I want your expert advice. I have just started a strict regime of herbs, supplements,diet and exercise as a way to combat my PCOS symptoms and feel like myself again.
Please look this over and see what/how much I need to add/get rid of.
Diet No refined carbs
High Protein foods such as unsalted almonds, peanut butter
No dairy
Chickpeas, blackeye peas, lentils, black beans
Whole wheat pasta
Lots of veggies and fruits
No soda, juice, coffee...just plain water!
I am a very strict vegetarian, so I don't eat meat! I replace the nutrients in meat with other foods.
Exercise Cardio 40 minutes 5 days a week Swimming 40 minutes 2 days a week
Strength training 30 minutes 2 days a week
Are you trying to conceive at all?
Or just manage PCOS?
Couple of things that jumped out at me, are St. John's Wort, are you taking this for mood stabilization? If so, and you can, cut it out. Take Sam-E instead. It is more expensive but it is MUCH safer and does not interact with nearly as many other supplements, and medications.
Also Dong Quai, are you taking that everyday?
And make sure your ginseng is Siberian Ginseng from a very reputable supplier.
Also instead of taking separate b vitamins, find a balanced B-complex. I personally take something called Super B Complex. Its fantastic. And it cuts down on the sheer amount of pills.
Also, if I could suggest, upping your vitamin D, I see its only 200iu, I would take a min. of 1000iu, and max 2000iu. Unless you've been dx as deficient, then you should probably be taking more. The best kind to take is Vit. D3, in a gel/oil cap. tablets are OK, gelcap is best. and always D3. This comes straight from the mouth of an endocrinologist in my area, and my personal Ob/Gyn
Also, how is the Vitex working for you? I see its just 200mg. You *may* want to increase to 400mg. You may also want to consider using a tincture of this instead of pill form, as it has better bioavailability. Again, Pills are OK, tincture is best.
Your diet looks fantastic, especially for a vegetarian. I noticed there weren't any other "whole grains", when I'm following my regimen strictly, I normally cut out almost all wheat products, and switch to other whole grain ones. Like, we eat tortillas alot here, so instead of flour tortillas, I use yellow corn. etc. I found wheat made me retain a lot of water weight. I know corn's a "starchy" vegetable, but cornmeal is actually rather low carb and has a a good bit of fiber in it. We do whole oats alot too. But if you tolerate wheat, then I wouldn't worry about it.
I know I kinda shot from the hip and I normally don't write this disjointedly.
__________________ Sam (30)
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4 Beautiful Children
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"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent"
"A woman is like a tea bag- you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water."
~Eleanor Roosevelt
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LOL...no not really...I know there are some articles in the stickies at the top of the main forum thread.
I'm just completely and totally addicted to research, etc. I've read a considerable amount here, and also in some other books, and then what I've picked up in my herbal healing books. And of course through other avenues...
__________________ Sam (30)
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4 Beautiful Children
Darcy(dd), 9.5 yrs going on 21 To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Brennen(ds), 6
Connor(ds), 5.5
Brandon(ds), 4
"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent"
"A woman is like a tea bag- you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water."
~Eleanor Roosevelt
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Are you trying to conceive at all?
Or just manage PCOS?
Couple of things that jumped out at me, are St. John's Wort, are you taking this for mood stabilization? If so, and you can, cut it out. Take Sam-E instead. It is more expensive but it is MUCH safer and does not interact with nearly as many other supplements, and medications.
Also Dong Quai, are you taking that everyday?
And make sure your ginseng is Siberian Ginseng from a very reputable supplier.
Yes the St.John's Wort is for mood leveling. I get very moody! I will try the sam-e instead, as I have really had good success w/ the St.John's Wort. The Dong Quai is actually mixed in with the Chasteberry I have been taking. I am going to get the real Vitex, but at the time I bought this, they didn't have it. Same with the Ginseng. Once I get the real Vitex, those two will be cut out.
Quote:
Also instead of taking separate b vitamins, find a balanced B-complex. I personally take something called Super B Complex. Its fantastic. And it cuts down on the sheer amount of pills.
I started taking B-12 because I am a vegetarian and that is a vitamin that is really only found in quantity in meats. I will get a b complex this weekend though!
