PCOS Diet Book: How you can use the nutritional approach to deal with polycystic ovary syndrome. Theresa Cheung

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      Make sure you eat enough fibre in your diet. Fibre produces substances which help your body excrete more LDL. Fibre also prevents large amounts of fat being absorbed, so that more LDL is kept bound within the gut and excreted. Eating vegetables (including beans and lentils), fruits and whole grains, bread, pasta and rice every day really helps to bring your blood fat profile within the ideal range.

      Oats are rich in a particular fibre that has proved especially useful in reducing cholesterol levels. Try to include oats in your meals at least once or twice a week – as oatcakes, flapjacks, porridge oatmeal (from healthfood shops) or in fruit desserts.

      In addition to watching your saturated fat intake, eating plenty of fruits and vegetables will also have a beneficial effect – and don’t forget the very pleasant idea of drinking a glass of red wine (ideally, organic) every day. Red wine contains antioxidants which can help reduce cholesterol.

      If you follow the other healthy eating guidelines in this chapter for fibre, EFAs, complex carbs and fruits and vegetables, you will already be eating a diet that can lower your risk of high LDL levels. As you can see, all these eating guidelines work towards the same goal – improving your health and your PCOS symptoms.

      9) Spice Up Your Life

      Instead of salt, try herbs, spices, lemon juice or root ginger to flavour your food.

      Why?

      Salt causes fluid retention and can raise blood pressure. Women with PCOS are four times more likely to suffer from high blood pressure than age- and weight-matched controls.⁴

      Blood pressure is the force exerted by the blood on the inner walls of the blood vessels. A blood-pressure measurement is expressed as one number over another, e.g. 120/80. The upper (systolic) value reflects the force with which the heart pumps blood around the body, while the other (diastolic) value is the pressure in the blood vessels when they are relaxed. Normal blood pressure readings for women are in the region of 120/80. The bottom figure is the one to watch in establishing whether or not you have hypertension – the medical name for high blood pressure. Anything over 90 is considered hypertensive.

      If hypertension is ignored, it can lead to an increased risk of heart disease, strokes or kidney problems. Sometimes drugs are needed to lower blood pressure, but most of the time blood pressure can be controlled through nutrition and lifestyle changes.

      How?

      To reduce your risk of high blood pressure you should ensure that you eat a healthy diet according to the guidelines given in this chapter. A healthy diet can provide your body with all that it needs to reduce your blood pressure. Especially watch your cholesterol level, eat lots of fruit and vegetables, sufficient essential fatty acids and foods high in calcium (such as low-fat yogurt or cheese). Calcium has been shown to be helpful in correcting high blood pressure, so you should try to include some low-fat dairy products in your diet. If you don’t like or have an allergy or intolerance to dairy products, other sources of calcium include white bread, spinach and sesame seeds.

      Finally, limit your intake of salt. Watching the amount of salty foods you eat can reduce blood pressure. Salt (sodium chloride) is found naturally in small amounts in many foods, especially manufactured ones, both as a preservative and flavour-enhancer. You can’t avoid salt altogether but you can take steps to reduce your sodium intake.

      Bear in mind that many food labels list salt as ‘sodium’ or ‘sodium chloride’. Some foods claim to be ‘reduced salt’ or ‘low salt’ and so on, but this can be confusing when the label talks in terms of sodium. The sodium content of food must be shown, but not all manufacturers and retailers add a salt equivalent. To find out how much salt is in the food, multiply the sodium content figure by 2.5. Aim for less than 5 g of salt a day.

      Try to get out of the habit of adding unnecessary salt in cooking. Taste before you add any.

      The following foods are very high in salt and should be avoided, if possible:

      

      

table/cooking salt

      

cured and smoked meats

      

smoked and pickled fish

      

canned meats

      

salted butter and margarine/spreads (unless low-salt)

      

savoury crackers and other snacks

      

salted nuts

      

some sweet cookies

      

baked beans and some canned vegetables (look for those with no added salt or sugar)

      

olives in brine

      

sauces, ketchup, brown sauce, soy sauce

      

stock cubes (look for salt-free or low-salt varieties in healthstores)

      

canned fish in brine

       Moderate- to Low-salt Foods

      

fresh fruit and vegetables

      

wholemeal flour and pasta

      

brown rice

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