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salt or onion salt.

      9 Take the salt cellar off the table.

      10 If you’re eating out, ask that salt not be added to your portion.

      7) EAT THE RIGHT FATS

      Next it’s time to swap bad fats for good fats in your PCOS diet action plan.

      WHY?

      There are bad fats that can increase your risk of health complications due to PCOS, and good fats that can protect you from the symptoms of PCOS.

      Saturated fats are the ‘bad’ fats found in dairy products and red meat. These animal fats are bad for us because they contain unhealthy prostaglandins (which can trigger blood-clotting) and hormones and antibiotics that can upset your digestive, immune and hormonal systems. If that weren’t enough, saturated fats can cause weight gain, interfere with the absorption of other nutrients and stimulate oestrogen production.

      You also need to avoid hydrogenated fats and oils in the form of fried, oxidized or trans fats found in margarines, vegetable shortenings and many processed foods and fast food snacks as well as cakes, sweets and biscuits. These vegetable oils contain transfatty acids that can increase your risk of diabetes and heart disease.⁹

      But you shouldn’t avoid fat altogether – because the right fats can protect your health.

      Unsaturated fats¹⁰ (polyunsaturated and monounsaturated) have a protective effect on the heart and are found in olive oil and foods such as avocado, but the most beneficial fats for women with PCOS are the Omega 3 essential fats and, to a lesser extent, the Omega 6 fats. You can find both these fats in oily fish, nuts and seeds. Every single cell in your body needs these essential fats (EFAs) to maintain the cell wall so it’s flexible enough to take in nutrients and push out toxins. They are also crucial for hormone balance, weight-management and fertility.

      EFAs help protect your heart by helping your body make the healthy kind of prostaglandins that can help reduce the risk of blood-clotting. (Some experts also believe that, as EFAs are needed in your cell membranes, they don’t travel to fat cells in your bum and thighs because your body uses them.) A diet low in EFAs can make PCOS symptoms worse and increase the risk of insulin resistance, weight gain and heart disease.¹¹ This is because EFAs delay the passage of carbohydrates in your system and keep blood sugar levels stable and insulin levels down. EFAs are without doubt one of the best blood sugar-stabilizers, and as you’re well aware a stable blood sugar means a reduction in symptoms and less likelihood of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and even depression.

      A low-fat diet is wrong for women with PCOS – we need fat. But, as with carbohydrates, we need to make sure we’re eating the right kind.

      HOW?

      To limit your intake of saturated fats, choose low-fat dairy products, spreads, white meat and fish and lean cuts of red meat.

      Transfatty acids are harder to avoid than saturated fats because they’re hidden in margarines, processed foods and snack foods such as biscuits, cakes and crisps. If you’re upping your intake of whole foods and fibre and cutting down on sugar and refined carbohydrates, you may already have cut down on the transfats. Instead of margarine it might be better to go for a small amount of spreadable butter.

      Increase your intake of Omega 6 and Omega 3. You’re less likely to be deficient in Omega 6 because it’s more common in Western diets and found in foods such as leafy green vegetables and soy, olive, sunflower and sesame oils. Omega 3s are less common and found in the oils of cold-water fish (such as mackerel, salmon, herring and sardines) as well as in hemp seeds, flaxseeds, soy oil, nuts and seeds.

      Aim to eat oily fish at least twice a week, but not more than four times a week. If you don’t eat fish you can eat sea vegetables (sea weeds) and up your intake of hemp seeds and flaxseeds. Flaxseeds and hemp seeds are a great source of Omega 3. You might like to try a daily dose of 3 teaspoons of cold-pressed flaxseed oil or 3 tablespoons of ground flaxseed. You can also use hemp and flaxseeds in salad dressings and smoothies or sprinkled on cereals.

      Use only cold-pressed vegetable oils. Of the readily available vegetable oils, only three contain both Omega 3 and Omega 6: flaxseed, hempseed and soy oil, so aim to use these. Other oils such as olive and sunflower do contain Omega 6, but not enough Omega 3.

      Nuts such as walnuts, almonds, pecans, brazils and cashews, and seeds such as pumpkin, sunflower, hemp and sesame are good sources of EFAs, so try to eat a handful every day, perhaps as a snack between meals or sprinkled on your salads, soups or cereals. You can also use them in baking.

      Finally, avoiding processed and refined foods is a great way to ensure you get more EFAs in your diet, as highly processed foods block the absorption of EFAs.

      SAMPLE ‘GOOD FAT’ MENU

       Breakfast: Fruit salad or smoothie with ground flaxseed

       Mid-morning snack: Banana and handful of sunflower, hemp, pumpkin and sesame seeds

       Lunch: Salmon served with new potatoes and a large serving of green vegetables

       Mid-afternoon snack: Glass of skimmed milk; handful nuts

       Dinner: Pasta in tomato sauce served with salad; low-fat, low-sugar yoghurt with sprinkling of cinnamon and walnut

      8) GIVE YOURSELF A DAILY PROTEIN CHECK

      You should aim to eat a diet that’s around 50 per cent carbohydrate (whole foods and low GI, of course), 20 to 25 per cent healthy fats, and 20 to 25 per cent good-quality protein. We’ve covered carbohydrates and fat already; now the spotlight turns on proteins.

      WHY?

      A daily protein check is important because, as we’ve seen, protein plays an important role in maintaining blood sugar balance. If you eat it with a sugary or high-GI food it will slow down the conversion of sugar. Protein also supplies the amino acids our bodies need to build and repair cells and manufacture hormones and brain chemicals. And it helps to break down stored fat for use as fuel, which helps keep insulin levels down. Our bodies can’t store protein as they can carbohydrate and fat, so you need a constant supply.

      HOW?

      Too much protein isn’t wise if you have PCOS because it leaves less room for all the other nutrient-rich carbohydrates and fats that we need to balance our blood sugar and boost our energy. So we’re not recommending a high-protein diet here – especially as it can lead to an increased risk of diabetes and heart disease and perhaps trigger insulin resistance. That’s why we recommend that you eat some good-quality protein with every meal while making sure you also eat the right kind of nutritious and healthy carbs and fats as part of a varied and balanced diet. Include a range of low-fat protein in your diet and make sure that you have a serving with every meal – try low-fat cheese, low-fat milk, low-fat yoghurt, lean meat, poultry, seafood, fish, nuts and seeds.

      Other great sources of protein include soybeans, peas, kidney beans, wheat germ, lima beans, black-eyed peas, chickpeas, lentils, black beans, soy products, tofu products, quinoa (a seed that you cook like couscous or rice), spirulina (a green powdered algae you get from health stores to sprinkle in shakes or smoothies, or which you can get in capsule form) and quorn (a meat substitute made from mushroom protein).

      Eggs are also a good idea – especially organic, free-range ones. You should try to eat at least two or three eggs a week for their protein and lecithin – a kind of biological ‘detergent’ that can help break down fats, detox your blood and transport of nutrients through the cell walls. (Eggs should be soft boiled or poached, since a hard yolk

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