Keto for PCOS

Dealing with any illness can be very difficult and frightening. Feelings of helplessness 
can be distracting and cause you to be less proactive about seeking solutions and 
desperation can sometimes lead to rash choices and indiscriminate acceptance of 
inaccurate diagnosis. At times it can even be difficult for women to get a proper 
diagnosis from some doctors which can cause even more frustration. 

This is especially true when you are a woman who is dealing with hormonal changes 
that are impacting your fertility, or ability to conceive a child. However, PCOS is an 
issue whether you are struggling with infertility, or the many other side effects involved. 

Once you have discovered that PCOS is the issue, it then becomes clear that treatment 
is the next step in learning how to have a good quality of life while dealing with this 
syndrome. Fortunately, it isn’t all bad. What a lot of people might not know, is that there 
are a few different ways that you can treat PCOS, and one way is completely natural. 


1. What Is PCOS?

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrine disorder that affects women as 
they reach reproductive age. Even though science has unable to uncover a bit of 
information, there are still quite a few things that are not understood about it, which 
leads to improper diagnosis. 

It is estimated that 70% of women or more who have the disorder are completely 
unaware that they have it. The difficulty comes from the fact that most cases are not 
discovered until women reach an age where they are married and attempting to get 
pregnant. 

As the disorder goes untreated, there are a varying amount of risks that you could be 
dealing with without being aware at all. PCOS is the leading cause of infertility and 
pelvic discomfort among women. 

If you’re wondering why such a huge issue goes without public knowledge or major 
announcements, then it’s most likely because the previous attempts to find the causes 
of this disease have yet to be revealed by modern medical techniques. 

This difficulty has manifested into a lot of frustration and stress for the women that suffer 
from the disorder, sending many desperate people to find any possible solution from 
frequently baffled healthcare professionals. 


2. Symptoms of PCOS

How would you know if you had PCOS? Over the last few years, observations from 
researchers have revealed a set of common symptoms among those that has PCOS. It 
should be noted however that a lot of people don’t have many of the symptoms until 
other factors are present, and some cases a few of the symptoms never appear at all. 

Menstrual Changes 

For the majority of women with PCOS, their menstrual cycles will remain relatively 
normal, but there have been a large number of cases where women saw changes to 
their cycle. For some, their periods may stop altogether. Most normal cycles occur from 
between 22 and 34 days, so an irregular cycle would be considered to be anything 
outside of those expected timelines. 

These changes can also be marked by a decrease in the frequency, or the 
discontinuance of ovulation for several months. These periods may also become a time 
of heavy or very light bleeding. 

Skin Issues 

PCOS causes the body to produce several androgens that cause your body to 
manufacture much higher levels of skin oils. This can result in more clogging of the 
pores, and thus cause serious acne. Young women who are going through puberty 
might even experience severe acne blemishes as a result of their overactive oil glands. 

This would make it very difficult to take care of the skin, even with the help of the 
multitude of products that have been developed to help people to gain some relief from 
painful acne conditions. 

Increase in Hair Growth

Another commonly reported effect of PCOS, is the appearance and new growth of hair. 
This can be hair on the arms, face, chin, neck, sideburns and even the chest. This 
affects nearly 60% of all women with PCOS. This growth is due to androgens that excite 
the hair follicles in these body areas and cause new hair growth to take place. 


Hair Loss

On the other side of the coin, there are a group of women with PCOS who experience 
other male effects in the form of hair loss. Though somewhat less common, the loss of 
hair can cause a lot of other issues that stem from a damaged self-image. 

Emotional or Mental Changes 

As you might understand, it can be very difficult for women who are facing this illness to 
stay positive. While there may be chemical factors at work that intensify depression and 
anxiety to some extent, it should be notes that many of the aforementioned symptoms 
would be more than enough to damage the disposition of any healthy person. 

Women of darker complexions will often experience a greater appearance of hair due to 
its visibility, and this can cause a multilayered emotional issue due to the different types 
of social issues they would face normally. 

Fertility 

The androgens that affect the menstrual cycle can easily reduce the fertility in some 
women. This is mostly due to the irregular menstrual cycle and the lack of viable eggs. 
According to studies however, it seems that the number women is generally even 
between those who live with and without PCOS - though it should be noted that the 
women who don’t have PCOS are likely to be dealing with other sets of factors that 
impact fertility. 

