Sunday, July 29, 2018

What is PCOS and what food did I take to cure it?

Click here for Part - 1

Did you ever come across girls on social media or in your real life flaunting their hairy body (like on legs, hands, upper lip, chin, and other body parts where they have unwanted hair) and calling it as "feminism" or "taking pride in being a girl without hiding true self?"

Although I really really appreciate their guts to overcome the embarrassment of having hair on their body unlike other "pretty" girls, I really DO NOT support the tags which they use to flaunt themselves in this way. The main reason for girls to have such dense unwanted hair on their body is due to hormonal imbalance and they're trying to flaunt themselves with it by tagging it as "feminism" ? How stupid one can be to do that? Instead of educating girls about the cause of their unwanted hair issues, you're trying to make them be some false feminists? Our bodies were not meant to have this unwanted hair at all! We're women not men, so I urge you to be someone who takes care of their body instead of using it to fool young girls talking about false feminism which doesn't concentrate on real issues but flaunting a hormonal imbalanced body!

The biggest disease people (my stress is especially on girls and Indian girls) are suffering from is ignorance. Whenever you TRY to share some knowledge with people, they give looks as if they know everything or they don't wanna know because they think they know it already or they think the information they are going to get is useless.

That is why, we never wanna know the root cause of some diseases like for example PCOS until it attacks you and makes your life a living hell.
I was ignorant too. I'm not saying I'm the most perfect girl who had a perfect lifestyle since childhood. No. I had all the facilities to be healthy but I was ignorant towards it and stuffed myself with food which I thought was "healthy". Sometimes, I go "one piece of this or that wouldn't harm me at all" and I have given the same reason for more than 100 times and thats what has made me a victim of PCOS today.

Now, when I came to know about my PCOS condition, I also came to know that it is a VERY common Syndrome that's attacking girls all over the world and you can easily find the statistics on Google. 1 in 5 girls is suffering from PCOS. So when I had this information with me, instead of finding the root cause of this, I was falsely "assured" by few doctors and few friends saying that it is OKAY because almost EVERY girl is suffering from it and all I need to do was change my "diet" and eat "healthy food". One cannot be more vague than this cuz I eat nothing but healthy when am at home!

I mean, are you people crazy to take any kind of disease which you're attacked with so lightly? Why aren't you doing something about that which is threatening your regular lifestyle and infertility??? Do you ask this question to yourself? If you don't, you're as ignorant as any uneducated person.
So, let's jump in to get some information about PCOS.

Let's go with the basics of PCOS.

PCOS is caused in women when they develop more male hormones (Androgens) than female hormones (Estrogens) in their bodies.
So, every woman has ovaries in their body and those ovaries produce "eggs" every month.

1) There is a part in our brain called Pituitary gland which releases a hormone called Leutinizing Hormone (LH) to induce the formation of eggs. So, every month when this Pituitary gland releases LH, there is a sudden spike in LH levels. This is what causes the eggs to be formed. Only and only when there is a "SPIKE" in LH levels, the ovaries produce eggs. Not when there is no spike in LH levels. This is a very important point to remember.

What actually happens at this stage is that when a sperm comes and fertilizes the egg, this egg will develop into a fetus.

But, if the egg is left unfertilized, these eggs will be excreted from the body in the form of periods along with the lining of the uterus.

THIS is what usually happens when a woman is not suffering from PCOS.

So, what happens when someone is suffering from PCOS? What makes them not produce any eggs and thus leads to no periods?

Well, the answer is very simple.

LH levels in someone who is suffering from PCOS is constantly high and hence there is NO SPIKE which should occur monthly. Hence, as I mentioned earlier, eggs are produced only and only when there is a spike in one's LH levels.

2) Why do we get unwanted hair then?

When women have too many eggs in their system, there is a little sac around those eggs which produces Androgens in your body and these Androgens are converted into Estrogens (female hormones) by an enzyme called Aromatase Cytochrome P450 (that's not really important but I'm a trivia slut!). BUT, what happens is that if this enzyme is blocked by something (for example, Glyphosate which is found in GMO foods) then there is no way that these Androgens (male hormones) are going to get converted into Estrogens.

That's the reason why you have unwanted facial hair on your upper lip, chin, etc.

3) Not just those little sacs but also our Adrenal glands produce Androgens. So, if you have an over active Adrenal, means, if you're stressed all the time then you are going to get these symptoms.
Sometimes, high levels of LH are accompanied by high levels of Insulin and this is why your hormones are all over the place and you suffer from "hormonal imbalance".

This is what causes PCOS Symptoms like: unwanted hair on face and body, irregular periods (skipping periods for more than a month or two months or in some cases more than 3 months), low metabolism which means you easily put on weight, acne, depression, etc. These are all short term symptoms and the major symptom which is caused when PCOS is left unattended and untreated for long term is that it causes INFERTILITY which is the main concern for every female out there.

