Catching up with Dr. Nancy Dunne

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Nancy Dunne, co-author of The Natural Diet Solution for PCOS and Infertility. I was curious to know why a naturopathic physician from Montana would dedicate over 3 years of her career to co-author a book to help women with PCOS.

She mentioned that when her daughter was 16, her menstrual difficulties and persistent acne led to a diagnosis of PCOS.

Dr. Dunne explained, "This disturbing discovery galvanized me to do research in order to create a safe, effective treatment plan for her. The success we had with her treatment was so exciting; I began to offer similar individualized treatments to women in my medical practice who had PCOS and fertility issues." Her daughter is now 25 and has been following her mother's PCOS Diet for almost 10 years. "There are periods of time when she is less pristine with her diet. She has learned that she can't be cavalier for more than two weeks at a time or her acne returns."

Dr. Dunne acknowledges that it can be difficult for anyone, let alone a teenager or young adult to follow such a restricted diet. When embarking upon the PCOS Diet it can seem overwhelming. But Dr. Dunne asks her patients not to think of the diet initially in terms of "the rest of your life."

She has found that the number one thing that works for people is to start with "a committed pristine 6 weeks." Dr. Dunne explained that if you want to be free of the chemical effect of dairy or wheat, you have to totally eliminate it for at least 3 weeks. Even a nibble of cheese will re-stimulate the white blood cells (immunoglobulins) that are responsible for your symptoms.

It takes about 3 weeks to change a habit and 3 weeks to live with the body chemistry soothed by eliminating the offending foods. "100% of my patients are committed to the diet after the first 6 weeks." I asked her if I could quote her on this statistic and she said, "Absolutely! If they were pristine then they feel so good that they won't want to revert back to their old habits." But she also goes on to say that "100% of people will revert back to their old patterns of eating from time to time. But most people who settle in to the PCOS Diet as a life long choice realize that nothing tastes as good as feeling good feels."

Throughout our conversation Dr. Dunne stressed that our endocrine balance is affected by what we swallow. "I don't know anything that works better for hormone regulation than proper nutrition and exercise," she concluded.

I was very impressed with Dr. Dunne's knowledge of the intricacies of PCOS. She shares this knowledge via her extensive website - www.ovarian-cysts-pcos.com. It is definitely worth a visit.

– Amy Medling