Wright - The PCOS diet plan: a natural approach to health for women with polycystic ovary syndrome

Copyright 2010 by Hillary Wright

All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Celestial Arts,
an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division
of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
www.tenspeed.com

Celestial Arts and the Celestial Arts colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Wright, Hillary.
The PCOS diet plan : a natural approach to health for women with polycystic ovary syndrome / Hillary Wright. 1st ed.
p. cm.
Summary: A nutrition-based PCOS book that uses diet and exercise to manage the female hormonal disorderProvided by publisher.
1. Polycystic ovary syndromePopular works. 2. Polycystic ovary syndromeTreatmentPopular works. 3. Polycystic ovary syndromeDiet therapyPopular works. I. Title. II. Title: Polycystic ovary syndrome diet plan.
RG480.S7W75 2010
618.11dc22

2010031320

eISBN: 978-1-58761-364-7

v3.1_r1

Contents

I distinctly remember the date when Hillary Wright had her first day as the director of nutrition at the Domar Center for Mind/Body Healthit was May 1, 2006. The only reason I remember it so well is because May 1 is my birthday, and a momentous thing happened that day. We were having a staff meeting, partially to welcome Hillary, and someone had brought in a lovely chocolate cake to surprise me. I cut slices of cake for everyone, they were distributed, and then the room went still. Not a fork was lifted, and all eyes were locked on Hillary. There was no way anyone was going to eat a crumb of cake until we saw what our new nutritionist was going to do. And what did she do? She picked up her fork and took a healthy bite. With a sigh of relief, the rest of us followed suit. I am sure we all had the same thought: Thank heavens she is not a fanatic about every calorie and seems to have a wonderful attitude toward food!

Hillarys attitude that day is reflected in every page of her excellent new book. Her commonsense but scientifically-backed approach to helping her readers become healthier women who happen to have PCOS, rather than at-risk scared patients, comes through on every page. There are literally millions of women in this country who have no idea how to eat and live, in fact thrive, while living with PCOS, and this book will lead them through the steps carefully, accurately, and compassionately.

Many people have the expectation that there is a pill that will treatif not cureall diseases. Sadly, not only is this not the case with many chronic illnesses, it is also not the case for PCOS. Modern medicine has yet to discover that magic bullet. However, research does show that women who learn to eat in a different way, exercise sensibly, and keep their stress levels at a manageable level can in fact control and in some cases eliminate their symptoms. This successful holistic approach makes sense for many reasonsthere are no risks or side effects, and in addition to helping you become healthier, it also helps you feel more in control of a condition which can be bewildering and confusing.

I also remember the very first patient of mine who received a diagnosis of PCOS. It was many years ago and when she first told me about her diagnosis, I was embarrassed because I didnt know much about the syndrome. I had heard the term in graduate school, and vaguely knew the symptoms. But to be honest, I felt helpless to do much to support her. So there she sat, in my office, looking at me and clearly expecting a wealth of information. I felt like I was failing her since my role in our relationship was to provide stress relief and coping skills, yet I had no idea what she had to deal with and even less of an ability to teach her how to live a healthier life. Until now, there was no resource which encompassed it allinformation on the physiology of PCOS, risk factors, nutritional explanations, and incredibly straightforward and easy-to-follow meal and lifestyle plans.

Fast-forward about twenty years, and I now have the tools I need to educate my patients with PCOS because I have read this book cover to cover. Too late for my patient of years ago, but definitely not too late for you.

Alice Domar, PhD, executive director of the Domar Center for Mind/Body Health and director of Mind/Body Services at Boston IVF

Without the support and encouragement of so many people, this book never would have come to be. Id like to thank my agent, Judith Riven, who saw us through some tricky and unanticipated situations, and my editor, Sara Golski, and the staff at Ten Speed Press who showed so much respect for my work and what I was trying to produce. Thank you to my cousins Rachel Prindle and Maura Sheehan, whose guidance was invaluable and so appreciated; the very talented David Parmentier and Monica DeSalvo for bringing their artistic eyes to my manuscript; Dr. Alice Domar, Dr. Alison Zimon, and all my colleagues at the Domar Center for Mind/Body Health and Boston IVF who have helped me realize my dream, and Dr. Natalie Schultz, Larry Lindner, and Dr. Margo Woods for professional advice and encouragement in the early days of this project.

My PCOS patients have provided the ultimate inspiration for writing this bookthanks for teaching me so much; thanks also to my Arlington girls and my Dana Farber team for your wonderful friendship and support when I felt overwhelmed by life at times; thank you to my pal and professional guiding light, Elizabeth Ward, MS, RD, whos always showed by example (and with humor!) whats possible in the nutrition world.

Id also like to thank my parents, Alan and Marie, who have always been my biggest fans; my in-laws, Jack and Nancy Holowitz; my sister, Alison, and my brothers, John, Chris, Brian, and Michael, and their families; and my amazingly supportive husband, Tony, and my beautiful boysJohn, Matt, and Brianthanks for helping me make room in my life for this. I love you.

The first time a woman with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) showed up in my office, I had no idea what to do for her. In addition to enduring many troubling symptoms of the condition, she was also struggling with infertility. It was early 2000 and I had just returned to work from maternity leave after having my third son. Id had no problems conceiving my first child, but it had taken almost a year and a half to get pregnant with my second son after treatment for secondary infertility three years earlier. As a fertility patient myself, I understood what she was going through. Id been through all the testshormone tests, an endometrial biopsy, a hysterosalpingogram (a procedure that involves blasting dye through the fallopian tubes to make sure theyre open, which in some cases actually paves the way for conception even if no blockages are found), and serial HCG (pregnancy hormone) tests once I got a positive pregnancy test. The barrage of tests left my arms looking like those of an IV drug addict. Fortunately, the solution to my secondary infertility had been some relatively simple hormonal tweaking, and, interestingly, I hadnt required any intervention for my third child. But I was well aware how complicated the quest to have a child could get. This womans course was likely to be much more complicated than mine: she was overweight, her hormones were out of whack, and her stress level was through the roof. Her treatment would involve more than a few well-timed hormone shots.