Can we eat every 15 minutes to cure infertility? A bizarre diet that attacks at "PCOS"

A radical dietary approach would have helped more than 1,500 women struggling to start a family. Caroline Jones has the truth …

For years, we've been told to avoid snacking if we want to stay healthy – but would that be the best way to start "grazing" a family?

Manchester-based dietician Norah Cozens says eating four times an hour could be the solution to infertility for millions of women.

Cozens does not suggest that you take a family chocolate bar or dig into a packet of cookies a day.

She advocates tiny mini-snacks, the size of a postage stamp folded into four, every 15 minutes.

As odd as it sounds, Cozens says that more than 1,543 healthy babies were born directly from her diet in 18 years. Here is how it is superimposed …

Infertility

Approximately one in seven couples is struggling to conceive, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) being one of the leading causes of infertility in women.

The syndrome, which affects about 20% of British women, including celebrities such as Victoria Beckham and Gemma Collins, can make a pregnancy difficult because the hormonal imbalances that it creates can prevent ovulation.

It also causes debilitating symptoms such as extreme weight gain, mood swings, acne, irregular periods and growth of facial and body hair.

After seeing countless patients in his weight loss clinic struggling with PCOS, Cozens felt that there must be a more natural way to manage this disease.

So she tried trying different diets to find out what could help her.

The results were staggering.

"Surprisingly, 97 of the 100 volunteers who helped me develop my healthy diet plan for PCOS controlled their symptoms enough to get pregnant," Cozens says.

"I was delighted, especially since many had struggled for years with repeated miscarriages and multiple attempts at IVF."

Its unusual plan works, says Cozens, because every time you chew a food, your metabolic rate starts, ready to digest it.

It continues to work for about 14 minutes. During this time, he quickly burns the tiny number of calories in the mini-snack and, needing more energy to fill it, turns to your fat stores and starts burning them.

"I discovered that by eating healthy, nutritious meals and regular mini-snacks, women could boost their metabolism and lose weight," says Cozens.

"It helped balance hormones and regulate menstruation, so that they could get pregnant naturally."

How it works

According to Cozens, people with PCOS face unique challenges in weight loss and fertility.

For starters, most women with PCOS are insulin – resistant – the hormone made in the pancreas that allows the body to use the sugar contained in food to produce l '-. energy – so that they produce more to compensate.

The excess insulin causes a slow metabolism, facilitates weight gain, makes weight loss more difficult and triggers a "carbohydrate sensitivity" that causes cravings for sugary carbohydrates and starchy foods.

It also increases the levels of testosterone, a male hormone, causing the tell-tale symptoms of acne, excessive hair and irregular periods.

According to Mr. Cozens, people who suffer from it need a diet low in white and sweet carbohydrates that cause insulin spikes and high-quality protein that helps stabilize blood sugar levels.

In addition, studies have shown that the consumption of fruits and vegetables rich in fiber was badociated with a reduction in insulin resistance.

But the real secret of success is not just what you eat, but eat well and often – very often.

"Having a tiny piece every 15 minutes means your metabolism is restarted four times an hour. So you burn fat all the time, "says Cozens. "The weight begins to fall."

When your weight decreases, testosterone decreases and hormones begin to rebalance, regulating the rules.

Cozens found that when women reach the bar of 12 stones, they can usually become pregnant.

PCOS diet

There is no counting of calories – just a list of foods to eat and avoid.

"You have to eat between meals to lose weight, so you will eat more than usual, but with the right things," says Cozens.

If you have more than three stones to lose, you can expect to lose at least five pounds during your first week, then an average of two pounds per week thereafter.

The rules

1. In addition to your three meals a day, take a mini-tip to boost your metabolism every 15 minutes. Good choices are a piece of red pepper, celery, carrot, chicken, egg or flaked almonds. Portion size is one quarter of a 21 x 24 mm postage stamp. Prepare your mini-bites each morning so that they are at hand. Try snacking for a minimum of four hours (16 bite snacks) during the day to achieve weight loss success.
2. Avoid starchy foods . Until you reach your target weight, completely avoid bread, pasta and rice. You can eat crisp rye bread and rice cakes, but only potatoes with skin. Finally, you can reintroduce carbohydrates in moderation, but keeping them to a minimum is essential to the ongoing management of PCOS.
3. Only eat "real" foods cooked from fresh produce. Prepare meals ready to be filled with additives that can affect the hormones.
4. Buy organic foods whenever possible to avoid hormone-disrupting pesticides. Or, wash the fruits and vegetables in a mixture of 12 parts of water and a portion of vinegar to remove any surface residue.
5. Eat three fruits a day. Kiwis and pears are an ideal choice, rich in vitamins and vegetables at every meal.
6. Eat protein just before going to bed. You could have a spoonful of cottage cheese or a piece of chicken the size of a cube. This keeps your metabolism burning fat while you sleep.

A typical day

"After four weeks of dieting, I had my first period for months"

Natalie Wilson, 26, is a pastry chef from Hyde in Manchester.

She lives with her husband Jamie, 29, and their daughters Annabelle May, age four, and Adalynn Eva, almost two years old.

"I started having PCOS symptoms at age 16. My periods were an agony.

I had terrible mood swings and I gained weight very easily. I also grew hair on my chest and my face. It was horrible.

At age 19, some days, I did not want to get up from bed, so I went to the doctor, thinking I had depression.

Even though I was overweight with 13 feet tall and 5 feet 6 inches, I did not look huge, so at first my GP did not even think about PCOS. But when all else was discarded, he sent me for a blood test and an ovarian ultrasound and I was diagnosed.

I was given the contraceptive pill to relieve my symptoms, but it did not help much.

A few years later, when my husband and I wanted to start a family, I did not take the pill anymore, but I could not get pregnant.

I was referred to a specialist who told me that I would find it extremely difficult to conceive naturally and put myself on the waiting list for fertility treatment.

In the meantime, I had heard about Norah, who was working in the area, and his success in treating PCOS. So I visited him and tried his diet.

Reducing carbohydrates was easier than I thought and all the mini-snacks meant I was not hungry. Plus, I felt better by eating real food – lots of chicken and fresh fruits and vegetables.

Even eating a bite every 15 minutes was not difficult – I set my alarm clock and managed to do it about four hours a day.

The transformation was incredible. After two weeks, I had a lot more energy, my mood stabilized and I lost seven pounds.

After four weeks, my period was normal – my first month.

In the following months, I lost three and a half stones, my period became regular and all my other symptoms of PCOS – including facial hair – diminished.

Then, to our great joy, I became pregnant with Annabelle May, born in May 2015. I did not believe it – nor my specialist.

I kept seeing Norah to stay on track and I had our second daughter, Adalynn Eva, in July 2017.

I now know exactly what I need to do to control my symptoms and diet so I can enjoy life with my husband and daughters.

I feel so lucky and wish that more women with PCOS know that a simple diet could change everything. "

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