PCOS - PolyCystic Ovarian Syndrome
Poly - many
Cyst - little fluid filled bags in the ovaries due to hormonal imbalance.

Now, we know the science part of PCOS. Let's talk about how it is caused and is spreading like a wildfire among girls.

The main reason for ANY health disease is SUGAR in all kinds of food we take. Yes, that's the only evil thing which is worse and making you addicted to all kinds of unhealthy food and diet and thus leading you to be prone to illnesses like PCOS.

As Indians, especially girls, we can't just avoid Sugar all the time. It's nearly impossible. People THINK they have sweet tooth and thats why they crave for sweets all the time. NO. It's all in your head and although I don't have a sweet tooth, I'm a foodie and I love to eat desserts every now and then and used to get dessert and chocolate cravings as a part of my PMS (which I don't suffer from anymore). When I tell you that you can easily stop your sugar/sweet cravings, please believe me cuz you can! If I can do it, anyone can do it.
Now, since we as humans have evolved so much that we have ALL different foods that involve sugar and hidden sugars in them which is making our health go worse. All you have to do is educate yourself about these foods which you think is healthy but actually NOT at all healthy if taken in huge amounts every. single. day.

Another main reason to be prone to not just PCOS but many ailments is being in our own COMFORT ZONE and LACK OF EXERCISE. Lack of physical movement, and no, by that I don't mean just walking here and there and calling it as an exercise at the end of the day. If you look at our ancestors and the women especially, they used to have big families and there is work always for them to be engaged in. Now we have all kinds of comforts and don't bother ourselves with helping mom in the kitchen, not bothering about yoga, early morning jogging, etc., cuz we are addicted to being in our own comfort zone.

So, two causes:
1) SUGAR.
2) LACK OF PHYSICAL MOVEMENT.

Now, lets talk about how one can cure PCOS problem naturally.

Now, I have already talked (link) about how Carbohydrates (includes sugars too) are the main cause of many problems in every body's life. Please keep your carb intake as LOW as possible. Consume only and ONLY healthy carbs in your diet. I know its very difficult to cut out all carbs from your daily food intake but make it gradual and you'll eventually end up having your own perfect diet if you're consistent about it.

Unhealthy Carbohydrates:

Refined flours like maida, store bought refined attas to make rotis/chapattis, all kinds of white and brown bread since they're refined, white or basmati long grain rice, pasta, noodles, etc.

Healthy Carbohydrates:

Millets like raagi, jowar, sorghum, rolled oats (NOT steel cut oats), brown rice, black rice, etc.

So, unhealthy carbohydrates are the ones which you should absolutely and ruthlessly cut out from your diet. Don't expect results when you've cheat days to eat Burgers and Pizzas from fast food centres. Btw, did I tell you that you can make your own burger and pizza if you are just a lil bit creative and that you can replace those unhealthy carbs with healthy ones? Follow few Keto recipes on YouTube to get some ideas about how to make your own pizza and you can absolutely have as many pizzas as you want without worrying about the carbs anymore!

The second thing is that you've to include some kind of exercise in your routine even if its just for half an hour. Run, jog, yoga, zumba, weight lifting, whatever it is, just include it and you'll have wonderful results and you'll feel more positive than before!

Here's my short diet plan which I am following since two months:

Since I'm doing Intermittent Fasting, I have only Brunch and Dinner in huge quantities with 5-6 hours gap between each meal and rest of the time, I fast.

Brunch:

Almonds + Walnuts +
Veg dry curry/rolled oats or leafy veg curry (spinach mostly) + 1 boiled egg + paneer + keera + sometimes carrot (once or twice in a week) + berries (indian blackberry, strawberry, etc) or any kind of fruit (except banana) but not in huge quantities. (Include flaxseed rotis or raagi rotis along with veg curry if you prefer so).

Dinner:

Flaxseed rotis (2)/Raagi, Jowar rotis + veg/non veg curry (keep a check on your protein intake if you're eating non veg) + 1 cheese omelette.
On weekends, I have brown/black rice with lentils. I also include pan pizzas or burgers whenever I can. I also have dark chocolates like once in a month or two months. Desserts whenever I'm at home.

See, I don't miss out on tasty food while being on this diet!

I cook everything with healthy fats like ghee, butter, cold pressed coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil. NO REFINED OILS.

So, this is my short diet plan. You too can make changes according to your own body needs and come up with a diet plan which suits you. Please listen to your body, DO NOT starve your body. Healthy eating is called healthy only when you don't feel starvation and only when you meet your daily doses of minerals and vitamins.

