Amarachi Okeh
A registered dietician, Adeola Adeleye says the reason polycystic ovarian syndrome is sometimes confused with other health conditions by women is that it does not have a particular symptom.
According to the diet expert, PCOS often manifests in unusual symptoms, noting that women affected often experience changes to their bodies and systems.
Women, she noted, should be alert to sudden and unusual changes in their bodies and seek medical intervention on such changes as they could be signs of PCOS.
Adeleye said PCOS is a veiled condition that does not have any particular symptom, hence can be very confusing and draining to identify and manage.
Some of the symptoms of PCOS, she said, are, “feeling sleepy even after eight hours of sleep, craving sugar after eating, and not seeing menstrual period in months.”
The nutritionist stated that while there is no cure for PCOS, the condition can be managed.
Adeleye, in a post on her official Instagram page, @askddietician noted that PCOS can impact a woman’s ability to get pregnant and even affect her through the journey of pregnancy, saying “you don’t have to wait till you are pregnant to start managing PCOS.”
According to Mayo Clinic – a medical center focused on integrated health care, education, and research, PCOS is a problem with hormones that happens during the reproductive years with no known cause.
Although there is no treatment available for it, early diagnosis and treatment along with weight loss may lower the risk of long-term complications such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease, Mayo Clinic said.
The US Department of Health and Human Services also stated that “PCOS is a health problem that affects one in 10 women of childbearing age. Women with PCOS have a hormonal imbalance and metabolism problems that may affect their overall health and appearance.”
On the management of the condition, the nutritionist said proper diet is important in the management of the condition.
She recommended that the woman should “stop skipping meals, especially breakfast, add enough proteins like eggs, chicken, peanut butter to breakfast and also reduce the intake of sweetened foods like pastries, cookies, and sodas.”
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