Understand the ideal diet for PCOD! - An Ayurvedic Perspective

Are you facing irregular periods, heavy bleeding, unwanted facial hairs, or weight gain?

Be aware! These are the signs of PCOD.

Reading this article with be worth it as we will provide you with detailed information regarding the whole concept of PCOD along with its causes, its symptoms, and the ideal PCOD diet that might help you to get rid of this disorder.

What PCOD means?

PCOD (Polycystic Ovarian disease) is a female endocrine disorder that is becoming more and more common these days due to poor diet, lifestyle, obesity, or excessive stress.

Approximately 30% of women of reproductive age (20-35 years old) face this problem.

What does Ayurveda say?

In Ayurveda, the Kapha Dosha and Pitta Dosha imbalance is considered the prime cause of this disorder. This imbalance disturbs the natural menstruation cycle in females leading to irregular periods, heavy bleeding, facial hair growth, and mood swings.

Ayurvedic treatment for PCOD has been considered the most effective way for handling this disease. It is a natural practice where the disorder is cured from its roots and speedy relief is ensured. Numerous patients have got relief from their disorders by opting for Ayurveda.

What exactly happens in PCOD?

As we already mentioned, it is a female disorder of endocrine. Women with this disorder can face the following symptoms:

    • Heavy or irregular menstruation.
    • Obesity/ excessive weight gain.
    • Unwanted facial hairs.
    • Acne or oily skin.
    • Hair-fall or thinning of hairs from the scalp.
    • Infertility (difficulty to conceive)
    • Stress, anxiety, and panic attacks.

What results in PCOD?

Polycystic Ovarian disease could arise due to the following causative factors:

    • Unhealthy diet: If you consume a diet that mainly includes junk foods like pizza, burgers, Sugary products, processed or red meat and carbonated energy drinks, then it could lead you toward PCOD.
    • Hormonal disbalance: Imbalanced hormones could also be a causative factor in this disorder. When the ovaries start producing certain hormones in excess due to stress/ overthinking then it creates an imbalance of hormones in the body that ultimately results in PCOD.
    • Poor lifestyle: You are more likely to get the disorder of PCOD if you follow a sluggish or sedentary lifestyle. Lack of exercise or body movement might result in excessive weight that contributes to the birth of several ailments including PCOD and PCOS.
    • Excessive stress: Stress can also rise this problem in females. Excessive stress activates the adrenals chronically which results in the overproduction of Androgen (male hormone) in the female body that eventually heads toward PCOD.

Why Diet Management is necessary in PCOD?

As we clearly stated above that a poor diet can precisely contribute to the development of PCOD. There are certain foods that are quite beneficial for you if you have PCOD. On the contrary, certain food if consumed can make your PCOD much worse.

Thus it becomes pivotally necessary to have a good and nutritious diet that can help you to get rid of this problem.

Now the question arises is what foods you can eat in PCOD or what types of foods you should avoid? To know the same continue reading!

Foods that you can eat in PCOD

Effective food to eat in PCOD

Green Leafy Vegetables

Green leafy vegetables are the best sources of fiber which are quite beneficial for the problem of insulin resistance. They are equivalent helpful for reducing high levels of sugar in the blood which is quite helpful for PCOD patients.

Best vegetables for PCOD:  Include Spinach, Broccoli, Kale, Beetroot, Cauliflower, Sweat potatoes, Cucumber, Coriander, Beetroots, or Carrots in your PCOD diet. To consume you can make their soups or salads and even in form of sprouts.

Fresh Juicy Fruits

Fresh fruits should be your priority while preparing the ideal PCOD diet. Being rich in fiber, fructose, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants they provide strength to the body and also control sugar levels in the blood.

Best Fruits for PCOD: Kiwi, Avacado, Pear, Apple, Melon, Tomato, Cherry, Strawberry, Grapes, Peaches, Papaya, and Blackberries. Just like vegetables, you can make their soups or juices for easy consumption.

Cow’s ghee

However, dairy products are not advised for patients with PCOD but there is an exception to this- Cow’s ghee.

You can consume cow’s desi ghee without any fear. In fact, it is quite beneficial for this disorder as it helps to improve the sensitivity of insulin caused in the cells. The anti-inflammatory nature of it will also aid you to maintain weight.

Herbs

Herbs are the best foods that you should surely add to your PCOD diet chart. Herbs being derived from nature holds immense power to several numerous unendurable disorders. These herbs are convenient to find as most of them are already available in your kitchen.

Best herbs for PCOD: Ashwagandha, Shatavari, Pippali, Haridra, Guggulu, and Guduchi.

Makhana with Ghee

Surely add fox nuts to your PCOD diet plan to make it more impactful and result-oriented. These nuts act as a potent fuel for boosting infertility, especially in women. Its regular consumption strengthens the uterine lining and maintains the cycle of menstruation.

Simply roast them in Cow’s ghee. For taste, you can also add a pinch of rock salt to these roasted fox nuts.

Foods that you should avoid in PCOD

food not to eat in PCOD

Non-vegetarian diet

Stop consuming eggs, chicken, red meat, and seafood in excess. These items are very loaded with fatty acids, saturated fat, and cholesterol. Over-consumption of these foods will increase the risk of obesity, and cardiovascular disorders or can also contribute to your hormonal imbalance, thus co-currently PCOD.

Sugary items

Cakes, pies, cookies, jam, sweets, pastries, ice-creams, cream donuts as well as chocolates are not advised for patients with PCOD. These items being rich in saturated fats will increase your weight. These snacks might be good in taste but they at the same time can increase your sugar levels or make your PCOD worse.

White sugar should be completely avoided in such a disorder. However, you can substitute white sugar with Jaggery/brown sugar.

Junk foods

You might be consuming pizza, burgers, instant noodles, and carbonated soft drinks regularly. These foods are alerted (Fried/roasted/frozen) in such a way that no vitamins or nutrients remain in them.

Instead of providing any strength to the body, it will make your body prone to having several intolerable disorders including PCOD.

Coffee

Yes! You are reading it right. Coffee- which could be your daily stress buster. Several people are addicted to coffee and drink it several times a day, which is absolutely not good, especially if you are suffering from the disorder PCOD. Coffee contains caffeine that gives a hike to blood glucose levels and also results in hormonal disbalance.

We understand that it is not an easy peasy task to stop the consumption of coffee, which might be your daily habit.

But worry not! We have a solution to this also. Reduce your dosage day by day by day and try to calm your craving with herbal tea instated of Coffee.

Alcohol and Smoking

Last but not least! It is Alcohol and smoking. We all know that these are bad for health but still, their consumption is rising day by day.

The excess consumption of alcohol and smoking will make your nervous system weak from the inside and will also result in irregular periods or reduced fertility. It is advised not to consume these substances at all.

What did we learn about PCOD in this Blog?

By figuring out the whole facts and information discussed above we can conclude that PCOD is a really discomforting disorder. The symptoms like facial hairs, irregular periods, and heavy stress/anxiety make it much worse.

Our diet has a direct link with this disorder. One should surely modify his/her eating habits for getting relaxation from this ailment. One can also opt for yoga and meditation to avoid the stress and anxiety that might be accompanying this disorder. Whereas Surya Namaskar also plays an important role to heal this condition.

Now choose the path of Ayurveda and say no to suffering.

Article By:

Dr Sharda Ayurveda

At Dr. Sharda Ayurveda emphasis is made on treating the patients with the power of Ayurveda and traveling along with them in the path of natural and safe healing. The satisfaction and recovery of our patients is our utmost priority.

RELATED ARTICLES