Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies: Culinary and Lifestyle Medicine for PCOS and Preconception Health

Top Things to Know

The study underscores the importance of dietary patterns like the whole-food plant-based or Mediterranean diet in managing PCOS and infertility. These diets can improve metabolic health and support reproductive functions, aligning with the food is medicine approach that emphasizes nutrition as a key component of health management.

Lifestyle interventions, including diet, exercise, and mental health support, can significantly improve overall health outcomes for women with PCOS and infertility. This holistic approach is central to food is medicine, which integrates various aspects of health to promote well-being.

The study suggests that culinary and lifestyle medicine interventions can be implemented widely and at minimal cost. This aligns with the food is medicine principle of making nutritious food and health-promoting practices accessible to all, thereby reducing healthcare costs and improving public health.

Summary of Conclusion/Findings

The study explored the impact of culinary and lifestyle medicine on polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and preconception health. It highlights the significant burden of reproductive health issues like PCOS and infertility on women's quality of life and healthcare costs. The authors emphasize the benefits of a whole-food plant-based or Mediterranean diet, regular exercise, and mental health support for women with PCOS and infertility. They note that lifestyle interventions can improve metabolic, reproductive, and psychological outcomes, though the evidence is mixed. The study concludes that these approaches are underutilized but can be implemented widely at minimal cost, potentially improving obstetric, neonatal, and child health outcomes through epigenetic effects.