What is PCOS?
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine system disorder among women of reproductive age. It is a condition where the female sex hormones estrogen and proestrogen are out of balance.
Symptoms
Irregular periods or no periods at all
Infertility
Excessive hair growth (hirsutism) – usually on the face, chest, back or buttocks
Weight gain and/or trouble losing weight
Thinning hair and hair loss from the head
Acne
Dark patches of skin on the back of your neck and other areas, called acanthosis nigricans (a-can-tho-sis ni-gri-cans)
Is There A Cure For PCOS?
At the moment, there is no cure for PCOS. A popular course of treatment offered by Doctors, which I have previously followed and do not agree with, is the Birth Control Pill. A problem with the birth control pill is that it does not actually treat PCOS, it merely masks the symptoms.
Doctors, unfortunately, do not know anything else apart from the Pill and suggesting you lose weight to treat your PCOS.
PCOS is a condition in which a woman's hormones are imbalanced. Therefore the root cause of all PCOS symptoms is a hormone imbalance. While the type and cause of a woman's PCOS may differ, the problem is a hormone imbalance. Therefore, it is not about treating the symptoms such as losing weight, you have to treat the root cause.
How Can You Reverse Your PCOS?
If PCOS is a hormone imbalance, that obviously means we need to follow an approach that will helps us rebalance them and this is something you can do naturally yourself.
I am a firm believer in the power of food and exercise. The quote of I always find myself referring to is-
"Every time you eat or drink, you are either feeding disease or fighting it.” ~ Heather morgan
Hormone imbalances are mostly caused due to poor diet and lifestyle. Therefore, if your hormones imbalance is caused as a result of poor diet/nutrition or a stressful lifestyle, improving both your diet and lifestyle can help to reverse the problem. Seems legit, right?
Food and Your Hormones
Fats. When I talk about fats, I mean the 'healthy fats', monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. One of the six key roles of fats in the body is to help manufacture and balance hormones. High-fat diets increase the number of estrogens in the blood, and when women adopt low-fat diets, their estrogen levels drop.
Sugar. Sugar is known to increase blood sugar levels and in turn, lead to spikes in insulin. Insulin is released by the pancreas when we eat, however, carbs specifically sugar stimulates more of a release. If you suffer from insulin resistance (insulin resistance is when the cells in the body have trouble absorbing glucose in the blood and in turn there is a buildup of sugar in the blood), your ovaries begin to produce a lot of androgens.
It is vital that you take control and balance your blood sugar levels. Balancing your blood sugar levels and managing your insulin levels is one of the most important steps when it comes to reversing your PCOS.
Avoid extreme low carbohydrate diets. Our hormones need carbohydrates.
Reducing your carb intake too low or eliminating carbohydrates from your diet is not good for your thyroid. It is vital for women especially that we eat carbohydrates for our fertility/menstrual health.
The hypothalamus produces the Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone; a low Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone is the cause of irregular menstrual cycles.
Many women with PCOS are also insulin resistant. A popular path to go on in order to manage insulin resistance is to eliminate carbohydrates entirely. While you may think you are treating it, you have not healed it by getting to the root cause.
You do not have to eliminate carbs, simply opt for better carb options, complex carbs such as quinoa and buckwheat. These types of carbs have a low Glycemic Index and in turn, will not increase your blood sugar levels or your insulin.
Stop Low-Calorie dieting. Our bodies are clever they know when there is a severe restriction of energy. Once the body detects this energy restriction reproductive hormonesare affected, your menstrual cycle, sex drive, but also your bones and heart.
Our body undertakes these responses in order to save energy. When your body is in a starving state it shuts down reproduction as there are not enough calories for one person let alone two. Your body is more focused on saving energy for survival.
Caffeine. Caffeine is not the best for your adrenals. Drinking coffee stimulates the release of both cortisol and adrenaline. Your body switches to the 'fight or flight' mode. The burst of adrenaline is great for performance. However, the problem is that over the use of caffeine can cause you to burn out, which results in adrenal fatigue. Every time you drink caffeine you force your adrenal glands to secrete even when they do not really have much-left give. Eventually, your body crashes and over time, you begin to feel even more tired and fatigued.
Stress
Stress Management. Stress causes inflammation in the body and is turn a cause of PCOS and hormone imbalances. Managing your stress is so crucial for reversing PCOS.
Exercise
Exercise regularly. Exercise not only helps with weight loss, but it can also help with other PCOS symptoms such as stress and anxiety. Research shows that resistance training, however, is a great form of exercise for women with PCOS who are also insulin resistant.
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Author Despina, owner of PCOS and Nutrition
pcosandnutrition.com is an educational, informative and motivational website. The main focus of the website is for women who suffer from PCOS. The blog is dedicated to offering information on how women can heal their body and how PCOS can be managed. The content is full of information on nutrition for women with PCOS, to an array of recipes that are healthy and PCOS friendly but also motivational and inspirational posts. However, the website also offers further educational information on other health and fitness topics that are beneficial for anybody and everybody that is interested or looking to understand and learn about nutrition.
