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What Is PCOS? How Can Exercise and Nutrition Help | Nutritionist Explains... | Myprotein
Jan 30, 2025
PCOS is very common, affecting one-fifth of women. Expert nutritionist offers some lifestyle-based nutrition and exercise recommendations that can help support women with PCOS to live healthier lives.
if you’ve never heard of PCOS before, that’s not surprising, but what is surprising is that it affects almost one-fifth of women of reproductive age, making it the most common hormonal condition in this group. What’s also surprising is that PCOS is one of the leading causes of anovulatory infertility in women and still very few people know about it. Hopefully, we can change that a little with this video. Richie Kirwarn, an expert nutritionist is going to talk about what PCOS is, and how PCOS can affect health and offer some lifestyle-based nutrition and exercise recommendations.
This video is not offering any diagnosis or claiming any treatments for PCOS. If you suspect you might have PCOS, go to your doctor and get a proper diagnosis and treatment.
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Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
01:20 - What is PCOS?
02:33 - PCOS + excess bodyweight
04:19 - Can calorie deficits help?
05:15 - Fibre
05:48 - Do extreme diets work?
07:07 - Importance of exercise
08:24 - Supplements for PCOS
11:09 - Got any more PCOS questions?
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0:00
what is polycystic ovary syndrome and
0:02
can nutrition help let's talk about that
0:07
how's it going guys my name is richie
0:09
kirwan and today we're going to talk
0:10
about one of the most common conditions
0:14
affecting women that you've never heard
0:15
about polycystic ovary syndrome or pcos
0:18
so if you've never heard of pcos before
0:20
that's not surprising but what is
0:22
surprising is that affects almost
0:24
one-fifth of women of reproductive age
0:27
making it the most common hormonal
0:29
condition in this group what's also
0:30
surprising is that pcos is one of the
0:33
leading causes of an ovulatory
0:35
infertility in women and still very few
0:37
people know about it hopefully we can
0:39
change that a little with this video now
0:41
before we go any further i just want to
0:42
point out that in this video we're not
0:44
offering any diagnosis or claiming any
0:47
treatments for pcos if you suspect you
0:49
might have pcos go to your doctor and
0:51
get a proper diagnosis and treatment
0:54
what we are going to do in this video is
0:56
talk about what it is how pcos can
0:59
affect health and offer some lifestyle
1:01
based nutrition and exercise
1:03
recommendations that can help support
1:04
women with pcos to live a healthier life
1:08
i also want to say a big thank you to
1:10
both georgia kohlhoff and dr emilia
1:12
thompson who gave me a huge amount of
1:14
input on some of the nutrition and
1:16
exercise strategies for pcos that i'm
1:18
going to talk about here so pcos is a
1:20
condition that results in alterations in
1:23
hormone production in women but because
1:24
it's a syndrome or a group of different
1:26
symptoms that can often associate
1:28
together it often can look very
1:30
different in different women the most
1:32
common groups of symptoms which are
1:33
associated with pcos are
1:35
hyperandrogenism which means an excess
1:38
production of testosterone which can
1:39
lead to hirsutism or excessive hair
1:42
growth and even male pattern baldness in
1:44
someone insulin resistance which is a
1:47
reduced ability of the body to respond
1:49
to the insulin that we produce this is
1:51
often associated with poor glycemic
1:53
control or blood sugar control and it
1:55
leads to a greater risk of obesity
1:57
diabetes and even cardiovascular disease
2:00
chronic irregular ovulation which can
2:02
manifest as irregular or painful periods
2:05
and can be linked with infertility and
2:07
finally polycystic ovaries which means
2:09
having a lot of cysts in the ovaries to
2:11
be diagnosed with pcos you may only need
2:14
any two of the symptoms which i've just
2:16
mentioned which means you can have
2:17
polycystic ovary syndrome without
2:19
actually having polycystic ovaries and
2:21
you can have polycystic ovaries without
2:23
having pcos if all of that doesn't sound
2:26
particularly pleasant it isn't so
2:28
managing symptoms effectively through
2:29
diet and exercise can be really
2:31
important for women with pcos so let's
2:34
start with one of the most common
2:36
manifestations of pcos and that's excess
2:39
body weight it turns out that women with
2:40
pcos are much more likely to be
2:43
overweight or obese compared to women
2:45
without it now that said there is a type
2:47
of pcos called lean pcos where women can
2:50
have the other symptoms of pcos but
2:52
while maintaining a normal body weight
2:54
for women with pcos and obesity losing
2:56
some excess body weight can be
2:58
beneficial and some studies show
2:59
improvements in hirsutism insulin
3:01
resistance and circulating androgen
3:03
hormones like testosterone in fact a
3:05
number of studies have shown that
3:06
