Low carbohydrate diet - is it good for people with PCOS?

I am going to take a big big step and try the high protein, low carb diet, favoured by the Dukan Diet. A main difference ( and advantage!) of the Dukan Diet over the very famous Atkins Diet is it emphasis on lean protein. So, it is a low fat, low carb high protein diet.

High protein diets are bad for your kidneys and liver, and therefore I have always been very very sceptical about them. There is a link between PCOS and NAFLD ( Non alcoholic fatty liver disease), and I don't want to put myself at further risk. Spent a couple of days researching on whether high protein diet would be bad for me.

There isnt much real evidence or data out there - only lots of OPINION from "experts". There isnt a study specifically looking at whether high protein diet is good or bad for people with PCOS. However, what is known is these diets are effective in weight loss! This para from editorial in a gastroenterology journal summarised it well:

Low-carbohydrate diets have long been considered fad diet by the medical profession. Several questions have been raised regarding their weight loss potential and possible adverse effects. Public interest continues unabated, and books detailing low carbohydrate lifestyles are regulars on best seller lists. A number of studies have be en publ i shed  in  r e c ent  y e a r s  e va l u a t ing  the  e f f e c t s of low-carbohydrate diets on weight loss as well as on metabolic markers, comparing these diets to traditional low-fat diets. However, none has compared their effects on liver histology and NAFLD. Effects on obesity and biomarkers of the metabolic syndrome will be reviewed, given their important etiologic association with NAFLD.

and....

Caution must be exercised in subjects with baseline a b n o r ma l  l ow - d e n s i t y  l i p o p r o t e i n  ch o l e s t e r o l  l e ve l s. E f f e c t s  o n  b i o ch emi c a l ma r k e r s  a s s o c i a t e d  w i t h  t h e metabolic syndrome appear to be more favorable with low-carbohydrate diets. In general, these diets show greater improvements in insulin sensitivity, triglyceride and highdensity cholesterol levels. It is possible that for patients with the metabolic syndrome, a low-carbohydrate diet may be more advantageous. This, in turn, may positively affect NAFLD. 

I don't have a cholesterol problem (yet!) - so I do have a LDH ( low density lipoprotein) problem. I am going to get started on this Dukan Diet thing! Watch me shrink.

Pregnancy test kits - what if you do not have a regular period?

I have no regular period, ie no indicator of "this is when you test".  Since I don't drink or smoke, I thought this was alright. However, I needed some medicines when I feel ill. Was I going to stop taking that just in case  I am pregnant? My job would be at risk if I decide to happily call in sick for so many days!  


Testing for pregnancy is an expensive business. Those test kits on the pharmacy shelves compete on the basis of their accuracy after X day of missing period. These are not relevant information for me. I have no regular period, so what is the value of a test that offer 99% accuracy after 1 day? Leading brands like Clearblue Pregnancy Test costs about £10 a pop in the pharmacy and offer fancy things like colour changing tip (so that you know your urine has hit the tip) or saying the results in English "Pregnant" shown  instead of crosses or lines (so that there is no way you misread your test). I concluded that their target markets must be teenagers who have regular periods and want to know if they are in trouble after some hanky panky in the school park. That is why they charge a lot more for than extra bit of accuracy and reassurance - price for a peace of mind.


Just for the sake of ensuring I am not pregnant whenever I pop some medicines or actually allow myself to indulge in some bubblies, I will have to test. How often would that be? Unlike lucky women who could do a couple of tests a month, I have no "missing period" as an indicator and needed cheaper options. Imagine my delight when I found Amazon sells a pack of Ultra Early Highly Sensitive 10miu Pregnancy Strip Tests (25 strips) for less than £5. I quickly bought a pack to "try", and have been using it for about 1 week. I am so impressed that I am posting a review on the pregnancy test.

Finding courage and more knowledge

I thought I have read everything I can about PCOS and I just realised that I did not! I have been trying to find out as much information about PCOS as possible. 


Since it is Friday, I  had a shopping trip to Amazon ( & Amazon is giving away free delivery!) and out of curiousity, searched for PCOS book and chose the "Best seller" link. To my surprise, Taking Charge of Your Fertility: The Definitive Guide to Natural Birth Control, Pregnancy Achievement and Reproductive Wealth turned out to be the best seller!  I have always thought that it is the The Ultimate PCOS Handbook!

This book has 215 reviews and 202 out of 215 (94%) was 5 stars!  I ordered it straight away!  The reviews on this page is worth a read. There are so many women who claimed that after reading this book, they got pregnant or start ovulating again. Wow, sounds like a fertility goddess rather than a book to me. PCOS info I must know!


(In contrast, The Ultimate PCOS Handbook: Lose Weight, Boost Fertility, Clear Skin and Restore Self-esteem, one of the supposedly best sellers, only had 12 reviews!)