Top 5 Unique Foods For A Nutritious PCOS Diet
What is a good PCOS diet for fertility? You may be asking yourself this question because you are struggling to get pregnant. You have PCOS and your doctor has told you to just stay on your birth control to help regulate your cycles.
Staying on birth control in order to help get me pregnant, you say?
That doesn’t seem very helpful. But you don’t know who else to turn to right now so you are just trying to figure out how to support your body and your diet seems like a good place to start.
Kudos to you! It’s an amazing place to start. In fact, Hippocrates (known as the father of medicine) says “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”. Both him and I are cheering you on right now.
What is PCOS?
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is one of the number one top causes of female infertility. If you have infertility and no one has checked you for PCOS, talk to someone right away.
PCOS typically shows up as ovulation issues, often irregular cycles or long cycles (ie: you don’t have a period in a few months or a year or two). This is typically caused by too much testosterone or elevated insulin.
Because there are different types of PCOS, it doesn’t respond well to a one-size-fits-all approach, make sure you work with someone who provides individualized care.
If you want to know a ton more about PCOS and fertility, head on over next to my Ultimate Guide to PCOS Fertility here.
What is infertility?
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) defines infertility as not being able to get pregnant within one year of having unprotected sex. And for those who are over the age of 35, not getting pregnant after six months of trying.
Now, when it comes to changing your diet to help your fertility, you certainly don’t have to wait until you fit that infertility criteria to start making some positive changes.
Let’s dive in!
Top 5 Unique Foods for A Nutritious PCOS Diet
—> PCOS FERTILITY FOOD #1: EGGS
Eggs are a powerhouse addition to your PCOS diet to help with your fertility.
Now, first things first, please don’t skip out on the yolk. In fact, add in another yolk or two to in whatever you are making.
It’s the yolk that contains the amazing concoction of nutrients. The yolk is the deep yellow part of the egg so the deeper and more vibrant color of yolk you can get, the better.
Now typically it's the local, farm-raised, running-wild chickens that will produce the highest amount of nutrients in their eggs and create the deep vibrant color in the yolk. But if you don’t have access to those, just get what you can find.
The egg white (the white part surrounding the yolk) is beneficial as well. The white is the part that contains the protein in the egg.
Here is the number one reason why eggs are an important part of your PCOS diet:
Eggs are important for a PCOS diet because they hold the necessary nutrients required for the growth of a baby chick. An egg has the potential to create new life and it holds all those necessary nutrients for creating a life. Those nutrients also benefit you and your life-giving abilities (aka fertility) when you eat the egg. Pretty cool, isn’t it?
These are some of the fertility-supportive nutrients that eggs contain are:
Iron
Folate
Vitamin A
Vitamin D
Choline
—> PCOS FERTILITY FOOD #2: SALMON
The number one reason why salmon is great for a PCOS diet is because of the high amounts of omega 3’s that it contains.
Omega 3’s are otherwise known as essential fatty acids. They are called essential because we as humans must get them from our diets, we don’t make them internally. Put in simpler terms? It's essential to get them from food.
Omega 3’s are important for your PCOS diet and fertility, because they:
Reduce inflammation in the body
Improve blood flow to the uterus
Help balance hormones
Now, I mentioned above that if you don’t have access to farm-fresh eggs, don’t worry. With salmon, it’s a different story.
Please get your fish from a sustainable fish-monger. A good place to start is to check the Seafood Watch to know that you are getting a sustainable and nutritious form of salmon. When you eat salmon and other fish in this way, it also means you don’t get exposed to as high amounts of heavy metals and other toxins that can cause issues, particularly for your fertility.
—> PCOS FERTILITY FOOD #3: YOGURT
My favorite way to eat yogurt is to get a bowl of plain yogurt and add in a bit of jam, or lemon curd, or even some hot chocolate powder and mix it in. It’s a great snack and I know my gut is happy about it as well.
But let’s stay focused before I (and maybe you as well?) run off to the fridge and make some of that!
Yogurt is a great addition to a PCOS diet because it helps with fertility via your gut, but how does it do that?
Yogurt (as long as it’s made the right way) is full of healthy probiotics. These probiotics help populate your digestive tract with healthy microbes so you can digest your food properly and also have a healthy balance of estrogen.
When your gut is not happy, that can raise estrogen levels, which in turn, lowers progesterone levels which is unhelpful for pregnancy.
There is also some preliminary research showing that probiotics can help with the vaginal ecosystem to help with implantation. More to come on that later! But for now, just know that yogurt is a great addition to a healthy PCOS diet.
—> PCOS FERTILITY FOOD #4: LIVER
Liver is one of the most nutrient-dense foods available. One serving of liver can supply you with more than enough of your recommended daily value of a variety of nutrients. It’s chock-full of iron, B vitamins, vitamin A, copper and folate.
Having a serving or two just once a week can be a wonderful addition to your PCOS diet that can supply you with more than enough of fertility-supportive nutrients.
—> PCOS FERTILITY FOOD #5: WHOLE-GRAINS
Honestly, I’m clumping a whole family of foods together in this category.
Why?
Because while I could wax poetic about the benefits of each individual grain and the importance of adding in ancient grains for both your health and environment diversity, I won’t. I will stick to talking about how whole grains as a family are an important part of treating and avoiding insulin-resistance.
Now, not everyone with PCOS has insulin-resistance, but it’s very common which is why I want to address it here. Insulin-resistance is when your blood sugar levels are going too high and too low throughout the day which then causes an irregular insulin response.
What’s the issue with that extra insulin for your PCOS and fertility? Well, that extra insulin starts talking to your ovaries and tells them to make extra testosterone. That extra testosterone then causes ovulation to shut down and you don't want that. That’s why keeping blood sugar balanced and choosing whole grains is a fantastic part of your PCOS diet.
Top 5 Unique Foods For A Nutritious PCOS Diet: Summary
The top 5 unique foods for your PCOS diet are:
Eggs
Salmon
Yogurt
Liver
Whole grains
Congrats again on deciding to focus on a PCOS diet that can support your fertility. But it doesn’t matter if I’m applauding you, it’s really that your body is thanking you. Diet is an important foundation for PCOS health and you are taking a huge step forward by making even tiny changes.
If you know you need fertility support beyond just making a few changes in your diet, let’s talk. Book a complimentary virtual 1-1 session here. You and I will talk about your unique PCOS fertility journey and you will walk away with clear guidance on how to have the best chance at becoming pregnant.
Excited to learn more about boosting fertility with PCOS? Here are the popular articles to read next:
Getting Pregnant with PCOS Quickly: 3 Truths You Need to Know
Metformin and PCOS: What You Need to Know to Improve Fertility
