How to treat PCOS Part 2 (the treatment)

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The "medicine"

I will get to the nutrition and exercise part in a minute, because you must use it in combination with everything else, but first let's talk about ajwain (carom) seeds. These were introduced by my husband (I told him on our first date that I couldn't have kids and asked him if it was a dealbreaker, and he said and I quote "don't worry, we can fix that." What an amazing man!). My husband is not a Cypriot like me. He's a Pakistani. His mother was like the doula of the village. Anything physical that was troubling a woman, she had excellent knowledge on how to treat it with any nature's gifts that was available in Pakistan. And so she suggested this "blood purifier" as they called it, these ajwain seeds.

After a whole year of trying to have a baby, ajwain is what saved me and brought my periods back (every month like clockwork for the first time in my life), hence I was able to finally get pregnant and give natural birth to a healthy boy. And 9 months after that, I got pregnant again with my cutiepie, my autistic daughter. A year after that, I got pregnant a 3rd time (not intended), but due to severe uterine prolapse at the time (which no doctor wanted to treat for some stupid reason), I had no option but to do an abortion whilst I was still in Pakistan.

Note that this is not a miracle tea, and you will still need to take care of your diet and everything else as well for best results, and my personal experience does not guarantee you will get the same results too. But I have to say that since taking this tea and adjusting my diet, every single bloodwork (consistently doing tests every 6 months for years after that) came back great (no more insulin resistance, all hormone levels back to normal, and no more nutrient deficiencies, and yes I had anemia, potassium deficiency and other stuff).

Where to find it?

You can find it in Indian or halal shops in your area (and probably at an extremely cheap price too), or from your local health food store (ajwain, ajowan, or carom seeds), and of course, places online like Amazon, eBay etc. (If you're having a hard time finding any, let me know, perhaps I can find a way to send some to you).

How to take it?

It took a year to work for me, so you need to be patient with this. I also took it religiously, 4 cups of heavily brewed tea every single day. Once my symptoms subsided and my bloodwork proved the treatment has been effective, I reduced to just 1 cup a day for maintenance for 1-2 years more. Nowadays I only take it periodically, a cup here and there (it has other uses too, I will discuss them on a separate post).

  1. Add 2 teaspoons of ajwain seeds in a jug of really hot water (2 teaspoons for 4 cups. Use half a teaspoon for each cup you want to drink).
  2. You probably don't have to wait this long, but I brewed the seeds overnight for a stronger effect. The tea takes a really dark yellow color.
  3. Take the 1st cup on an empty stomach as soon as you get up in the morning.
  4. Take the other 3 cups throughout the day.

Combination with Neem oil

I didn't have pure Neem oil at the time (when I was back in Cyprus), but there was a Pakistani herbal syrup that was recommended to me to take as well, and Neem oil was the main ingredient of it, they also called it a blood purifier and it was made strictly for gynaecological problems. This one is optional, but it can definitely help further if the problem is severe.

You can find it again in Indian and Pakistani / halal shops, or just buy it online. For 4 cups of ajwain, add only 2 drops of Neem oil. Note that it's extremely bitter, but you will get used to it lol.

I promise I will get into more detail about what both of these things can do for your body in separate posts (so many benefits involved), but for now all I will say is that they did miracles for me, without any side effects (they are generally safe to take). But if you do find you get a bad reaction from them, please stop taking them immediately. Our highly individual bodies can react differently to foods / substances. So use at your own risk.

