PCOS & Autoimmune

[CaraMia886]

Hi, I am currently struggling with PCOS, Sjogren's Syndrome, and debilitating migraines. Of course the one thing that all doctors tell me is that moving & losing weight will help. I have had a number of upsetting events happen over the last few years and fell off the proverbial wagon, and of course since I have PCOS, I gained weight 3x as quickly as a person with a regular metabolism. 

People suggest the ketogenic diet to me all the time and I find that I struggle to manage my hunger (and cholesterol levels) on a diet like that. Has anyone else had success with weight loss with PCOS or any of these other conditions. I also think I have a fair amount of inflammation in my body due to the autoimmune disease and the recommendations for Sjogren's counter those for PCOS. Then I was handed a migraine diet which counters both of those. I am swimming in information and struggling to suss it all out. 

[GershonSurge]

@CaraMia886,

It doesn't make any sense that different conditions would respond to different diets. What does make sense is there is a single diet that improves all degenerative diseases. Let's call it dietary dysfunction, otherwise known now as the Standard American Diet with it's Standard American Diseases and Standard American Deaths.

An autoimmune disease is caused by animal proteins leaking through the intestines into the bloodstream. The immune system perceives these as a threat and creates antibodies. These antibodies, through some magical process, then serve as a mold to create stuff that attacks other proteins that look the same. The most common are the joints (rheumatoid arthritis) and the part of the pancreas that produces insulin. The guilty proteins are in dairy products, so my first recommendation is to give up all dairy products. They are responsible for many nefarious plots in your body. (Sorry if this is too scientific. :))

Not being able to control your cholesterol on a keto diet is a broad hint that it's not healthy. A healthy total cholesterol is 150 or below with LDL at 60 or below. HDLs don't matter at these levels. This will reduce the probability of heart disease to near zero. Only animal products have cholesterol. If you eliminate your intake of animal products to zero, you won't have high cholesterol. 

Nobody knows the real cause of migraines. Different people probably have different triggers. One cause may be the plethora of chemicals they put in processed foods. By processed, I mean anything that has chemicals added or is not in the form it comes in the plant. Using this definition, processed includes so-called healthy products like olive oil and other oils, the various plant-based milks, and even orange juice. Eliminate these as much as possible. It may be impossible for most to take this big step all at once.

Why should you believe me? You shouldn't. You will have to start with one source and expand outward from there. I suggest starting with this series of 12 videos by Dr. McDougall. From there, you can expand to videos and books by Dr. Campbell, Dr. Esselstyn, Dr. McGregor, Dr. Ornish and others. What do they have in common? They are all old and healthy, and they all agree on the same general healthy way of eating.

1. No animal products
2. No oils like olive oils
3. No refined wheat
4. Eat starches, vegetables and fruit in as close to their natural state as possible.

If you study their works, you will find they do allow cheating with no more than 10% of the calories.

How can you test if it's working? You should notice various improvements in your skin, cuticles, whites of your eyes, hair, etc. You could start with a basic lipid test and have it checked every three months to see if your total cholesterol is decreasing.  

This is not a new way of eating. It has been followed by every single long-lived healthy population in the known history of the world, without exception. 

What about exercise? You don't need much. About 20 minutes of walking a day is enough, but not really optimum. I follow the theory of steadily moving as much of the day as I can.

Wishing you the best.

[emili]

Truth be told I had to look up everything but migraines so I will say up front that I have no idea what I am talking about. But, I have read enough and watched enough to know that most diets are rooted in reducing your calorie intake to a certain amount below your basic metabolic rate. Whether you count points, carbs, dole out your food into tiny containers, eat lettuce for six days and eggs for three-- every single one of them works initially because the calories you are consuming are less than you were before. The problem becomes maintaining these "rules" for any length of time. I am probably preaching to the choir, but if I were you, I would do the math on how many calories you burn daily- your fitbit can help you with that- at least give you a benchmark. Then think about how many calories less than that you can consume in one day. Buy a scale. Research nutritionally dense food with lesser calories. Increase your activity to speed up your metabolism as much as you can handle and log everything. Weigh yourself as often as you can stand it and see how you do over a three week period. Maybe you will surprise yourself or you will come back here and tell me to... you fill in the blank 🙂 

Whatever you decide to do, I hope your symptoms stay quiet and you have an awesome summer.