Quote:
Also, if I could suggest, upping your vitamin D, I see its only 200iu, I would take a min. of 1000iu, and max 2000iu. Unless you've been dx as deficient, then you should probably be taking more. The best kind to take is Vit. D3, in a gel/oil cap. tablets are OK, gelcap is best. and always D3. This comes straight from the mouth of an endocrinologist in my area, and my personal Ob/Gyn
It might have been something else that caused it, but I took about 500 mg of Vitamin D and vomited. Have you ever had that experience? It scared me off of taking more than the recommended amount, but these were tablets, maybe the gelcaps will be different.
Quote:
Also, how is the Vitex working for you? I see its just 200mg. You *may* want to increase to 400mg. You may also want to consider using a tincture of this instead of pill form, as it has better bioavailability. Again, Pills are OK, tincture is best.
As stated above the Vitex is a blend I got at a health food store a while back. At the time they didn't have just Vitex so I got the blend. I ordered just Vitex and once I get it I will stop taking the blend. I will raise the amount too.
Quote:
Your diet looks fantastic, especially for a vegetarian. I noticed there weren't any other "whole grains", when I'm following my regimen strictly, I normally cut out almost all wheat products, and switch to other whole grain ones. Like, we eat tortillas alot here, so instead of flour tortillas, I use yellow corn. etc. I found wheat made me retain a lot of water weight. I know corn's a "starchy" vegetable, but cornmeal is actually rather low carb and has a a good bit of fiber in it. We do whole oats alot too. But if you tolerate wheat, then I wouldn't worry about it.
I know I kinda shot from the hip and I normally don't write this disjointedly.
I have no issue with wheat other than I notice more gas with it. I have really limited my intake, I basically don't eat rice or pasta except 1 or 2 times a week at most, I don't eat bread or anything baked and I try to limit the other grains I get as well. I made my own diet based off another one which is a low GI low inflammatory diet. Corn is very inflammatory so that is why I don't eat it, but you are probably different and not bothered by it. Corn is actually a grain, so I just included it in as a grain to avoid. Cornmeal is good once in a while, I love cornbread and beans! I eat barley, quinoa and occasionally cracked wheat.
I hope this works for me!Thanks for your advice!
You could have definitely vomited with just plain regular D..
Look specifically for D3, not sure where specifically your located, but I know Walmart(as much as I despise that store) has 1000units/pill of D3 in the tiniest little gel/oil cap. Its rather small to me compared to my other horse pills I have to take.
Actually the recommendation depending on "who" you ask, varies. The FDA, and the USDA are probably going to increase the RDA of it in the next couple of years because of all the research coming out showing that over 50% of women are deficient, and also in other demographics. Its being heavily linked with PCOS, and other endocrine disorders.
Good luck, it looks like you are already doing a fantastic job in managing your PCOS.
__________________ Sam (30)
Loving & Living Life w/ Mark (32) To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
4 Beautiful Children
Darcy(dd), 9.5 yrs going on 21 To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Brennen(ds), 6
Connor(ds), 5.5
Brandon(ds), 4
"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent"
"A woman is like a tea bag- you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water."
~Eleanor Roosevelt
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As stated by Samie, definitely up your vitamin D intake... new research shows that its safe to take up to 5000ius a day for people with normal levels.
Also, if you are of the estrogen dominant PCOS camp, I would do at least 3-4 days of strength training. Muscle kills fat, and fat messes with our estrogen levels
__________________ Current Regimen (since October 2009):
Vitamin D:7000ius
inositol: 7650mgs
Choline: 1500mgs
biotin: 5000 mcgs
iron: a/b 60
silica
female toner tea
spearmint tea
B complex
Liver supplement
currently dealing with gluten intolerance and excessive hair loss along with my PCOS.
Not TTC anymore... but still tracking cycle length. SCRATCH THAT. totally TTC again. WOOT!
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I might consider adding carob powder. Your day looks pretty full already, but even if you could get it in a couple times a week, it would still make a big difference! The research on carob is amazing. I think you can find it on this website -- take a minute to check it out.
I've tried taking it straight, but that's not really my thing. I've ended up mixing it in with peanut butter for a nutella-esque creation on bread or whatnot. I'm also thinking of putting it in some yogurt...?
Need advice--am I on the right track? 
