The Ultimate Guide to Control PCOS/PCOD in Natural Ways.

Saanjh
6 min readSep 20, 2020

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Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

What is PCOS???

PCOS is a lifestyle disorder where the menstrual cycle is often disrupted for a long duration of time. Many cysts appear on the ovaries due to hormonal imbalance. Women with PCOS produce higher-than-normal amounts of male hormones. PCOS also makes it harder for women to conceive.

The cause of polycystic ovary syndrome isn’t well understood but may involve a combination of genetic and environmental factors.Back in the early 20th century, it was very rare and now it has become rampant among the women of reproductive age.

The most common PCOS symptoms are:

  • Irregular periods. A lack of ovulation prevents the uterine lining from shedding every month.
  • Heavy bleeding. The uterine lining builds up for a longer duration of time, so the periods you do get can be heavier than normal.
  • Acne.
  • Weight gain.
  • Increased Hairfall.
  • Headaches.

The medicines often control the symptoms temporarily as they don’t tap the root cause.

But there is nothing to panic about. You can easily treat PCOS in all natural ways by making simple lifestyle changes that will help you cure it and lead a healthy life ahead.

NOTE: If you have PCOS, plan regular visits with your primary care doctor. You’ll need regular tests to check for diabetes, high blood pressure, and other possible complications.

The Lifestyle Changes to be made.

  1. The PCOS Diet.
  2. Yoga.
  3. Exercise.
  4. Meditation.
  5. Quality Sleep.

1. The PCOS Diet

This is the most crucial part to reverse PCOS. Eating the right food has the power to cure many diseases without the use of medicines. Thus, it is so factually true that :

Eat your food like medicines otherwise medicines will become your food.

Photo by Dan Gold on Unsplash

Eat Wholesome Foods such as Fruits, Vegetables, Whole grains, Pulses, Nuts, and Seeds. These Food Items should be the major part of your daily intake. Try to avoid packaged and processed food as much as possible. The store brought food is not good as it further disturbs the hormones which are already imbalanced in the case of PCOS. Switch to home-cooked fresh food.

Losing weight also helps to control the symptoms of PCOS and can help you to cure the condition faster. Thus, it is important to have low GI foods. Low GI foods are the foods that release carbohydrates slowly. They’re slowly digested and absorbed, causing a slower and smaller rise in blood sugar levels. This helps in the regulation of hormones.

Thus, here is the list of foods to have:

All fresh fruits and vegetables(Specially Green Leafy Vegeatbles, tomatoes , broccoli, cauliflower, green and red peppers ), sprouts and Dry fruits like walnuts, Almonds, Pumpkin Seeds, Flax Seeds Etc.

Oats, Broken wheat.

Flours — Wheat Flour , Gram Flour(Besan), Finger Millet Flour(Ragi), Pearl Millet Flour (Bajra).

Pulses — Moong Dal, Rajma, Chickpea, Chana etc.

and the list of foods to avoid:

Packaged or Processed Foods.

Refined Flours and Oils.

Starchy Foods like White Rice and Potatoes.

Junk Foods.

White Sugar.

Also stop Overeating.

2. Yoga

Here are some pranayams and asanas to help regularise the menstrual cycles and they also have various health benefits:

Baddhakonasana ( ButterFly Posture )

  1. Sit with your legs straight out in front of you, Exhale, bend your knees, pull your heels toward your pelvis, then drop your knees out to the sides and press the soles of your feet together.
  2. Bring your heels as close to your pelvis as you comfortably can. With the first and second finger and thumb, grasp the big toe of each foot.
  3. Stay in this pose anywhere from 1 to 5 minutes. Then inhale, lift your knees away from the floor, and extend the legs back to their original position.

Ushtrasana ( Camel Posture )

Background photo created by yanalya — www.freepik.com
  1. Begin kneeling with the thighs perpendicular to the floor, and the knees and feet hips distance apart
  2. Extend the big toes straight back, pressing down with all 10 toenails and firming the outer ankles into the midline
  3. Spin the inner thighs back and gently release the flesh of the buttocks towards the backs of the knees
  4. Root down from the tops of the feet to the knees; rebound up with the chest
  5. Take an inhale to emphasize the lift of the chest, then create Savasana arms (palms facing forward) and with the next exhale
  6. Keeping the chin dropping and the pelvis over the knees, take the hands to the heels
  7. Having created more space/extension in the upper back, the head can now drop back and hang free
  8. Hold for 5–10 breaths, then, leading with the sternum, use an inhale to come up (head is the last part of the body to exit).

Shalabhasana ( Locust Posture )

  1. First of all, lie down straight over a mat on your abdomen and place your hands on the side.
  2. Now breathe in and raise your upper torso and legs in the air.
  3. Using your inner thighs, raise your leg in the upward direction and do not bend your knees.
  4. Rest all your body weight on lower ribs and abdomen.
  5. Stay in this position for a minute.
  6. Now as you breathe out, come back to the initial position.
  7. Repeat it 1–3 times.

Kapalbhati Pranayam ( Rapid Exhalation )

  1. Sit with the erect spine on your yoga mat.
  2. Place your palms on knees facing the sky.
  3. Take a deep breath in.
  4. As you exhale, pull your stomach and navel inside i.e. back towards the spine, and exhale all the negativity, confusions, and self-harming elements,
  5. You can feel your abdominal stomach contraction by placing your right hand on your stomach.
  6. When you relax your abdomen, the breath flows in your lungs naturally detoxifying your body.
  7. After completing the set, relax, and explore yourself by keeping your eyes closed.
  8. Observe the sensations to feel the bliss.

3. Exercise

20 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise daily can help women with PCOS lose weight. Losing weight with exercise also improves ovulation and insulin levels.

Exercise is even more beneficial when combined with a healthy diet. Diet plus exercise helps you lose more weight than either intervention alone, and it lowers your risks for diabetes and heart disease.

Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash

There are many exercises which you can follow to reduce weight and increase strength.

4. Meditation

Both hormonal changes and symptoms like unwanted hair growth can negatively affect your emotions. Many with PCOS end up experiencing depression and anxiety.

Thus, meditation can help tremendously to fight these.

Photo by Simon Rae on Unsplash

Most women, when diagnosed with PCOS at a very young age right after they attain puberty, become confused and frustrated. Integrating yoga and meditation at an early age in life can help us attain a disease-free body and a healthy mind.

5. Quality Sleep

Poor sleep quality is associated with an increased risk of obesity and insulin resistance which plays a key role in PCOS. Accordingly, sleep modification is regarded as one of the most important items of lifestyle modification in PCOS patients.

Therefore, getting an adequate amount of quality sleep is necessary to fight PCOS.

Conclusion

Follow all the steps and start to see the Difference within yourself. In the beginning, it may feel difficult to stick to the routine but do bit by bit and thus constantly improving day by day.

Live a Long, Healthy, and PCOS-free Life.

All the Best!!!

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Saanjh

Full Stack Web Developer | Home Chef | Reader & Writer | My Linktree: https://linktr.ee/Saanjh