Can you treat PCOS with diet?

Editor’s note: As we enter 2023, we’re running a series of stories in Star Culture on diet and nutrition, navigating eating healthier amid rising food costs and advice on making sustainable choices.

Roughly one in 10 women of child-bearing age suffers from polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), an endocrine disorder that can impact menstrual cycles, hormones and fertility while also raising the risk of pregnancy complications.

That translates into about 1.4 million Canadians with PCOS. Despite this being a rather large number, there is no cure or, for that matter, a clear understanding of the pathology or cause of the disorder. That’s slowly starting to change, though. And, increasingly, the research is starting to focus on the link between PCOS and diet.

“For the longest time, there wasn’t any good research and even the doctors themselves didn’t have much information,” explained Sana Motlekar, a Toronto registered dietitian whose practice is focused on helping people with PCOS.

Motlekar said that, for the large part, doctors prescribed birth control and/or metformin, an insulin stabilizer, and these were considered the only two options.

“In reality, the first line of treatment should be nutrition and lifestyle changes but, a lot of times, patients are not being given that information,” she said.

When doctors do recommend lifestyle changes, it’s often focused on weight loss, Motlekar added, which isn’t very helpful for people experiencing PCOS who don’t have…