Yes and No.
Yes. One of the most important things in successfully reversing PCOS is to manage insulin resistance, and to manage insulin resistance we need to eat carbs that take a long time to digest. This means that sugar and food made from white flour is something we want to make the exception.
Why do we need to worry about insulin? Higher levels of insulin drives a higher production of androgens (testosterone) which makes PCOS symptoms worse. Insulin is also a fat storage hormone so the more we raise our insulin by eating sugar and processed carbs the more we will gain weight, it’s a vicious cycle.
This can mean a big change for many of us used to the foods that have crept their way into our food system. When we look up and down the supermarket aisles, the options we are faced with in cafes and all the processed ready to go snacks available everywhere.
Sugar is addictive and so many of us are addicts. Sounds crazy but it’s true. Do you find it difficult to go one day without a sweet treat? Do you feel like you NEED it? CRAVE it? You are sugar addicted.
So the yes part of this answer is that if you are addicted, you do need to break your sugar addiction. The best way to do this is to go cold turkey on all sugar and sweetened foods, including food made from white flour and ALL artificial sweeteners for at least 2 weeks. If you can get through two weeks, your taste for sweet things will reset to a lower level, in other words things will taste much sweeter to you afterwards than they do now, and you will find it much easier to limit sweet things to the occasional treat.
The no part of the answer is that as long as the majority of the time (80%- and be honest with yourself, 80% means 80%) you focus on wholegrains, it won’t hurt to enjoy a delicious pizza, or a dessert or whatever you love!
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