors play a crucial role in effective and sustainable PCOD management:
Managing PCOD effectively requires a combination of lifestyle changes, nutritional strategies, and ongoing monitoring. While understanding the condition and addressing underlying factors is essential, having structured guidance ensures these changes are practical, personalized, and sustainable.
Our Support:
