PCOS – What is it? Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome aka Polycystic Ovarian Disease manifests in a number of cysts covering the uterus, full of immature follicles (eggs) accompanied by hormonal abnormalities as well as abnormalities in ovulation and menstruation. This is a metabolic condition related to insulin resistance and glucose intolerance.
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Common symptoms are failure to ovulate, obesity, acne, menstrual irregularities and hirsutism (hair growth on skin). Severe cases manifest with all the symptoms while moderate and mild cases only have some.
How does PCOS lead to Infertility?
Infertility is caused by the inability to ovulate because of excessive production of androgens (testosterone) and inadequate oestrogen and progesterone production by the gut. Because of an insufficient quantity of FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) androgens can’t be converted to oestrogen, and follicles cannot mature and ovulate.
How to Deal with PCOS Naturally?
Studies have found that nearly all cases of infertility due to ovulatory disorders might be prevented with lifestyle and dietary modifications. Therefore that is where you should begin. There are numerous important elements that play a role in PCOS. Depending on which is most feature for you will establish the first line of therapy.
- Balancing Insulin – Insulin resistance was shown to contribute to excess production of androgens from the ovaries. Insulin resistance goes hand in hand with obesity or being overweight especially around the center (visceral fat = fat around the organs). However insulin resistance may also be found among individuals that aren’t obese or overweight. If you’re overweight and have PCOS it’s wise that you loose weight and correct insulin resistance. Insulin resistance means that the cells aren’t responding to insulin when it knocks with a fresh batch of sugar. This is normally due to saturation of insulin at the receptor sites of these cells from a diet high in processed and simple carbohydrates. This results in excess glucose in the blood stream and not enough in the cells. This in turn contributes to fatigue and lethargy and increased risk of bacterial infections (due to excessive glucose outside the cells) and diabetes.
- Addressing Testosterone & Promoting Ovulation and Menstruation
- Excess androgens (testosterone) stem from an excessive amount of LH (lutenizing hormone) being produced by the body over FSH (follicle stimulating hormone). This subsequently leads to immature eggs that never reach the ovulation period and wind up forming small cysts on the ovaries. A sort of estrogen may be converted into testosterone in fat tissue that is another reason for making certain you loose weight if you’re overweight. Normalizing your hormones and getting your body to make sufficient number of hormones to ovulate and maintain pregnancy is the key and the final result of all of the treatment plans for PCOS.
- Avoid alcohol, coffee, soft drinks, sugar and juices containing sugar, refined carbohydrates (white bread, biscuits, chocolate, lollies etc.. .) .
- Eat little protein rich foods every 3 hours to balance your blood sugar.
- Exercise regularly – weights and cardio (the more muscles you have the more fat you will burn).
- Add cinnamon to your cooking. It’s been found to increase insulin sensitivity in women with PCOS. Porridge is a superb way to have some cinnamon into your daily diet in addition to apples baked in the oven sprinkled with some cinnamon and crushed nuts.
- Minimize your consumption of animal and dairy products (even if they’re organic) altogether. This is a result of the high content of hormones, pesticides and herbicides that are known endocrine disruptors (they play havoc with your hormones and this can result in anovulation). Vegetarian diets and diets rich in fiber are shown to be quite beneficial in states where hormonal equilibrium is disturbed like PCOS. Though the animal wasn’t given synthetic hormones it generated its own hormones that will nevertheless be reflected in the meat or milk.
- Excess androgen production was shown to positively react to ingestion of licorice so incorporate some fresh licorice from a natural shop.
- Eat more: adzuki beans, basil, cayenne, chestnut, chives, eggplant, garlic, ginger, kohlrabi, leek, nutmeg, pepper, rice, rosemary, spearmint.
- Reduce stress with mediation, yoga, breathing exercises, 8 hours of sleep, regular exercise, lavender, lemon balm and chamomile tea.
- See a naturopath or a herbalist as many herbal remedies are proven to handle PCOS successfully.
- Take a good quality multivitamin and fish oil.
