Today on the latest podcast for "Living with PCOS," we had a very special guest. Kim Chicchi of Pittsburgh, PA discussed her battle with PCOS and what she is doing to help alleviate some of her PCOS symptoms. Kim discussed how using a Vegan diet, and incorporating raw foods into her diet, has helped to lower her cholesterol and had helped her lose some of the weight she has gained over the years due to her PCOS. She even provided a great recipe for strawberry pie!
To hear the interview, please feel free to listen to it on the Talkshoe badge located on this blog, or head over to Talkshoe.com.
Our next "Living with PCOS" will be on Saturday, February 9th at 3pm. Feel free to join in!
3 comments:
I thought this was a great episode. My concern with a vegan diet is the *possible* high intake of grains and fruits. All carbohydrates raise blood glucose and insulin levels - some at a slower pace than others (low GI/low GL/high fiber) but they still convert to sugar. However, if it is stabilizing her BG and insulin - more power to her.
I appreciate you sharing your story.
~Danielle
Thanks Danielle!
You are certainly right that you need to be careful with the carbs on a vegan diet. I eat a lot of beans and legumes, which provides a lot of benefit from the fiber. I also eat a food called seitan which is made from vital wheat gluten. There are no carbs, it is the protein portion of wheat. It has roughly 22 grams of protein and 140 calories per serving.
I also quit eating soy. I'm not sure that I explained it very well in the interview. PCOS is sometimes referred to as "Estrogen Dominant", however women have three different types of estrogen. Estrone, our "bad" estrogen tends to be elevated, while our good estrogen, estraidol, tends to be too low. Some foods, including soy, contain phytoestrogens. You would think that they would help to elevate estraidol levels, however they interfere with our own estraidol at the receptor sites. The competition actually lowers our estraidol even more. Ironically, bioidentical estraidol which is made from soy can be very helpful. This is because the chemical conversion occurs in a lab so there is no competition at the receptor sites.
I also didn't relaize how much I would be talking about veganism. I've read so many books on vegan nutrition that after a while they all tend to blur together. However, any of my friend Jo Stepaniak's cookbooks are always a great source for very healthy vegan recipes. There is a section in Jo's book "The Vegan Sourcebook" entitled Vegan Nutrition, which was written by Virginia Messina, who is a R.D. with a focus on vegan nutrition. Messina also has a book out called the Vegetarian Way, however I have yet to read it. You can also contact her at http://vegrd.vegan.com/
Two other great cookbooks are Vegan with a Vengeance and Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. You might want to skip her cookbook called Vegan Cupcakes take over the World. It's addicting...
Jack Norris is another R.D. with a focus on vegan nutrition. His website is: http://www.jacknorrisrd.com/
Finally, there is a belief within the vegetarian/vegan community that Americans eat too much protein. While I believe that this is true, it is important to remember that if you have PCOS, your nutritional requirements are different than that of people without an endocrine disorder. For me that means focusing on eating more protein and less carbs. I've worked with a phenomenal sports dietician (Leslie Bonci, for anyone in the Pittsburgh area) to help me increase my protein while simultaneously reducing my soy intake. In fact I would recommend sports dieticians over standard dieticians because I think they are used to working with clients who already come to the table with a base knowledge of nutrition and are working to tweak things.
Finally, if you are looking for good books on PCOS, check out the Savvy Women's Guide to PCOS and It's My Ovaries Stupid by Elizabeth Lee Vliet, M.D. You can also listen to her podcasts at http://www.herplace.com/
Thanks Again! I can't wait for another edition of Living with PCOS!
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