PCOS activist recommends low-carb foods to manage condition
A side-by-side comparison of Nutana Singh’s weight loss journey and PCOS
A side-by-side comparison of Nutana Singh’s weight loss journey and PCOS

ONE of the biggest challenges faced by women who have been diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is managing and maintaining a low-carb and healthy diet, which is especially difficult for some Guyanese women since many of the foods one is expected to consume is not easily accessible in the country’s traditional kitchen.

Having gone through this struggle herself, 24-year-old Nutana Singh has used her diagnosis to launch an online platform to help others living with the condition.

According to the Johns Hopkins medical website, PCOS is a condition in which the ovaries produce an abnormal amount of androgens which are male sex hormones that are usually present in women in small amounts. The name PCOS describes the numerous small cysts (fluid-filled sacs) that form in the ovaries.

Some of the symptoms listed are: irregular periods or no periods at all, difficulty getting pregnant (because of irregular ovulation or failure to ovulate), excessive hair growth (hirsutism) – usually on the face, chest, back or buttocks, weight gain, thinning hair and hair loss from the head, and oily skin or acne.

Nutana Singh

Singh’s blog ‘Eating with PCOS’ features a plethora of meal preparations, menus and recipes that Guyanese women can follow to minimise some of their symptoms.
The very interactive blog also offers workout tips as well as mental health ‘nuggets’ to help women navigate the condition.

Singh told the Guyana Chronicle that after her official diagnosis in 2017, she was relieved for having an explanation for the symptoms she was experiencing but she was still having difficulties trying to manage same and keep her symptoms at bay.

“Most of the information that is available and online is not tailored for Guyanese women and products that you find in Guyana easily”, she said adding:

“Two years ago I made the website ‘Eating with PCOS’ and I have it divided into sections where I would post recipes. And now on the website people ask me about workouts and what do I do.”

A believer of the quote “Lift while you climb”, Singh said, she was determined to find ways to make her life and the lives of all the others living with PCOS simple.

“Managing PCOS is all about balance and finding that balance for yourself by using a holistic mind, body and soul approach, it’s not just about diet.”

A glimpse of the website

Sharing some details of her own personal journey, Singh said, “I moved from being 190 pounds when I was first diagnosed to 134 and I was super skinny and not very comfortable and happy in my skin and my diet was very restrictive at that point.”

She noted that women are required to practise a strict diet of low carbohydrates which is a difficulty since the Guyanese traditional way of preparing meals does not always cater for such a diet.

“Women with PCOS like myself have to follow a low carb to moderate diet as a part of our lifestyle. Yes women with PCOS need to avoid high carbohydrate foods; we need to avoid foods that are going to make us feel inflated.”

She noted that PCOS does not only have an effect on one’s psychical health but also mental health.

Hence, she advised women who have been diagnosed with the condition to take care of both their psychical and mental wellbeing.

Mild exercise, yoga, going for walks and reading are some of the activities one can do to manage both.

Since she started to publicly speak out about PCOS, Singh said, many women have been messaging her for advice.

Singh noted that the key to best managing PCOS is to have a holistic mind body and soul approach.

For information on PCOS and Singh’s blog readers can visit her website, www.eatingwithpcos.com

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