P.S.: I've suffered from PCOS since almost 8 years now and I have recently come across Keto diet (low carbs, medium protein, high fats) which really helped me with my PCOS problem. This is my second month being on Keto. Let's talk more about this personally if you're interested.

Disclaimer: I'm not a dietitian. I'm not a Doctor. Do not start any kind of diet if you're suffering from serious health conditions. Please talk with your Doctor before taking any kind of decisions about your diet.

Please share this information with someone you know who is suffering from PCOS.

Sources: A shout out to my friend on Instagram: @sahityamadabhushi (A Doctor) for educating me about healthy carbs.

Links:

1. Dr. Eric Berg (Do watch all his videos on PCOS and Keto Diet).
2. Beer Biceps (Do watch his Keto recipes and PCOS meal plans).

Comments are welcome. Doctors, if you're reading this post, please leave your feedback.

Why am I on Keto all of a sudden?

So, I am finally trying to use my over active mind at night which doesn’t let me sleep to write down everything that’s happening in my life and in my mind.

Today, I wanna share something which I came across on June 1st, 2018 and how everything has changed now (July 24th, 2018).

I was on and off Twitter and that has become my go to social media website to get my daily dose of peeping into others lives and being up to date with politics which I don’t understand but try to.

I have finally decided that I should be off Twitter for few days and spend most of my time with my parents because I would be leaving for studies again to Delhi in a month.

So, while I was away from Twitter, the only source of entertainment I encouraged was watching YouTube videos. It’s very tricky with YouTube. You watch one cute puppy/kitty video and you spend rest of your day going through each and every one of them suggested by YouTube. So, I started watching more science videos, beauty related videos cuz I finally decided to take care of my skin and follow a skin routine. In that way, I have come across many videos suggested by YouTube about Veeramachineni Ramakrishna and his diet. At first, I thought it was just another fad and didn’t even bother to check any of his videos. But I have come to know that one of my friend’s sister was following his diet and lost few kilos over the course of a month without any stressful exercises. I thought I should give it a try and watch some videos on it and I did. I immediately got bored of it and didn’t bother about him for another 2–3 days until YouTube started suggesting me videos on Keto Diet.

I always come across this particular Doctor named Eric Berg and it irritated me a lot that I decided to watch one video and just be done with my curiosity and YouTube’s constant pestering about his videos.

You believe it or not, coming across his videos has been the best thing that has ever happened in my life. I started with one video but ended up binge watching MOST of his videos !!

So now, let’s talk about Keto.

Disclaimer: I am not a dietitian, not a doctor. I’m just someone who has experimented with Keto and found that it is the best diet or should I scratch that and say Keto = being on a healthy lifestyle and not just simply a diet? So, please consult your doctor before starting Keto if you’re suffering from serious health conditions. Although, I recommend you to keep reading this post and my future posts to know more about what I know about being on Keto.

Basic thumb rule to make other people understand Keto is that the food which you eat on Keto is: Low Carbohydrates(5%), Medium Protein(20%), High Fats(75%). These are called Macro nutrients which you should take on a daily basis. There are reasons why you should take these macros in that certain ratios.

Let me go one by one.

But first, lemme tell you what’s the meaning of the word “keto/ketone”?

Our body has two sources of fuel from which it derives energy and let’s you do work which you usually do. You burn calories when you’re working out and even when you’re resting/sleeping. The two sources are: Glucose and Ketones.

The easiest available source for fuel to our body is Glucose which we get it from “Carbohydrates”. The second available source is actually Proteins which get converted into Carbohydrates if you take too much protein. This is called gluconeogenesis. I’m not going to go in detail about this because its just too much science to discuss here. The third available (also second) source for fuel is “Ketones” which is a by product of burning fat i.e., if you don’t consume too much Protein.

At this point, lemme ask you a question. Do you eat rotis/chapattis as a part of your diet and still wondering why you don’t reduce weight? You will find your answer soon. 😁

So, whenever you eat foods which have lots of carbohydrates in it, like, rice, rotis, potatoes, starchy vegetables, sugar, bread, cereal, pasta, noodles, etc., these foods get converted into glucose and you’re going to get energy through glucose and NOT from your fats. Even if you consume less quantity of fats, if you’re a fat person, then your body will never be able to access that extra fat reserve in your body if you keep eating high carb foods.

What is a ketone though?

Ketone is a by product, a fuel, which gets produced when you BURN fat! The main point of being on a keto diet is to burn FAT and NOT CARBS as a fuel to your body. In this way, you’d be burning that extra fat which is stored in your body since ages!!!

But what happens if you’re on a high protein, low carbs, low fat diet? Wouldn’t that be beneficial?

NO.