Being overweight can reduce fertility to a large extent, so if you are planning to get 
pregnant, then having an exercise regimen would go a long way to helping you increase 
your chances of becoming pregnant.  







3. Contributing Factors To PCOS

Even though there don’t seem to be direct causes that can be pinpointed as the source 
of the disorder, science has recently uncovered a few things that could be related to or 
aggravating PCOS. 

Your Family History

Genetics are extremely complex systems of information, and that complexity can have a 
host of unexpected effects on the progeny of basically any family line. Locked within 
millions of pieces of information are the codes that make up who you are and serve as a 
fingerprint of where your DNA originated from. 

In the course of surveying and studying a large cross section of the women who have 
PCOS, a unique link has been discovered. According to information collected by 
researchers, women who are related to other women who suffer from PCOS are nearly 
50% more likely to get it than those who don’t have relatives with the disorder. 

This means that there is some kind of genetic information that makes certain people 
more susceptible to this issue. 

Particular Illnesses 

It has also been discovered that a large portion of the people who have PCOS also 
seem to have some occurrences of type 2 diabetes n their family. Doctors were able to 
demonstrate that blood sugar has a small amount of bearing on the effects of PCOS, 
and much like the type 2 diabetes that can run in the family, it has other effects that can 
cause unpleasant sudden sensations of pain, and even nausea. 

Insulin Resistance 

After a round of tests, scientists have begun to collect statistics that might help give 
future researchers insight into the mechanisms of the disorder. One of the most 
groundbreaking pieces of information is that statistical models have estimated that more 
than 80% of women with PCOS have or will show some signs of insulin resistance. 

In most cases, insulin resistance can be caused by being overweight, but further studies 
have shown that the type of insulin resistance that many women with PCOS experience 
is specific to women who suffer from PCOS, meaning that it’s entirely possible for 
slimmer women to have to illness. The danger there that follows however, is that this 
insulin resistance can cause the sufferer to become a type 2 diabetic, which can also 
lead to heart disease. 

Weight Gain 

Lifestyle can also play a huge role in how you experience symptoms. As already 
mentioned, weight gain and insulin resistance are tied in some ways. The part that is 
most import to remember is that weight gain can be a trigger that reveals PCOS. 

In previous surveys, it had been discovered that many of the people who became 
subjects of the study hadn’t previously shown any symptoms of PCOS. They remarked 
that the symptoms only became apparent after period of weight gain. 


4. How the Keto Diet Can Help 

The primary reason why the keto diet is so effective at helping with PCOS is because it 
puts you into a dietary regimen that makes it easy for you to avoid foods that might 
negatively impact your insulin resistance. Sugary foods are a major part of western 
modern diets, and they are famous for ramping insulin resistance. 

During those types of diets, the body will generally use converted glucose for fuels, but 
since the early 20th century, researchers have known that the body will run just as 
efficiently on stored fats. 

Weight Loss and Keto Diets 

Once your body has moved to metabolizing the fats that you have stored up, you’ll 
begin to lose weight, which will improve your insulin resistance. There are a variety of 
keto diets available, but you should pick one that’s easier for you to follow. 

If you set yourself up ahead of time as often as you can, it will encourage you to stick to 
the diet. Look for fun recipes that you can perfect and show to friends. That way other 
people can appreciate the delicious meals that you enjoy. 






5. Keto-Friendly Foods 

Part of having any successful diet is having some kind of a plan. If you take the 
guesswork out of your daily meal schedule, then it’ll be a lot easier to have a successful 
experience with your keto diet. This next few sections will share a few meal plans that 
you can use to get you started on the keto path for a better quality of life while living with 
PCOS. 

Egg Spinach Pepper Breakfast

Here’s a fun iron and protein meal to start your day. 

What You Need:

2 Eggs 
1 cup of spinach
I/2 sliced bell pepper
1 clove of garlic
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon of olive oil

Put the olive oil in the pan and heat until hot but be sure the oil doesn’t burn off. Take 
the yellow pepper and slice it. Place the pepper slices into the oil and lightly fry until 
they are softer, then heat and spread the spinach leaves out along the bottom of the 
pan. Stir the mixture until it's decently mixed. 

