Do I Have to Go Dairy Free for PCOS?
With 17.4% of people with PCOS going dairy-free in an attempt to manage their symptoms (1) it can be tempting to cut out milk, cheese and yogurt and swap to non-dairy options.
What is PCOS?
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a chronic hormone disorder impacting 1 in 10 women in the UK (2). There are a variety of symptoms associated with PCOS including acne, oily skin, rapid weight gain, irregular periods, difficulty getting pregnant, excess hair growth and hair loss on the head (3).
Is There a Best Way to Eat for PCOS?
To manage symptoms there are plenty of “PCOS diets” which include removing various food groups such as gluten, dairy, carbohydrates and soy but, in fact, no food or food group needs to be removed to manage PCOS.
Should You Avoid Dairy?
Dairy foods are considered important as part of a healthy balanced diet, providing many important nutrients including calcium, B12 and many more, to support your overall health.
In regards to dairy, people claim that it increases inflammation and chronic inflammation is often associated with PCOS. But, contrary to this, dairy consumption doesn’t exert adverse effects on biomarkers of inflammation (4) and the analysis of 52 clinical trials found that dairy may actually have anti-inflammatory effects, especially for those with metabolic disease (5).
A review of 27 studies in non-PCOS populations found that fat-free and low-fat dairy products did have an impact of acne development whereas full fat dairy products had a lesser effect. This is thought to be because low- and no-fat dairy products stimulate insulin growth factor 1 which is linked to increased androgen levels. Removing the fat from these products changes the hormone structure and increases the androgen levels (6). Therefore, if you have acne and/or oily skin as a symptom of PCOS you may want to swap to full-fat dairy rather than low-fat options.
As with all things PCOS, there is no one-size-fits all approach. Try to approach any nutrition interventions for PCOS with curiosity, not judgement, and figure out what works for you.
Have you seen my free PCOS download!?!?
If you have PCOS and want to know what to include in your diet, not what to restrict, then click the button below and find out my top 5 foods to include to support your PCOS.
References
S Cowan, A Grassi, L Couch, Y Jeanes, S Lim, S Pirotta, L Moran. What Diet, Physical Activity and Behavioral Strategies Are Used by Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and Where Are They Sourced From?, Current Developments in Nutrition, Volume 5, Issue Supplement_2, June 2021, Page 971
BDA, 2016. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome – the fundamentals[online]. Available from: https://www.bda.uk.com/resource/polycystic-ovary-syndrome-the-fundamentals.html
NHS, 2019. Symptoms Polycystic ovary syndrome[online]. Available from: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/polycystic-ovary-syndrome-pcos/symptoms/
Labonté MÈ, Couture P, Richard C. Impact of dairy products on biomarkers of inflammation: a systematic review of randomized controlled nutritional intervention studies in overweight and obese adults. Am J Clin Nutr. 2013;97(4):706-17
Bordoni A, Danesi F, Dardevet D. Dairy products and inflammation: A review of the clinical evidence. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2017;13;57(12):2497-2525
Burris J, Rietkerk W, Woolf K. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2013;113(3):416-30
