Top 10 Foods For Healthy Weight Loss With PCOS

Though it doesn’t get talked about as much as it should, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is a relatively common hormonal disorder in women of childbearing years that, if left untreated, can lead to problems with fertility.

Women who suffer from PCOS have increased levels of androgens, or male hormones, but are also "insulin-resistant," meaning their cells no longer respond to insulin acting as the “key” to allowing glucose into the cell to be used as fuel.
This glucose remains in the bloodstream, increasing the risk of diabetes, and is eventually converted to stored fat, resulting in obesity.

​Losing as little as 10% of your body weight can greatly relieve symptoms of PCOS while also improving insulin sensitivity, allowing for additional weight loss. In general, a high fiber, anti inflammatory IIFYM diet rich in fruits and vegetables and complex carbohydrates will promote healthy weight loss.

​Here are ten foods that can help you lose weight with PCOS:

​1. Broccoli, Cauliflower, and Brussels Sprouts

Cruciferous vegetables including broccoli, brussels sprouts, and cauliflower act as estrogen detoxifiers and will help reduce the glycemic load of any meal you pair them with. They balance the sugar load of the meal, allowing available insulin to do its job and convert sugar to energy, not fat.

​2. Leafy Green Vegetables

​Green vegetables like kale, spinach, lettuce and chard are excellent low-calorie, high fiber, low glycemic index foods packed with essential vitamins and minerals. They improve digestion and nutrient absorption, but most importantly improve glucose regulation and endocrine function.

3. Beans and Lentils

​Beans provide fiber, plant-based protein and iron in as little as one cup. Choose black beans, pinto beans or chickpeas and use them in soups, wraps, or to top your salads.

​4. Sweet Potatoes

White potatoes, especially fried potatoes, are carbohydrate dense and should be avoided on an PCOS diet. Choose sweet potatoes instead as they are higher in fiber, lower in sugar, and have a lower glycemic index.

5. Blueberries and Strawberries

​Blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries and cranberries are rich sources of immune boosting, cancer-preventing, heart-protecting antioxidants, including polyphenols, flavonoids, and other phytonutrients that fight inflammation.

​6. Tomatoes

​Tomatoes (and brightly colored bell peppers) are low calorie and also loaded with antioxidant phytonutrients plus a rich assortment of vitamins and minerals. Tomatoes contain carotenoid or lycopene, shown to combat PCOS. Tomatoes provide more lycopene when processed or cooked, as lycopene is released from the tomato’s cell walls.

7. ​Almonds and Walnuts

Nuts provide protein, fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals and are a satisfying snack any time of the day. Nuts also supply plant sterols and heart-healthy monounsaturated fats to help lower cholesterol. A study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, shows that nuts improve insulin, androgens, and cholesterol levels in women with PCOS. When eaten with sweet fruits or other high glycemic foods, nuts and seeds may help lower their glycemic index and improve glucose-insulin response.

​8. Eggs

Eggs are an excellent low-calorie protein to include with meals and snacks and provide a variety of nutrients that improve PCOS. The majority of the protein is in egg whites, but don’t discard the yolk as it provides omega 3 fatty acids, iron, folate, thiamin, and essential vitamins. Eggs are also rich in choline, an essential nutrient for pregnancy.

​9. Fatty Fish

Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish can help to improve cholesterol and insulin levels in PCOS. Choose fish wisely, though… while high in heart and brain-boosting omega 3 fatty acids, many fatty fish also contain unacceptable levels of mercury. Your best options include sardines and anchovies, herring, mackerel, Pacific salmon and freshwater trout.

​10. Olive Oil

Olive oil contains many antioxidants that can lower symptoms of PCOS, especially heart-damaging LDL “bad” cholesterol, without adversely affecting your HDL “good” cholesterol. There is some research that suggests these cholesterol-lowering effects are greater if you choose extra-virgin olive oil. Extra virgin oil is more natural, less processed and contains more heart-healthy antioxidants.

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5 Best and 5 Worst Foods For Weight Loss If You Have Hashimoto’s

​Food plays a vital role in the health of our thyroid, even more so if you have an autoimmune disease like Hashimoto’s.

Here are five foods you should include and five foods you should avoid to maintain a healthy weight and support thyroid function if you have Hashimoto’s or another autoimmune disease.

