Primal For PCOS page

[Luvanurse443]

Hi everyone!

Starting Primal/Paleo tomorrow and stopping by to say HI!

As a seasoned low carber, I wanted to switch to Paleo for 2011. Its going to be bare bones for a while without my beloved dairy, but thats why I am here! I have so much weight to lose, and dealing with severe PCOS every day is very frustrating in the weight loss department. So, this time I am focusing on eating for health and healing my hormonal issues first and hoping the weight will come off at the same time. Here are the answers to the intro questions:

Your location: Michigan

Age (If you want): 32

How Primal are you: primal with select legumes (mainly green beans), limiting fruit for now to once or twice a day,meats,eggs,non-starchy veggies,oils

Do you consume dairy: Only Butter on cooked veggies

Do you drink coffee or tea: tea only...(can't drink coffee without all of the extras!)

Motivator for switching to Primal: changing things a bit from Atkins, trying to get "off" dairy

Favorite exercise: swimming...just can't do it much around here!

Favorite Primal food: Beef tenderloin

Best part about being Primal: setting a good example for my young children

Worst part about being Primal: can get expensive in winter with no local foods or my garden

Happy to meet all of you and always looking to give and get support!

Visit my personal blog! Its new so bear with me http://perfectlyprimal.blogspot.com

[NorthernMonkeyGirl]

Hello

I've been around here a long time *gets up from rocking chair in the corner* but I tend to vanish for a few weeks at a time.

In terms of hormones and all that gubbins, have you found Cillakat yet? She has a lot of very detailed info on things such as vitamin D (you need more ) - following her advice I managed to manage my pcos in the most successful way so far. If that even makes sense!

[girl scout]

Hi, and welcome...
I haven't been around all that long, but Northern is very right. Cillakat is full of great info.

I have PCOS too and have found my hormones begining to balance out for the first time in many years. I've been primal for about 3 months now and feel so much better.

Enjoy the ride, and ask all the questions you want. Everyone is very helpful around here.

[reba627]

Hello!

We could be twins, I'm 32 live in Michigan and have PCOS too, haha!! I just joined and posted a brief intro about myself and what I'm hoping to gain (or actually lose) while transitioning over to a paleo-ish lifestyle. (I say paleo-ish because most dairy doesn't bother me, so I'll still be consuming that, just in limited quantities, but regular milk wreaks havoc on my intestines, so I drink organic soy milk for that, even though everything I've read says soy is basically the devil, guess that will just have to be part of my 80/20 principle!)

-Rebecca

[Shrinking_Violet]

Hello!

We could be twins, I'm 32 live in Michigan and have PCOS too, haha!! I just joined and posted a brief intro about myself and what I'm hoping to gain (or actually lose) while transitioning over to a paleo-ish lifestyle. (I say paleo-ish because most dairy doesn't bother me, so I'll still be consuming that, just in limited quantities, but regular milk wreaks havoc on my intestines, so I drink organic soy milk for that, even though everything I've read says soy is basically the devil, guess that will just have to be part of my 80/20 principle!)

No, it most certainly cannot! I'm sorry to be so harsh and dictatorial, but soy wreaks havoc on your thyroid (and we PCOS lasses are predesposed to have problems in that area anyway - you DO NOT want to be doing anything that will make it worse). Not only that but women with PCOS are more at risk from female cancers (particularly ovarian and breast) and soy has been proven time and time again (I'll dig out the Verity studies when I've had a kip) to be carcinogenic.

You sound so blasé about it, but it's nothing to be flippant about. This is serious shit we're talking about - it has NO place in your diet whatsoever!

The 20% should be limited to occasional - but harmless - indulgences, like the occasional piece of birthday cake, or a cookie - NOT for something which has serious, proven detrimental health effects.

The reason cows' milk upsets you is because of the casein (milk protein). Let me explain: - there are 2 types of milk protein, known as A1 and A2. A1 is found it cows' milk - and, to the best of my knowledge, ONLY cows' milk (as in domesticated cattle). The reason for this is (as I understand it) is that although cows are descended from the ancient aurochs which Grok would have hunted, something happened about 20,000 years ago and the protein in the milk altered. Now, obviously Grok didn't domesticate the auroch (so therefore wouldn't have drunk its milk) it seems that we are better able to digest the A2 protein found in the milk of other animals (buffalo, being bovine, must also be descended from the auroch, but their milk - and the milk of sheep and goats - contains A2 protein).