When you consume too much protein, the body will take only that much amount of protein which is required by your body and the extra protein will be AGAIN converted into Carbohydrates, thus, making you be on Glucose fuel even though you consume low carbs. That’s the reason why you should keep your protein intake as medium.

Also, if you’re on a high protein, your uric acid levels will increase and you’ll eventually get gout or kidney stones because of it.

Do you know anyone who is on high protein?

I actually do. Two people in my life. One always eats only dal/lentils in her diet and ended up getting kidney stones and the other one was on high protein diet which means he ate lots of meat, as its considered healthy by many people which is actually not and he ended up getting gout.

How is it healthy to be on Low Carbs and High fats?! Isn’t that just the opposite of what you’ve heard all these days that Fat is the most harmful and evil thing in one’s diet?

Actually, no. It’s a big fat lie and a myth. Consuming fats, let me correct that word, HEALTHY FATS has never been a cause for concern if you just look at our ancestors food eating habits. They only consumed ghee, butter, unrefined coconut oils as a source of their fats and to cook food with it. What we use for fat or for cooking all kinds of dishes is “refined” oils which is THE most harmful thing on Earth right now. Just because it’s cheap, easily available, and the advertisements say all kinds of false things to make people buy their products, doesn’t mean its healthy.

The only oils which you should be using for cooking on a daily basis is, butter, ghee, cold pressed coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, and other oils which are considered to be healthy, but NEVER EVER choose refined oils since oil is the most basic thing and the most common cause of many diseases.

So, when you make your body go low on carbs, you’ll eventually get into Ketosis. That means, your body will start adapting to this new fuel source from Fats. You’ve no idea how good you feel when your body burns fat for fuel ALL DAY! It’s the most cleanest fuel your body can get!

Believe me, this is just my second month on being Keto and there are many changes that has taken place in my body that am going to share one after another in my future posts.

But, why does our body burn carbs to get glucose as our primary energy source if burning fat is SO good to our health?

Well, wouldn’t you like to throw away the garbage out of your house first and THEN make it tidy and beautiful to be presentable?

Apply the same logic to your body. It burns carbs first because it wants to get rid of the least useful source of energy first and then use fat as your fuel. But, how can you access or tap into that fuel if you keep feeding your body more and more carbs on a daily basis, 3 times a day?

You can’t. You simply can’t. All you gotta do is reduce your carb intake as low as possible. Like really really low and no, it’s not an impossible task to achieve because if I can do this, you can too. 😊

I have been on keto for 2 months and now I clearly understand why it is called a “lifestyle” and not a “diet”.

Any diet which you’ve come across till now would most probably tell you to keep your calorie count less (they wouldn’t mention about the macros which are very vital to your diet), which usually translates to “starve yourself”. But, that’s not the case with keto. You need not starve yourself on keto, you can have as much food as you want without worrying about the number of calories you’re consuming(that doesn’t mean you should go overboard with it..it only means that you need to eat enough to satisfy yourself) and there are SO many variety of options available to you on Keto that you never run out of tasty food if you could just have some patience and creativity to make your own food. You can eat any kind of dish as long as it doesn’t have carbs and sugar in it. Just trust me on this, I would have never imagined that I would be so full and satiated without any cravings for something which I don’t cook because that’s how tasty the food is on Keto until my next meal (which is 6–7 hours time period between my two meals since I’m on Intermittent Fasting).

You might be thinking that you would definitely miss having rice or your favourite rotis/parathas…but if you just wrap your head around the fact that carbs are harmful and leads to many ailments if consumed in huge amounts, then you wouldn’t feel their absence at all because there are all kinds of healthy options to substitute your cravings for rice and rotis or cakes or chocolates!

Many people I know in my life are foodies and I bet they would be worried if I just mention the word “diet” to them because that means they don’t get to taste all kinds of different foods in the world. But, I don’t think you would miss much if you’re on Keto because I’m a foodie myself and I feel a lot better being on Keto than being off Keto and eating all kinds of nonsense in the name of being a “foodie”.

In my next post, I’m going to talk more about how you can keep your carbs low, What are healthy carbs and unhealthy carbs, How you can actually reduce the carb intake on a daily basis.

I am also going to talk about how I am curing my PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) of which I am a victim since almost 8 years now by being on Keto and how I reduced 9 kilos in two months WITHOUT exercise!

I will eventually talk about my diet plans which I am still working on to be perfect in my macro intake and calorie intake.

Do you know about Intermittent Fasting? If you don’t, you’ll soon and you’ll know many magical benefits of being on Intermittent Fasting (IF) which am already on!

Lemme know your views about Keto in comment section and feel free to ask any kind of question.

If you’re a doctor who is reading this post, please take lil' time from your busy schedule and educate us about advantages and disadvantages of being on Keto and your general opinion about Keto.