Mince the garlic and add it to the mix. Make a space in the center and cook the eggs 
however suits you the best. Remove from heat and serve for a power packed breakfast! 

Keto Taco Salad 

Who doesn't love a taco salad? This recipe will be relatively easy for nearly any skill 
level. 

What You Need:

4 leaves of washed and rinsed romaine lettuce
3 teaspoons of salt
1 ½ tablespoon Chili powder
2 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of garlic salt
2 tablespoons 
5 cherry tomatoes
½ cup of shredded cheddar cheese 
? cup sour cream
2 tablespoons chopped scallions
2 green onions 

Get one pounds of lean ground beef and brown it being sure to keep it moving and 
cooking evenly. Once it’s completely cooked, add the salt, chili powder, cumin, and 
garlic salt. Stir the mixture until the meat has a reddish color, then remove from heat. 
Take romaine lettuce and slice thinly to about 1 cm in width. 

Cut up the cilantro, then cut tomatoes into small pieces. Dice up one green onion. Add 
the chopped scallions. Add the cheddar cheese. Toss vegetables and top with the 
cooked meat and sour cream. Now you have a remarkable taco salad that will help you 
to your journey to health!

Teriyaki Chicken Stir-Fry 

Do you like simple Asian influenced meals? Then this is a great healthy recipe that will 
give you a great helping of proteins, fiber, and vitamins. 

What You Need: 

2 tablespoons olive or avocado oil
2 - 3 tablespoons Teriyaki Sauce
1 cup of sliced broccoli 
1 sliced bell pepper 
1 sliced chicken breast
3 green onions 
1 or 2 garlic cloves
½ cup cabbage 

Gather some avocado oil, and your favorite teriyaki sauce. Cut up the broccoli into the 
thinnest sections that you can. Slice the cabbage as thinly as you can. Slice the bell 
peppers into strips or dice depending on how you want your food to look, but the slices 
may make it easier to eat. Slice a boneless and skinless chicken breast piece into 
strips. 

Cut up the green onion stalks. Mince the garlic and set it aside for now. Heat a pan and 
add the oil. If the oil smokes, it’s too hot. Once hot add the broccoli and let it cook for a 
minute before adding the bell pepper. Add the chicken and cook until no more pink 
shows. 

Turkey Bacon Lettuce Rolls

These are a quick and delicious treat that will have you smiling every time you take a 
bite!

What You need:

8 Large red lettuce leaves
8 slices of bacon
¼ lb of fresh oven roasted turkey
8 slices of provolone 
? cup of guacamole for spread
salt and pepper shakers
4 cherry tomatoes cut into thin slices (at least 5 or 6 each)

Lay each lettuce leaf out on a plate. Place the turkey on the lettuce as flat as you can, 
followed by the cheese, 2 slices of bacon the cherry tomato slices and then top with a 
small blob of guacamole. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on the wrap and roll it up. 
Repeat this procedure for each. This makes a great lunch or snack with friends. 


6. Other Lifestyle Modifications For PCOS

Living with PCOS can be very challenging, but there are things other than diet that you 
can do to alleviate some of the strain placed on your system that leads to the 
unpleasant effects. Below are a few extra lifestyle modifications that you can try. 

Avoid Stress 

Stress is a natural reaction to negative stimuli, and sometimes, even very positive things 
can cause you to experience stress, but if you are hoping to have a better quality of life, 
then it would be a good idea to eliminate as much unnecessary stress as you possibly 
can. This will help you to stay focused and avoid disruptions of important hormones that 
can impact your ability to get through the day. 

Get Active 

If you’ve been used to living a relatively sedentary lifestyle, you probably are aware that 
it’s not the best thing for your health. Instead of waiting, start doing whatever you can to 
improve your health. 

When you go for walks, stretch, engage in exercise, or do some kind of physical activity 
like sports, your body is discovering that it will need to find ways to process energy 
more efficiently to accommodate your level of activity. In the long run, you will be 
happier, healthier, and exercise endorphins can even dull pain response. 

Be Aware of Your Product Purchases

This last trip probably isn’t considered by many people. There are chemicals in 
packaging that are used for wide ranges of products that can cause issues with your 
hormones. BPA contained in some plastics has been linked to hormone problems in 
some adults, so it would be a good idea to do a small amount of due diligence to protect 
yourself from being poisoned by these types of products. 