I, too, suffer gastric upset when I drink cows' milk, so I started buying goats' milk - and not a problem since. I, therefore, consider goats' milk to be Primal (kinda!) because it contains the same protein as auroch's milk would have done (if Grok had domesticated it and drunk it).

I conclude, therefore that, like the fact we're not programmed to be able to digest grains, we're not programmed to be able to digest the protein in cows' milk (I believe cattle started to be domesticated at the same time as we domesticated grains).

You might have a hard time tracking down buffalo or ewes' milk, but goats' milk shouldn't be too hard to come by - I URGE you to give it a go and see if that doesn't help your tum.

But, whatever you do - GIVE UP THE SOY!!!!!

-Rebecca

Sarah xxx

[hazyjane]

Welcome! What part of MI are you in? I'm originally from Traverse City and Grand Haven

It would be great if you could find a practitioner of "functional endocrinology", as PCOS is never a stand-alone condition. It's often linked to other metabolic/autoimmune disorders like Hashimoto's, which can be a big part of the weight loss puzzle: http://www.ovarian-cysts-pcos.com/ne...s-thyroid.html

You can get a list of practitioners if you email the folks over at www.thyroidbook.com. If there's no one close to you, a number of them will work with you long-distance (ask them to specify who will do that)

Good luck!!
-Erin

[Luvanurse443]

Hello!

We could be twins, I'm 32 live in Michigan and have PCOS too, haha!! I just joined and posted a brief intro about myself and what I'm hoping to gain (or actually lose) while transitioning over to a paleo-ish lifestyle. (I say paleo-ish because most dairy doesn't bother me, so I'll still be consuming that, just in limited quantities, but regular milk wreaks havoc on my intestines, so I drink organic soy milk for that, even though everything I've read says soy is basically the devil, guess that will just have to be part of my 80/20 principle!)

-Rebecca

wow...we COULD be twins! I live near GR. I eat a lacto-paleo diet as well...my dairy is cream and butter, a little sour cream here and there. And Cheese
Soy IS the devil....for us even more so! Have you ever tried unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk?

[Luvanurse443]

Welcome! What part of MI are you in? I'm originally from Traverse City and Grand Haven

It would be great if you could find a practitioner of "functional endocrinology", as PCOS is never a stand-alone condition. It's often linked to other metabolic/autoimmune disorders like Hashimoto's, which can be a big part of the weight loss puzzle: http://www.ovarian-cysts-pcos.com/ne...s-thyroid.html

You can get a list of practitioners if you email the folks over at www.thyroidbook.com. If there's no one close to you, a number of them will work with you long-distance (ask them to specify who will do that)

Good luck!!
-Erin

Thank you SO much...I would LOVE to find a DR who understands....not happening so far! At least I am a nurse and can find my own way.

[Bishop]

Hi!

I have pcos too. And I can say this way of eating really does help.
I vastly improved my pcos and thyroid issues years ago when I gave up grains and switched to all organic dairy. Now taking it steps further with primal, I hope to make it easier.
And yes, soy is the devil.
Giving it up did amazing things for my T3 levels.

[geostump]

Others with PCOS!!!! I guess you could say I'm the Buckeye here lol. I was diagnosed with PCOS in 2007 at the age of 31. At that time, I was doing body for life and lost about 50 lbs but felt like crap still. Then right after diagnosis, my mom passed away so I have taken almost the past 4 yrs off from doing anything to lose weight. A friend recommended the daily apple to me back in october and I've been hooked ever since.

I never had ovarian cysts but since 2007 I have agonizingly painful cycles. Not sure if any of you have given birth, but my period pains are worse than labor pains and I have asked to be killed because they are so bad. I would pass out from the pain around that point. At that time, I was put on Necon to help with "pain management" and now it doesn't seem to be helping as much. Been told by other friends that I could have endometriosis, but my doctor won't diagnosis me with it so it's constantly a vicious cycle.

The symptoms of PCOS that I've had is darkening of the skin, cystic acne, hair loss and male pattern baldness, all my fat is in my stomach and some IR. I've found that since starting a primal/paleo lifestyle, my hair is growing very fast, coming in more thicker and my bald spot is going away; the acne is virtually gone, and I have way more energy than I've had in years. That's just happened in the past 3 months! Excited to see what the PB has in store.