Nutrition

While I was doing that treatment, I cut out certain things from my diet, as not to disrupt the endocrine system any further, and just let the tea do its work.
  • No sugar / sweeteners / sugar alcohols. I've also cut out rice and bread. This is mostly for the insulin resistance part (plus, my IBS got me bloated on bread). I find keeping my (healthy) carbs at around 100g a day to be most beneficial for insulin resistance, without the need of going on keto.
  • Limit canned food. The only canned food I was taking was tuna and sardines, which are healthy and even help with hormonal imbalances, but I've read about BPA, so I didn't have them often. I preferred fresh fish instead. Now I take them as part of my protein intake without issues.
  • Increase fresh fruits and veggies. Malnutrition can also disrupt your endocrine system in so many ways. Synthetic vitamins don't really do much. Your body absorbs vitamins more efficiently through real unprocessed food.
  • No processed food, especially processed meat. I found (and experienced) processed meat to be the absolute worst thing for our hormones (think: bacon, sausages, cold cuts, salami, etc). I've also limited red meat to almost none at all (ground beef once every few months). Only poultry for me, and chicken can be taken as often as I'd like without issues.
  • Dairy - reduce cheese only. Despite the fear-mongering about hormones in the milk, I did NOT cut out dairy from my diet. Truth is, once the milk has been pasteurised (especially the UHT type), the high heat kills all the bacteria and hormones. Even if it didn't, the quantity of hormones is so minuscule, it's not enough to cause an issue (soy on the other hand, I can tell the difference in my body right away from the phytoestrogens). The UHT is even better in that regard (higher temperatures) and thus is easier to digest than pasteurised milk. Even the organic fresh milk we get straight from the farm here in Portugal, we have to boil it down before drinking it or turning it to homemade yogurt. For yogurt, ALWAYS take it unsweetened. And I highly suggest you eat it often (whether the regular one or Greek yogurt) as probiotics in yogurt are highly beneficial for your gut microbiota, as are potatoes, a study recently showed.
  • Fasting for insulin resistance. You don't have to go to the extremes. Just limit your food intake to only twice a day tops (no snacking in between). Make sure you're eating enough calories. Putting yourself in severe calorie restriction will only make things worse (periods stopping etc).
  • You NEED healthy fats. I don't care what doctors and dieticians say or how much weight you have to lose, if you go on a low fat diet, you will have issues with your hormones. So avocados, nuts and seeds, eggs, olives, fatty fish, extra virgin olive oil, and only full fat milk and yogurt please (non-fat milk will raise your blood sugar). There is so much nutrition in the fats of healthy foods, and you need them for fat-soluble vitamin absorption too. Studies also showed that healthy dietary fats can help with infertility and hormone production / balance.

Exercise

This is NOT optional. Unless you are disabled from head to toe, you NEED exercise in your life, and you need it for the best results of this treatment, and you must absolutely take a holistic approach to this with the following rules:
  • Strength training. What's the only advantage we women with PCOS have? It's like we're on steroids already (including the side effects lol). We can gain muscle easier than other women. Add 2 -3 days a week of strength training. It could be weight lifting, calisthenics, or both (I prefer calisthenics myself). Do NOT be afraid of getting bulky (well very rare chance of getting an extreme level of bulk anyways). Muscle will help in boosting metabolism, lowering insulin resistance, thus help with many of the symptoms, including weight gain, while still being able to enjoy enough food without restricting yourself.
  • Change it up every month. Your body likes to adapt no matter what you throw at it. Keep shocking it with a new program every month or 2.
  • Cardio. You absolutely must include LISS cardio (low intensity, steady state). If you do it fasted, you will increase your fat burn and autophagy during the exercise too. High intensity exercise (like strength training or sprinting) uses carbs for fuel, but LISS cardio taps into your fat stores to keep you going. Walking especially is an absolute essential and I recommend at least an hour a day. Cardio will help balance your hormones, big time. Not optional.
  • Yoga / meditation. Whether a stay at home mom or a CEO at a large company, life's stresses always come and go. You need to deal with them and your emotions, as they affect your hormones big time. Even 5 minutes of meditation every morning before the kids wake up, will do wonders for your mental health.
  • Increase your physical activity time, but not necessarily the intensity. Overdoing it with HIIT or lifting heavy (or to failure) every day will lead to increased cortisol levels, and you don't want that. But our bodies are made to move, and you will find your symptoms subsiding significantly if you keep moving for most part of your day. Here's what my own regimen looks like, as an example, but do whatever suits your schedule with activities you enjoy doing:
    • 2 hours session daily in the morning: 30m fasted cardio (stationary bike and rowing machine), 30m warmup and core training, 30m calisthenics for muscle (Push, Pull, Legs weekly regimen), 30m cooldown (yoga and meditation). In 2 hours, I get the entire package for optimal health.
    • At least 1 hour walking throughout the day (can be split into 30 minute chunks after meals for lowering blood sugar even sooner after a meal causing a spike)
    • At least 5 sets of pushups and pull ups throughout the day (1 set every 1-2 hours). Raises your heart beat, keeps your muscles stimulated, adds real strength. Do not go to failure though. If your max is 20 reps, do only 10 reps per set.
As you can see, I stay active at least 3 hours daily, and I keep my body moving throughout the day. It's not enough to just do a session in the morning and be done with it by staying sedentary the rest of the time. If you truly want to bring back your hormonal balance, you must find a way to keep moving at least every hour of the day (even for a brief 2 minutes at a time), even if you get some weird looks and comments at the office. Greasing the groove with pushups or squats, or even doing planks will only take a minute per hour, but the benefits are really high compared to just 1 hour session in the morning. 

Of course, all the above are my personal experiences and what works for me. It's hard work, but there are no side-effects, no long term risks, it treats the actual problem (not just the symptoms), and you won't need to take any medication anymore.

In my next post I will be addressing hirsutism, so stay tuned.