reduced calorie diets and weight loss of
3:08
about five percent of body weight can
3:09
lead to improvements in the regularity
3:11
of periods and even fertility in some
3:13
women with pcos now there's a couple of
3:15
reasons for that that are worth
3:16
mentioning here the first is the fact
3:18
that women with pcos can have a much
3:21
lower metabolic rate than women without
3:23
it in fact one study found that women
3:25
with pcos and insulin resistance can
3:27
have a 40
3:29
lower basal metabolic rate than women
3:31
without pcos and insulin resistance in
3:33
the same study women with pcos but no
3:36
insulin resistance had higher bmrs than
3:38
that but lower bmrs than the general
3:41
population that is a huge difference in
3:43
metabolic rate which means it can be a
3:45
lot easier for women with pcos to gain
3:47
weight eating the normal recommended
3:49
daily amount of calories for women
3:51
without the condition that means women
3:53
with pcos may need to be a little more
3:56
conservative with calories compared to
3:58
the general population to make matters
4:00
even more difficult there is evidence
4:02
that the increased levels of
4:03
testosterone in women with pcos can
4:05
affect satiety hormones like ckk meaning
4:08
those women have an increased appetite
4:10
and food cravings and are more likely to
4:13
have a tendency to binge eat as well so
4:15
what can you do practically to help with
4:17
weight reduction in pcos all the
4:19
principles of calorie deficits still
4:21
apply in people with pcos so i'd really
4:23
recommend checking out my video on how
4:25
to plan a calorie deficit the only
4:27
difference like i've already mentioned
4:28
is that someone with pcos may need to be
4:31
more conservative with calories this is
4:33
where food choice can be hugely
4:35
important if you've watched a few of my
4:37
videos you'll know that one of the most
4:38
important factors for long-term weight
4:40
loss is being able to stick to a diet
4:43
long term one way to help you stick to a
4:45
diet is to eat foods that help keep you
4:47
feeling full and that keep hunger at bay
4:50
firstly get plenty of protein at each
4:52
meal protein is the most filling
4:54
macronutrient and helps keep hunger at
4:55
bay for longer aiming for at least 30
4:57
grams of protein per meal is a good rule
4:59
of thumb next eat plenty of low calorie
5:02
density high volume foods like fresh
5:05
fruit and vegetables these keep you
5:07
feeling full and have very few calories
5:09
to help keep your overall calories low
5:11
that can be as easy as aiming for at
5:13
least two servings of fruit or veg with
5:15
each meal stick to high fiber foods or
5:17
high fiber versions of foods fiber can
5:20
keep you feeling fuller for longer by
5:21
absorbing water in your digestive system
5:23
and slowing the emptying of food that
5:25
means foods like fruits vegetables whole
5:28
grains like whole wheat products and
5:30
oats and legumes like beans peas and
5:32
lentils can help keep you feeling fuller
5:34
for longer this type of eating plan
5:36
based mostly around whole foods will
5:38
also have a low glycemic load meaning it
5:40
will have smaller effects on your blood
5:42
sugar which may have some benefits in
5:44
pcos for helping to improve insulin
5:47
sensitivity you may also hear a lot of
5:49
sources online say that you need to
5:51
eliminate carbohydrates and go keto if
5:53
you have pcos that's simply not true
5:56
while a keto diet is absolutely fine if
5:58
you like eating that way and it can help
6:00
you with weight loss in pcos there is no
6:02
reason that you need to do it you you'll
6:05
hear a lot
6:06
of people mention a lot of pretty
6:08
extreme diets that they claim you'll
6:10
need to follow if you have pcos they
6:12
might say you need to go gluten-free or
6:14
avoid dairy cut out sugar or go
6:16
completely carnivore on one extreme or
6:18
vegan on the other it's all but
6:20
because food cravings can be higher with
6:22
pcos allowing yourself some of the foods
6:24
that you crave like carbs for example in
6:27
moderation can be a good strategy to
6:29
help you maintain an overall healthy
6:32
diet that said because calories can be
6:34
lower for people with pcos that means
6:36
that overall carbs may be lower too as
6:39
you'll want to make sure you're getting
6:40
enough protein and sufficient fat in
6:42
your diet in that case it might be a
6:44
good idea to bunch your carbs together
6:46
to make a more enjoyable meal while
6:48
other meals might be lowering carbs
6:49
bunching those carbs around your
6:51
workouts either before or after might be
6:53
helpful too for fueling your workouts
6:55
properly or improving recovery depending
6:57
on when you have your carbs in
6:59
particular bunching your carbs earlier
7:01
in the day can be beneficial because we
7:03
naturally are more insulin sensitive in
7:05
the mornings which brings me to my next
7:07
point besides diet exercise can also be
7:10
really important for women with pcos a
7:12
combination of aerobic and resistance
7:14
exercise can not only reduce insulin
7:16
resistance but it can also raise resting
7:19
energy expenditure which i've already
7:20
