PCOS living with
Researches believe insulin (a hormone that controls the change of sugar, starches, and other food into energy for the body to use or store) may be linked to PCOS. PCOS is an issue of insulin resistance, but it is much more than that. Saying it is about insu- lin resistance makes 2 mistakes:
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1) people think that means it is always about obesity and starchy/sugary carbs (many with PCOS are not obese and eat low carb diets)
2) It often pulls attention away from the other issue, which is the brain-ovary connection.
Here is a little background on normal menses. At the begin-
ning of a woman’s cycle, the hypothalamus (a part of the brain just above the brain stem) secretes ganodatropin-releasing hor- mone (GnRH). This hormone then activates the release of follicle- stimulating hormone (FSH) and leutinizing hormone (LH). These two hormones are involved in ripening the follicle (the place where the egg is held), causing the follicle to rupture and release an egg.
FSH causes the ovarian follicle to mature/ripen and this is the primary defect in PCOS (the follicle fails to mature). An im- mature follicle will not develop a mature egg and when the “LH surge” happens, the release of an egg is unable to occur and a cyst form instead. All of this also results in rising estrogen and testosterone
levels and a low or absent progesterone level. This is because only after an egg is released will the follicle become the corpus luteum, which is the major source of progesterone in a non- pregnant woman (interestingly women and men have the same level of progesterone until the follicle ruptures and the corpus luteum forms). This lack of formation of the corpus luteum—and therefore
a lack of progesterone—further disrupts the cycle since proges- terone is needed to prime estrogen receptors and visa versa. All of this together creates a negative hormonal feedback effect on the brain, which then in turn impacts the ovaries. In time this can develop into all manner of hormonal issues including infertility. PCOS varies form woman to woman and can result in a
spectrum of menstrual disorders making it difficult to pinpoint and diagnose. This is an exceedingly frustrating situation for women and their healthcare providers. Each woman with PCOS requires a different approach, and patience is required when working the way back to normal hormonal regulation.
What causes PCOS The cause of PCOS is debated and it is likely not one single
factor. Stress is a huge issue, but as everyone knows, stress is one of the most elusive terms used in medicine and health. What exactly is stress? Some of the other contributing factors are thought to be excess estrogen exposure through environmental estrogen (milk, water, plastics, etc), excess insulin production, and increased metabolic tension (tension is another word for
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NaturalTriad.com
olycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a condition in which there is an imbalance of a woman's female sex hor- mones. This hormone imbalance may cause changes in the menstrual cycle, skin changes, small cysts in the ovaries, trouble getting pregnant, and other problems.
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