Dumb! Stupid! Crazy! Dangerous! Stinks!
How The Medical Community Is Failing All Of Us
STORY TIME: When I was diagnosed with PCOS by a Naturopath, the first thing she talked to me about was food & supplements — what foods were good and which did a disservice to me (personally). She wanted to know exactly what I was eating. I honestly thought I was eating decently healthy because I ate whole wheat pasta and loved eating broccoli with shredded cheese on top. I put milk on my cheerios, enjoyed corn, soy lattes and used a little white cane sugar in my coffee on occasion. I ate fairly normal but I was hurting my body with these foods that were not good for PCOS.
Once we “cracked the code” and found what was working for me (food & supplement wise) to fix all the issues I was having (I was lethargic, breaking out a ton, heavy & irregular periods, excess weight, etc.), I was like a whole new person: I felt amazing, lost 60 pounds, skin cleared up and my period was regular for the first time ever! I eliminated wheat, dairy, corn, soy, cane sugar and ate a lower carb diet. It was tough in the beginning. When I really wanted something sweet I would eat a spoonful of peanut butter with fresh strawberries — YUM! If you haven’t tried that combo, you should.
Naturally, with excitement, I went back to my OBGYN (at the time) with the good news that I finally figured out what was wrong with me. I told her that I had fixed all my problems with food and a new lifestyle of eating … she laughed at me. She laughed at me and said I don’t have to give up those foods because she could just write a prescription for me, and I’d be good to go.
Honestly I was crushed that she wasn’t happy for me that I was HEALING MY BODY. But more importantly, I unknowingly found a purpose that would help others in years to come — that drove me to start @krystenskitchen. It also taught me that, while doctors save lives (my amazing doctor grampa saved thousands of lives), they often know NOTHING about nutrition and don’t choose the most natural route and remedy FIRST. There’s a time and a place for MDs for sure, but not when it comes to nutrition.
Most doctors don’t study much nutrition — it’s typically under 20 hours. They are quick to prescribe drugs to mask symptoms like a bandaid but don’t ever ask you about how much sleep you’re getting, what you eat, if you’re moving your body or getting sunshine (vitamin D). It’s dangerous how many side effects there are with these drugs that they prescribe so freely and it stinks that this is the norm.
The funny thing is (and not funny “ha ha,” but funny “nervous laughter”) that OBGYN operated on me a few years prior to take a cyst off of my left ovary because I had lost 30% of the blood in my body, was sent to the ER, had a blood transfusion and a few days in the hospital because I could have died, and never once did she mention PCOS or anything. She handed me “the pill,” told me to take iron supplements and sent me on my merry way.
I’m so thankful I found healing through food. “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” is so powerful!
In my work, I encounter women with PCOS quite frequently. Many suffer in silence, but most are diagnosed formally, and have just given up looking for solutions.