said can be low in women with pcos on
7:23
top of that resistance exercise and
7:25
exercise in general can help to reduce
7:27
the risk of many of the health
7:29
conditions associated with pcos like
7:31
cardiovascular disease and diabetes
7:33
what's really impressive is that
7:34
exercise can have many of these health
7:36
promoting benefits even without any
7:38
weight loss which is yet another reason
7:41
to make exercise a regular habit getting
7:43
at least 30 minutes of moderate to high
7:45
intensity exercise daily is recommended
7:48
for health and if you can add some
7:49
resistance exercise like weight training
7:51
two or three days a week that can help
7:53
maintain healthy muscle and strength
7:55
levels too i talk all about the benefits
7:57
of muscle as we age in my past videos
7:59
too so check them out for more
8:00
recommendations now while i've been
8:02
talking a lot about weight loss for pcos
8:04
it's also worth mentioning that women
8:06
who have lean pcos meaning they don't
8:09
have a lot of excess body fat shouldn't
8:11
aim for weight loss instead they can use
8:14
a lot of the diet and exercise
8:15
strategies i've just mentioned while
8:16
maintaining their healthy weight losing
8:18
weight may not be helpful in lean pcos
8:21
besides diet and exercise there are some
8:24
supplements that might be really useful
8:26
in pcos without a doubt the most
8:28
exciting evidence for supplements and
8:30
pcos is for inositol or specifically
8:32
myo-inositol this is because there have
8:34
been a lot of studies showing that
8:36
inositol can help with the insulin
8:38
resistance that is common in pcos
8:40
inositols are substances that are
8:42
naturally produced in our cells but
8:44
because of the hormonal disruptions in
8:46
pcos they can be metabolized slightly
8:48
differently in pcos supplementing with
8:50
anastasia can increase insulin
8:52
sensitivity reduce androgen hormones in
8:54
the blood improve blood sugar control
8:56
and even help bring back normal
8:59
ovulation and periods and even fertility
9:01
inositol seems to be a very safe
9:04
supplement to take so current
9:05
recommendations are two grams of
9:07
myonosatol twice a day so four grams in
9:10
total another supplement that might be
9:11
worth considering is berberine berberine
9:14
is a compound found in the roots of some
9:16
plants that are commonly used in herbal
9:18
medicine for women with pcos
9:20
supplementing with berberine seems to
9:21
have many of the same benefits of
9:23
myoanasta that means it can improve
9:25
insulin sensitivity reduce levels of
9:27
androgens in the blood improve blood
9:29
lipids like cholesterol and
9:30
triglycerides and even help to reduce
9:32
chronic inflammation which can be seen
9:34
in pcos in fact some evidence suggests
9:37
berberine may be as effective as
9:39
metformin a drug used to improve insulin
9:42
sensitivity in people with diabetes and
9:44
women with pcos a berberine dose of 500
9:46
milligrams three times a day for a total
9:48
of 1500 milligrams may be useful another
9:51
interesting fact is that women with pcos
9:53
tend to have lower levels of l-carnitine
9:56
a molecule involved in fat metabolism
9:58
and levels tend to be even lower in
10:00
women with pcos and higher levels of
10:02
body fat and more insulin resistance
10:04
because of that supplementing with
10:05
l-carnitine may actually be useful for
10:08
women with pcos by helping to improve
10:10
insulin sensitivity reduce body fat
10:12
improve hormone levels and even restore
10:14
a more regular menstrual cycle we still
10:17
need a lot more evidence before we can
10:19
say it's definitely effective but it may
10:21
be worth trying a dose of 1000 to 1500
10:24
milligrams twice daily and just on a
10:26
final note you'll know that i recommend
10:28
long-chain omega-3 supplements like fish
10:30
oil or algal oil for general health
10:32
especially cardio metabolic health
10:34
because women with pcos have a greater
10:36
risk of diabetes and heart disease it
10:37
may be worthwhile taking a long chain
10:40
omega-3 supplement too fish oils have
10:42
been shown to improve risk factors like
10:43
insulin resistance cholesterol and
10:45
triglycerides in women with pcos a good
10:47
daily dose to aim for is about 1 000
10:49
milligrams of combined epa and dha the
10:51
most bioactive omega-3 fatty acids found
10:54
in fish oils or if you're vegan in algal
10:56
oil supplements we really have covered a
10:58
lot in this video if you have pcos
11:00
yourself you'll know how hard it can be
11:02
dealing with the symptoms like i've
11:04
already said speaking with your doctor
11:06
should be your first port of call in
11:08
helping you to manage it on top of that
11:10
i really hope that the lifestyle and
11:12
supplement recommendations i've just
11:13
gone through here might be able to help
11:16
alongside the medical treatment you
11:17
receive as always if you have any more
11:19
questions let me know in the comments
11:20
below and remember to like and subscribe
11:22
to the my protein youtube channel for
11:24
more great evidence-based nutrition
11:26
information
11:27
[Music]
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