Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome: it's overlooked aspects & how to improve your fertility
Nov 27, 2023
Watch my YouTube video about PCOS
PCOS is a very common reason for infertility in women as it results in anovulation and inadequate egg maturation.
PCOS is a disorder that many women experience. The good news is that there is so much you can do to manage it naturally and possibly heal it completely.
A combination of clinical symptoms lead to its diagnoses like elevated androgens in the blood, menstrual cycle irregularities and poly cystic ovary morphology in ultrasounds.
According to allopathic medicine, the root cause is unknown but certain conditions contribute to its onset and usually blood glucose medication is prescribed. It is mainly seen as a metabolic dysfunction.
Functional medicine, however, looks at a wider spectrum of contributors to the disease. if you're a woman of the reproductive age and you have been diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome, whether you re looking to conceive now, or in the future or not at all here are some things you need to know.
1.Inflammation plays a major role as research has shown that serum inflammatory markers are increased in PCOS patients. Focusing on finding the root cause of this inflammation as well as focusing on lowering it, may resolve some of your symptoms. How do you do that? Make sure you get a really good night’s sleep, try to resolve emotional, physical and mental stress, and eat an antioxidant rich diet to provide lots of anti-inflammatory nutrients.
2. Another very important piece of a puzzle is the gut microbiome. Research has shown that PCOS patients demonstrate compromised gut barrier integrity (what we also call leaky gut) as well as lower microbiome diversity. As nutritional therapists we focus on sorting out digestion and any gut related issues first before we address any other issues. To improve your gut function, working with a nutritional therapist is key! Gut health is so much more complicated than drinking kombucha or eating kimchi and in fact this foods can be harmful for some people. So be very careful with information that is out there around probiotic rich foods and gut health.
3. A very important aspect to look into when it comes to PCOS is toxicity and toxin exposure. Endocrine disrupting chemicals such as BPA or heavy metals, can disrupt metabolic and reproductive processes contributing to PCOS onset even from the utero. Try to remove plastic from your life as much as possible. For example take away cups, even the paper ones are also lined with plastic. Aluminium foil used often in cooking can leach compounds that can interfere with your hormones. Cleaning up your lifestyle can impact majorly your health!
4. Lastly, oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction have also been observed in PCOS patients. These are more complicated, genetic predispositions, however this doesn;t mean you can’t do something about it! Our DNA may define our predispositions and our tendencies but as we are now at the time of epigenetics we know that how we live, what we eat and how we think can influence the genetic expression of our genes. To reduce oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction, sleep, a low stress life and a good diet rich in fruits and vegetables is essential.
If you are experiencing PCOS know that there are many expressions of the condition and as nutritional therapists we have so many tools to support you whether you simply want to reduce your symptoms and put the condition on remission or work on having a baby in the future.
I help women with PCOS every day, click here to book your consultation.
