Here are several easily sourceable foods, medicinal drinks, and lifestyle recommendations available in Sri Lanka to maintain healthy female hormonal balance (especially for PMOS/PCOS conditions) and uterine health.
Consuming these provides immense support in reducing insulin resistance and controlling male hormone levels.
- Sri Lankan Food Recommendations
To manage PMOS, you must select fiber-rich foods that do not cause sudden spikes in blood sugar levels.
Heirloom and Unpolished Rice: Instead of white rice and wheat flour foods, consume red unpolished rice or traditional local rice varieties such as Heenati, Kuruluthuda, or Pachchaperumal.
Leafy Greens and Salad Mallum: Incorporate Gotukola (Asiatic pennywort), Kankun (water spinach), Mukunuwenna (sessile joyweed), and especially Murunga (Moringa) leaves into your meals. Moringa leaves are highly beneficial for balancing hormones and managing insulin.
Local Root Crops / Yams: For breakfast or dinner, eat boiled sweet potatoes, Kiri Ala (taro), or Raja Ala (king yam). Minimize the consumption of regular white potatoes.
Spices: Generously add fenugreek, cinnamon, turmeric, and ginger to your food. Cinnamon improves the efficiency of insulin activity in the body by about 40%.
Pulses and Grains: Eat chickpeas, mung beans, cowpeas, and black gram (Udu). According to Ayurveda, mung beans and black gram are emmenagogue foods, meaning they help regulate menstrual cycles.
- Medicinal Juices & Drinks
Completely stop consuming sugar-sweetened artificial beverages and incorporate these natural drinks into your daily routine instead:
Hathawariya (Shatavari) Porridge / Herbal Gruel: Hathawariya is a premier Ayurvedic herb that strengthens the female reproductive system. At least three times a week, drink herbal porridge made from Hathawariya, curry leaves, or Ranawara (Tanner's cassia) leaves, without adding excessive sugar or thick coconut milk.
Cinnamon and Fenugreek Infusion: Soak a teaspoon of fenugreek seeds and a piece of cinnamon bark in a glass of water overnight. The next morning, warm the water and drink it on an empty stomach. This rapidly helps control insulin levels.
Nelli and Rasakinda Drink: Boiling and drinking dried Nelli (Indian gooseberry) and Rasakinda (Heart-leaved moonseed) reduces excessive heat/stress in the body (Pitta Dosha) and purifies the blood.
Kekiri or Cucumber Juice: Drinking unsweetened juices made from Kekiri (cooking melon), cucumber, or ash gourd helps with weight loss as they are cooling, very low in calories, and rich in fiber.
Belimal or Ranawara Tea: Replace regular tea or coffee with water boiled with Belimal (Beli flowers) or Ranawara flowers.
- Lifestyle Recommendations
Along with diet, altering your lifestyle accounts for 50% of the success in overcoming PMOS (PCOS).
Daily Exercise: Engage in brisk walking for at least 30–45 minutes a day. Exercises that strengthen the lower body and core muscles (such as squats) significantly improve blood circulation to the ovaries.
Nighttime Sleep: Train yourself to go to bed before 10:00 PM. Sleeping at the correct time balances Melatonin and Cortisol, which regulate the body's hormones.
Minimize Plastic Usage: Avoid putting hot food or beverages into plastic containers. When chemicals like BPA found in plastics enter the body, they act as endocrine disruptors by mimicking estrogen, throwing the entire hormonal system into disarray. Use clay, glass, or stainless steel utensils instead.
Stress Management: Practice Pranayama (breathing exercises) or meditation for at least 10 minutes a day. When stress increases, the progesterone hormone produced by the body can convert into cortisol, which can completely halt the menstrual cycle.
Special Advice: Never skip breakfast under the assumption that it helps with weight loss. Skipping breakfast actually increases insulin resistance. Instead, eat a nutritious, traditional local meal in the morning.
Recommendations Prepared by: Dr. Harshana Niriella