She’d been experiencing “incredibly painful” symptoms since the age of 15, including a cyst that had burst on one of her ovaries, leaving her hospitalised. But it wasn’t until years later that she took action, reading up on diet and lifestyle changes that might help in place of medication.
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“Instead of throwing more drugs at the problem, I looked at why does the problem exist,” she told Yahoo Lifestyle.
Via her research, she learned that PCOS is linked to insulin resistance. In fact, according to the Cleveland Clinic, “insulin resistance is one of the root physiological imbalances in most, if not all, PCOS.”
Jillian decided to overhaul her diet in an effort to “sensitise” her body to insulin. This new eating regime involved “no fake sugars, no processed sugars, no processed grains” or “things that drive insulin to the roof.”
“And over time, I pretty much had the situation under control,” she said, adding that since adopting these changes, she hadn’t “had an issue in about 20 years.”
“It’s about eating right, working out, and eating clean. A lot of chemicals that are in our food wreak havoc on your endocrine system.”
But despite her good health, Jillian doesn’t want others with PCOS to knock back the pill if it’s prescribed to them. After all, research shows this form of birth control can help regulate periods and lower androgen levels.
“I’m not saying if your doctor puts you on a birth control pill, say no,” Jillian explained. “I’m just saying for me personally, I was able to manage the situation with lifestyle.”
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