Paleo: A cure for PCOS?

This week, I’ve been reading a lot about the Paleo Diet, or a “Primal” approach to health. I’ve heard so many people talking about it, and I’ve had it recommended to me by family and friends, but I sort of dismissed it, thinking it was just a different answer to the Atkins Diet.

The difference? I’ve seen women who have claimed to be “cured” of PCOS by eating Primal.

If you’re wondering what exactly it means to go “Primal”, a good resource is Mark Sisson’s Mark’s Daily Apple blog. Basically, he breaks it all down to the fact that what we eat today is RADICALLY different from what our ancestors ate. And when I say ancestors, I mean…. when we were developing as a species.

He lovingly nicknames this version of the human race “Grok”, explaining what Grok would/wouldn’t eat and use to workout. Primarily, he suggests that humans were hunters and gatherers who ate nuts and berries, vegetation, and big game. They spent a lot of time doing low impact movement, such as walking long distances. They spent a lot of time in the sunshine. They sprinted from predators rarely, and regularly lifted heavy things.

How this relates today? Use your body weight to “lift heavy things” with exercises like squats, pullups, chinups, pushups, and bridges. Do several full force sprints, once a week. And do low impact exercise, like walking, playing sports, or even resting four days a week. And the food? Eat organic, grass-fed game, wild caught fish, and free range chicken. Eat eggs, lots of nuts and berries, lots of veggies. Completely cut out dairy, refined sugars and flour, corn, and grains from your diet. He also emphasizes the importance of getting quality rest at night, and getting plenty of sunshine during the day.

At first, I was skeptical. Just changing your diet? Really? That changed everything?

Peggy over at The Primal Parent wrote a post about her conversion entitled Unconventional Approach to PCOS. And whoa. Three months after going Paleo, she was preggo? Without even TRYING?!!

Wait. But what about girls who start big, like me? Ones that also have the obesity thing going for them, hirituism, insulin problems? Another fellow “cyster” (queue my CHEESY FACE!!!!) made the switch to Paleo/Primal, and lost almost all of her PCOS symptoms. She wrote about it, too…. Did Diet Cause My PCOS?

Huh….

Over the course of the last few days, I’ve found many stories out there, just like these, where women cut out the sugary crap and grains, and had the ultimate success: their fertility woes were solved.

Will this work for me? I don’t know. I’ve seen so many success stories about men AND women having ridiculous success with this “diet”…. people who took all sorts of medications no longer needed them. People with weight problems, Type 2 Diabetes, high cholesterol, liver lipid issues, fertility problems….. all gone after a few months of switching to this diet.

The husband and I have discussed it, and I think we’re going to give it a go. We haven’t really heard of anything that would address both his blood pressure/cholesterol issues with my fertility ones, and I think we’ve got nothing to lose.

Anyone out there have any experience with the Paleo/Primal Diet, and if so, how has it affected your health?

 

Update: I found a link to a video a Reproductive Endocrinologist made in regards to this type of diet, and his findings. He said that “almost none” of his clients needed assisted technology, like in-vitro fertilization, after they attempted this diet.