Home
Author: Nancy Dunne, NDbr
Source: ezinearticles.combr
br
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is the name given to a very complex condition in which a woman will have ovaries that are enlarged by many small, underdeveloped egg follicles, along with a pattern of other symptoms that rare caused by imbalances in reproductive and other hormones.
Symptoms of PCOS will vary but commonly include some combination of: Multiple, small, painless cysts that enlarge the ovaries Irregular or absent menstrual cycle Infertility Obesity or the inability to lose weight; persistent abdominal fat Hirsutism, which is excessive body or facial hair, thin scalp hair and/or acne Blood sugar abnormalities, usually hypoglycemia,or low blood sugar, and eventually high blood sugar Insulin resistance, and eventually diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.
Velvety, dark skin folds at neck and underarms (acanthosis nigricans) High cholesterol or triglycerides, and eventually cardiovascular disease Chronic inflammation, including autoimmune tendencies such as autoimmune thyroiditis Eating disorders Multiple hormone imbalances, commonly including: testosterone, cortisol, estrogen, FSH (follicle stimulating hormone), LH (luteinizing hormone), progesterone, prolactin, thyroid hormones, insulin, leptin, adiponectin Emotional depression
As this list suggests, PCOS is not simply a disorder of your ovaries alone. It is a body-wide disorder. It affects you physically and emotionally. Left untreated, PCOS becomes a multi-organ systemic disorder that leads to the development of the chronic degenerative diseases Americans are most likely to die from- heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers.
PCOS can be thought of as a point along a journey from health to disease. Because it is a point on a long slow change from health to a diseased state, medical specialists find it hard to agree on what PCOS is. We have yet to pin down and describe a single effective approach to treatment. However-
Research repeatedly shows that diet and exercise together are more effective at restoring regular menses and hormonal balance to women with PCOS than any drug therapy so far developed. Medical specialists acknowledge that diet and exercise are the fundamental defense against diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer
Food and Exercise Is Your Best Medicine. Your diet will play a huge role in the outcome of PCOS. Exercise and developing active muscle tone is how you will recover from and prevent the many health threats related to PCOS.
Improving the quality of the carbohydrates in your diet is more important and ultimately more effective than any drug you could possibly take. Eat only fresh, whole, preferably organically raised fruits, vegetable and grains.
Improving the quality of the protein and fat in your diet is essential to provide your system the raw material to restore hormone and blood sugar balance, and to arrive at and maintain a healthy weight. Eat only fresh, organically raised, grass-fed or wild lean animal proteins: eggs, poultry, beef, bison, lamb, and (only very occasional) pork. Game meat is great as is wild caught fish. You must eat animal protein, very day, at each meal. It is very difficult to correct the metabolic imbalances that express as PCOS on a vegetarian diet. If a vegetarian diet is essential to your religious or spiritual commitment, I highly recommend a personal consultation for guidance on how to approach this difficult circumstance.
Sources of Healthy Fats are essential to recover from PCOS. Best sources include fresh wild cold water fish; olive oil; fresh raw nuts and seeds; avocado; coconut; organic fermented dairy foods; organic eggs and meat
Essential fatty acids (EFAs) — Crucial for Dealing with PCOS EFAs are called essential because they must be obtained from your diet; you cannot manufacture them in your body. If you do not obtain these fats in the right amounts from your diet, you will eventually become sick.
EFAs are transformed by the body into hormone-like messengers called eicosanoids, which control many functions in all your tissues. Eicosanoids regulate the powerful impact insulin has on your reproductive hormones; they determine your level of cardiovascular risk and how likely you are to develop diabetes.
Remove Junk Food from your Diet. Junk foods are loaded with calories and no real nutrition. Refined foods make us overfed and undernourished. Junk foods are the problem, not protein or fat.
Exercise must be daily. Lifelong. Its what we were designed for, to be muscularly strong and active on a daily basis for our survival. A restorative exercise prescription might mean as much as 45 to 60 minutes of aerobic exercise and muscle toning daily; a maintenance routine will mean something less than that, but a sedentary or irregularly active lifestyle will inevitably mean declining health.
by Dr. Nancy Dunne, naturopathic physician and psychotherapist
br
br
pYou can get more information from my book, The Natural Diet Solution to PCOS and Infertility, as well as other self-help tools, at my a target=_new href=http://www.pcosdiet.org rel=nofollowPCOS Diet/a Site./ppBitterRoot Natural Medicine 200 East Pine Street Missoula, MT 59802 (406)728-8544/pbr
br