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What dieting cows can teach you about your own fertility

When I ran across this research study, it immediately brought to mind most women I know with PCOS--because they focus so much on restrictive eating as a way to improve their condition. Women with PCOS that has not yet been diagnosed often develop eating disorders as a way to manage it. If their eating disorder is anorexia or bulimia, it encompasses deprivation. And it often bounces back into binge eating disorder when the PCOS wrangles control back in its direction.

And if you've tended to lean toward the binge eating direction, you've likely been advised to lose weight. And much of the advice you have been provided for how to do this, even by licensed health care providers, has been about eliminating--calories, carbohydrates, even entire food groups. Most of what I see on Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo Groups, where women with PCOS are talking about what they're eating, it's about extreme programs and denial.

It seems to be especially prevalent in women who are trying to conceive. So when I saw this study, I wanted to share it.

This is a study done on cows, but I believe there is a good takeaway lesson. So bear with me.

Seventy-two pregnant cows, about a month before their due dates, were assigned to 6 different dietary regimens:

Ad lib eating with canola-supplemented feed Ad lib eating with linola-supplemented feed Ad lib eating with flax-supplemented feed
24% calorie restriction with 8% canola-supplemented feed 24% calorie restriction with 8% linola-supplemented feed 24% calorie restriction with 8% flax-supplemented feed (Linola is a low omega-3 form of flax often fed to cattle)

After the calves were born to these cows, they were fed the same non-supplemented lactation diet.

From one week after birth, the cows underwent reproductive ultrasounds twice a week until they again ovulated. Here are the very interesting findings (I discuss them below).

1. Cows fed without caloric restriction had higher body weights before delivery, but after delivery, they had fewer ovarian cysts.
2. These cows, regardless of what kind of fat they were given, did have a higher incidence of uterine infections.
3. Regardless of diet treatment, the time it took for the uterus to return to its normal size did not differ.
4. It took longer for cows to ovulate after giving birth if they were fed canola oil, regardless of calorie level eaten, than it did if they were fed linola or flaxseed oil.
5. A greater percentage of cows whose diets were not restricted during their first pregnancy were able to conceive a second time with the first round of artificial insemination.

OK, the obvious omission in this study is the overfed cow. But cows are not natural binge eaters so it's understandable why this condition was not included in this study. But…what this study really highlights, is that restricting calories is not really the best fertility-friendly strategy. (The degree of restriction was actually far less in these cows than what many of our inCYST fans impose on themselves. It was the equivalent of a 1350 calorie diet for someone who would normally need 1800 calories to maintain their ideal weight.)

Secondly, even though we do talk about using canola oil because it has a nice omega-6 to omega-3 ratio, continuing to eat your favorite fried foods and using a"healthy" fat may not really be a productive strategy. You will help yourself most if you learn to eat foods that are not too high in fat.

Bottom line, it's not about the quantity of calories, it's more about the quality. It's not about extremes, it's about balance.

If you're having a hard time with balance, let us help you!

Colazo MG, Hayirli A, Doepel L, Ambrose DJ. Reproductive performance of dairy cows is influenced by prepartum feed restriction and dietary fatty acid source. J Dairy Sci. 2009 Jun;92(6):2562-71.

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What dieting cows can teach you about your own fertility + perfect body