​5 Best Foods If you Have Hashimoto's Disease:

​1. Seaweed

​Seaweed contains more iodine than any other food, and iodine is essential for thyroid function. Seaweed is also a great source of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals while low in calories. The most widely used seaweed varieties include kombu kelp, wakame and nori, and are used in soups and sushi.

If you are already getting a lot of iodine from elsewhere, though, be sure you aren’t eating too much seaweed. It can be confusing, but too much iodine can be just as detrimental to thyroid health as too little iodine.

​2. Iodized Salt

While not technically a “food”, iodized salt can support healthy thyroid function and flavor your food with zero calories… as long as you are not sodium sensitive or on a sodium restricted diet due to high blood pressure. One half teaspoon of iodized salt each day provides enough iodine to prevent deficiency.

​3. Eggs

Eggs are a low calorie (about 100 calories each) protein source that contain healthy fats as well as both iodine and selenium. Iodine supports thyroid hormone production while selenium helps your body activate those hormones so that your body can use them. The majority of these vital nutrients are found in the yolk, as egg whites alone contain no iodine… so make sure you’re eating the whole egg!

​4. Prunes

​Dried plums (prunes) are an excellent vegan source of iodine. Best known for helping relieve constipation, prunes have a high fiber content and sorbitol plus Vitamin K, Vitamin A, potassium and iron. Great taste, low in calories and a great source of iodine and fiber, prunes should be a part of your Hashimoto’s diet.

​5. Lentils and Beans

Beans are a relatively low-calorie source of fiber, magnesium, zinc and folate, making them a heart-healthy choice that supports thyroid function. Like selenium, zinc also helps the body activate thyroid hormones.

​5 Worst Foods If You Have Hashimoto's Disease:

​1. Cruciferous Vegetables

Mustard, cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower contain glucosinolates, sulfur-containing compounds also known as goitrogens that block the production of thyroid hormones. Goitrogens block iodine, which is essential to thyroid health.

The health benefits of these veggies outside of their iodine blocking properties is high, though, so if you choose to eat these cruciferous vegetables anyway, cook them first as these vegetables are not as problematic cooked as they are raw. Cooking or fermenting the veggies deactivates the glucosinolates.

​2. Soy

​Soy is also a goitrogen. Soy may not affect the thyroid in people with normal thyroid function and adequate iodine levels, however, soy can interfere with the absorption of thyroid hormone replacement medication, especially in Hashimoto’s patients. Soy contains harmful levels of goitrogens raw or cooked.

​3. Vegetable Oils

Canola, corn, soybean, cottonseed, sunflower, safflower, and peanut oils are highly processed and chemically refined. They contain polyunsaturated fats that impair and slow thyroid function. The only way to avoid inflammation and thyroid suppression from vegetable oils is to avoid them completely. Learn to read labels as most processed foods like salad dressings, mayonnaise and margarine contain these vegetable oils.

​4. Gluten

Processed wheat and white flour, cornmeal, pasta, even white rice contain gluten which feeds inflammation. Hashimoto’s increases your sensitivity to gluten.

Studies show that removing gluten from your diet can reduce inflammation allowing an increase in the absorption of many nutrients. If you suffer from leaky gut syndrome, eliminate gluten, then repair the damaged intestinal wall with hydrolyzed collagen peptides.

​5. Sugar

To maintain a healthy thyroid, your blood sugar must be stable… which is often difficult in our sugar-filled world. Consuming sugar requires insulin to lower spikes in blood glucose that these sugars cause. Eventually this leads to insulin resistance, a condition when insulin becomes less effective and more insulin is required as the blood sugar becomes higher and higher.

Hyperglycemia and insulin resistance are precursors to diabetes which comes back to hormones. When your blood sugar is swinging from higher highs and lower lows, so are your hormones, creating a vicious cycle. Your body becomes stressed causing your adrenals to secrete the stress hormone cortisol which blocks thyroid function.

If you have Hashimoto’s Disease, eating too much sugar not only throws your blood sugar out of balance, but can also increase inflammation and provoke an autoimmune response in your thyroid. Minimizing or eliminating sugar, refined carbs and processed foods from your diet will help keep your thyroid function healthy.

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