The Hemp Connection:
lipid profile

  • Food of the week: buckwheat

    Food of the week: buckwheat

    I tried a new recipe this week for the inCYSTem menu program…fell in love with it…researched it…and would like to encourage you to consider trying it yourself.

    That food is buckwheat!

    Buckwheat is one of the few foods containing d-chiro-inositol, which women with PCOS can have problems making. Its regular consumption is related to better insulin function, better lipid profiles, and fewer blood clotting issues. It's a good source of magnesium and tryptophan. And it's considered a complete protein, so it's an excellent food for you vegans.

    I've always loved buckwheat pancakes, but I'd never had the buckwheat groats. I tried them in a recipe for buckwheat pesto I found on the Bob's Red Mill website. I think it would be very easy to substitute buckwheat for rice in a lot of dishes, such as tabouli, risotto, and pilaf. In fact, I'm going to try to make a habit of it here in my home.

    Here is Bob's buckwheat pesto recipe to get you started!

    1 cup Buckwheat Groats
    2-1/2 cup Water
    1/4 tsp Sea Salt
    2 Tb Olive Oil
    1 Tb Butter, softened
    4 cloves Garlic, finely minced
    1/2 cup chopped Walnuts-Baker's Pieces
    1 cup Finely chopped fresh parsley
    2 tsp Basil (Imported)
    1 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
    1/2 cup Sliced Black Olives
    1/2 cup Soy Bacon Bits (optional)

    Directions:
    Boil water with salt. Add groats, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and leave pan covered for about 5 minutes, then fluff with fork.

    Mix butter, olive oil, garlic and walnuts together. Separately combine parsley, basil, cheese and olives. Add butter mixture to groats, then add the parsley mixture. Salt to taste. Toss and serve. Sprinkle soy bacon on top, if desired.

    Makes 6 servings.

  • The perfect PCOS diet? It's a mixed bag of nuts — literally!

    The perfect PCOS diet? It's a mixed bag of nuts — literally!

    When you're dealing with something as chronic and serious as PCOS, you can get focused on what is the perfect food, the perfect meal, the perfect diet…and if it's not perfect…don't bother.

    That, in the end, may be your perfect downfall.

    Consider two studies, both done with nuts.

    In the first one, subjects were divided into two groups. One was, in addition to their regular diet, given only 31 grams' fat worth of walnuts, the other, a similar volume of almonds.

    Walnuts decreased low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, almonds did, but not to the same degree.
    Walnuts increased insulin response during OGTT by 26% (P < 0.02).

    Walnuts decreased hemoglobin A1c, almonds did not.

    Walnuts increased sex hormone-binding globulin
    Almonds reduced free androgen index

    Betcha thought till I got to that last part that I was going to nix almonds, didntcha? Nope.

    The message here is not that almonds are bad and walnuts are good, but rather that walnuts and almonds both have benefit to your health, but in different ways. In fact, the name of this study is Differential effects of walnuts vs almonds on improving metabolic and endocrine parameters in PCOS, NOT Exclusively superior effect of walnuts compared to almonds on metabolic parameters in PCOS.

    Let's look at a second study, using people with metabolic syndrome.

    Fifty subjects were given 30 g/day of raw nuts (15 g walnuts, 7.5 g almonds and 7.5 g hazelnuts), or no nuts. Compared to the first study, I profiled, where no weight change occurred, in this study, there was a moderate weight loss experienced in the half of the group eating mixed nuts. LDL cholesterol decreased, as did fasting insulin and insulin resistance.

    So just because when all you're eating is almonds and almonds don't improve insulin function the way walnuts do, it doesn't mean that you can't eat almonds. If you eat the two together, you can get the benefit of both. No single nut will give you a perfect hormone profile, but every single nut on the tree stands to benefit you in one way or another.

    So stop paralyzing yourself out of eating foods you enjoy because they're not absolutely stand alone perfect…and mix it up a bit…literally!

    Kalgaonkar S, Almario RU, Gurusinghe D, Garamendi EM, Buchan W, Kim K, Karakas SE. Differential effects of walnuts vs almonds on improving metabolic and endocrine parameters in PCOS. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2011 Mar;65(3):386-93. Epub 2010 Dec 15

    Casas-Agustench P, López-Uriarte P, Bulló M, Ros E, Cabré-Vila JJ, Salas-Salvadó J. Effects of one serving of mixed nuts on serum lipids, insulin resistance and inflammatory markers in patients with the metabolic syndrome. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2011 Feb;21(2):126-35. Epub 2009 Dec 22.

  • Important Lab Tests for PCOS

    Important Lab Tests for PCOS

    Important Lab Tests for PCOS
    Many women who have PCOS have not had the correct blood work done or don't know what blood tests to ask to have done.I would like to post some important labs used to diagnose and monitor PCOS
    1. Total testosterone (elevated levels are > 50ng/dl
    2. Free testosterone
    3. Luteinizing Hormone (LH) (plays a role in ovulation and egg development)
    4. Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) (responsible for egg release from the ovaries)
    5. LH/FSH ratio (results should be under 2)
    6. DHEA-sulfate (this test tells how much androgens or"male hormones" your body is producing) DHEA sulfate converts into testosterone.
    7. Prolactin
    8. Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) this test will help to rule out hypo or hyperthyroidism (slow vs fast metabolism issues)
    9. Liver Function tests (LFT's). Important since medications pass through the liver, to check for possible damages. Checking every 3-6 months is recommended.
    10. Fasting Lipid Profile: Total Cholesterol (<>45 mg/dl is ideal)Low Density Lipoproteins (LDL) (<130 mg/dl is ideal)Triglycerides (fat in blood) (<150 mg/dl is ideal)
    11. Fasting Insulin (results should be <10) difficult to do, it needs to be frozen when brought to the lab and tested before it reaches a certain temperature, expensive but would be very beneficial in determining and monitoring insulin resistance.
    12. Fasting blood chemistry panel (includes glucose, electolytes and sometimes renal labs)
    13. Fasting glucose to insulin ratio (used to diagnose and monitor insulin resistance, ratio under 4.5 usually indicated insulin resistance)

    Ellen Reiss Goldfarb, RD
    11500 W. Olympic Blvd, Suite 400
    Los Angeles, CA
    310-408-1770
    info@ellenreissgoldfarb.com

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