Tag

PCOD

Browsing

Polycystic Ovarian Disease (PCOD) is pretty much a 21st century `cult’ syndrome ­ with an ever-increasing `membership’. I’ve lost count of the number of girls coming to my clinic with a diagnosis and the need for a diet. The same can be said for diabetes. That despite the overwhelming literature aimed at prevention and care, India is the diabetes capital of the world, with over 50 million patients suffering from Type-II diabetes For both these conditions, lifestyle solutions are usually recommended, and are around the area of diet control and exercise. Because of the prevalence of these conditions, I’ve developed some tried-and-tested nutritional solutions, having worked with my clients for many years. Having said that, in order to truly understand the solution, we need to first focus on why it happens.

CONNECTED WITH EXCESS FAT

What PCOD and diabetes have in common is that they are both connected with excess fat and insulin resistance. Everything we eat or drink -be it a banana, a cocktail, a bowl of sprouts or a piece of fruit -gets converted into glucose by our bodies. And glucose is our universal source of energy. Now, glucose cannot enter the body and provide energy to all the cells in our body without help: it needs a carrier or, in other words postman. And that’s where insulin comes in. The pancreas secretes insulin, which in turn, picks up the glucose and delivers it to all cells in the body. So insulin becomes the courier boy for the de livery of energy in your body. Let’s say, hypothetically, that one unit of insulin -at its optimum efficiency -delivers 100 units of glucose to the body. Weight gain or the accumulation of fat in terferes with this process, acting like a bit of a gangster, disrupting the beautifully beautifully synced pick up by insulin for glucose distribution. Because of excess fat, insulin can’t do its job: it maybe, for example, delivers only 10 units of glucose instead of 100. In reaction to this, the pancreas oversecretes insulin to finish the job at hand. This continual oversecretion of insulin -caused due to ex cess fat -could lead to diabetes (Type-II).

Similarly, in the case of PCOD, as the ovaries have to produce an egg every month, the egg is formed in the form y of a cyst. When the blood levels are overcharged with insulin because of excess fat -the ovaries are unable to open the `door’ and release the egg from the cyst. Multiple eggs go unreleased and that, ladies and gentlemen, is PCOD.

Excess fat may result in insulin resistance. And insulin resistance may result in diabetes or PCOD. Do note that even the skinniest of people may have high body fat, and may not always look like probable candidates for PCOD and diabetes. By removing the deterrent of excess fat, you will reduce the incidence of PCOD and diabetes. The next piece ­ Part II ­ will talk about nutritional solutions for both. Watch this space.

Today you can do everything from shopping to watching the latest movies to booking your next holiday without leaving the comforts of your couch. It’s no surprise that a large part of the health and fitness industry has also moved online, providing us with a range of convenient ways to lose weight. These include fitness trackers to track our daily steps; online food diaries, which monitor our daily calorie intake; exercise programs, which delivers a variety of weight loss videos; and online chat apps that allow us to connect with doctors over video consultations.

Needless to say, many of these tools do require us to move off that couch, but they also give us that much needed motivation to lose weight and make doing so a lot more fun! The FitBit fitness tracker, for example, is a wearable with blinking dots that keep increasing as we reach closer to completing the number of steps we’ve set as our daily goal—cross the finish line and the bracelet vibrates in approval. The Nike+ Running app, on the other hand, allows you to compete with people in your network and from around the world and even allows friends to support you by sending in-run cheers. Food diary MyFitnessPal can be customized to suit your specific dietary restrictions or nutritionist’s requirements, and online consultation apps allow you the comfort level of chatting with a doctor from home even when you’re travelling outside the country.

Nourish Genie, one of the new entrants in the online health and wellness arena, attempts to take all these components—community, motivation to lose weight, customization, and remote access to a nutritionist—and fit it into one streamlined package.

The brainchild of nutritionist Pooja Makhija, these online portal offers an easy onboarding process. First you subscribe by entering your details and choosing a plan suited to your health goals; options include weight gain and weight loss packages, pregnancy diet plans, lactation diets, plans for PCOS as well as plans for diabetes, weight maintenance, and muscle training. Next you upload your medical history, followed by your blood reports to your personal dashboard or to the Nourish Genie App, and…you’re done! The portal delivers customized diet menus and easy diet plans for the month to your inbox, and gives you access to an online food diary, as well as trackers to map your food and water intake, exercise, and food quota. Chat forums let you speak with others in the community, trade weight loss tricks, share which was the best diet for your weight loss, or even just vent if you’re feeling frustrated. And, of course, you can sign up for live video chats with Pooja Makhija and receive further motivation and guidance.

An MSc. in Food Science and Nutrition, Pooja Makhija is committed to providing her clients with easy diet plans and the best diet for their individual weight loss needs. Her weight loss packages and weight loss videos espouse a nutrition philosophy that embraces the nourishing aspects of food. Through Nourish Genie, Pooja aims to introduce this philosophy to clients world over.

Don’t feel like getting off that couch just yet? Don’t worry. Stay seated, log onto www.nourishgenie.com, check out the portal, and you may just find yourself naturally inspired to get moving!