What is the best diet for PCOS? Now, this, is a hotly debated topic. Just the other day I was talking to two friends of mine. One has PCOS, one thinks she does. They both were trying the Keto diet, because they read on a wellness site that it was the best diet for women with PCOS who are struggling to lose weight. Okay. But…is it? Just because it’s on a nice-looking wellness site and just because the Keto diet is trendy doesn’t make it true. Are there studies  and what do they show?  In my experience, it’s very easy for people to jump on the “best diet” bandwagon, without analyzing the evidence base first. Why? Because the desire to lose weight is insanely powerful. Marketers of manicured diets know this well, and use it to their advantage. Not just for PCOS, but for almost every ailment known to man.

Lots of people have PCOS. I don’t have it, but I have many friends who struggle with it, particularly the losing weight part. It affects millions of people all over the world, and it’s associated with high rates of infertility, depression, anxiety and obesity. We know it’s difficult for those struggling with PCOS to lose weight, and that by itself can fuel feelings of depression and anxiety. If there IS a best diet for PCOS, millions of people would want to know. That’s what I aimed to discover: Is there a best diet for PCOS?

In this episode of Causes or Cures,  I chat with Geranne Jiskoot, a researcher and therapist who works in the Department of Reproductive Medicine and Department of Medical Psychotherapy at Erasmus MC in the Netherlands. She works daily with people with PCOS and weight struggles and has done research on what the best diet, exercises and lifestyle modifications are for people with PCOS to lose and maintain a healthy weight. I want to emphasize that word MAINTAIN. Guys, we can all lose weight fast with any crash diet or diet that eliminates a major food group. But can we maintain that sort of weight loss? The research tells us that most of us, unfortunately, cannot. The weight usually comes back as fast as we lost it.

Geranne will  also discuss the link between PCOS and obesity. Why are women with PCOS more prone to obesity? What causes it? She’ll also discuss what she considers the best diet for PCOS, as well as different therapies and evidence-based lifestyle modifications that help those with PCOS lose weight.

I hope you guys listen and consider sharing this with anyone who is currently struggling with PCOS. Like I said, it’s prevalent, so you are bound to know at least one person. It’s important that they hear from actual researchers and doctors, folks dealing with this in the trenches day-after-day.

After you listen to the Best Diet for PCOS podcast, consider checking out some of these blogs or podcasts:

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