Copyright 2020 LISA H. GREGORY PH.D
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Contents
INTRODUCTION
Many people r unfamiliar wth the trng-undng ndtn of polycystic vr ndrm (PCOS). Frm nfrtlt to hrt disease, th brd reach of PCOS can ntmdt nd vrwhlm even th most health-conscious women who r u to d on th nntn between thr dt, lifestyle, nd health. Thr a lt to lrn, nd a lot w still dont understand about th ndrm.
Althugh certainly no n hopes fr a diagnosis f PCOS, if uv finally rvd the diagnosis, rest urd that th is a condition u n do something but. Th dt and lftl changes that n hl u manage your PCOS r not xtrm rmmndtn.
Eating wll nd ldng n active lifestyle hv uh far-reaching effects on n hlth and ult f lf: mr energy, mrvd md, bttr sleep, mrvd self-and bd mg, better sex, nd l tr, to nm jut a fw benefits. A rtn munt f the stress mn l fl comes frm th knowledge tht thr nt doing ll th n t rtt thr hlth.
Strtng t h w at th lt f things w knw w should b doing offers a certain amount f relief in tlf. Th dt nd lftl rmmndtn outlined thrughut th book are solid, hlthful ideas tht nn n follow. Wth a dgn f PCOS, you jut have more of an incentive t mk th hng.
CHAPTER ONE
Polycystic Ovary Sndrm
Plt vr ndrm (PCOS) is n f the most common ndrn drdr. Thr n ur fr PCOS, but rrh ndt tht rtn dtr and lftl changes can hl you mng th condition. If u hv PCOS, your doctor will lkl recommend a rnlzd PCOS dt ln as a frt-ln treatment to help wth the rng of mtm and potential complications you m experience du t hrmnl mbln, nuln rtn, nd inflammation.
Th Ft about PCOS
PCOS th mt common fml hrmnl drdr and th primary u f an vultr infertility (nfrtlt ud b lack f regular vultn). Th ndrm h bn rgnzd as hvng dmgng lflng hlth fft. PCOS is tmtd t affect 5 t 10 rnt of all women durng thr rrdutv r. According t the 2000 U.S. Census, there r mr thn 140 million fml n th United Stt thats u t 14 mlln wmn wh m develop th ndtn during thr lftm. Research uggt tht up t 30 rnt f wmn xrn m mtm f th drdr, rfrrd to nnl r variant PCOS. With th drmt nr n hldhd bt, which ftn leads to rlr nt mntrutn, PCOS starting to show u n younger girls. Tht mn mr r t lv with th dmgng hlth consequences of this ndrm tht nvr g w. It is a lflng, hrn ndtn.
Th u f PCOS not clearly undrtd, but its blvd t b a complex gnt drdr lkl nvlvng multl genes. The gn nvlvd m be th that regulate function f the hthlmu, th tutr glnd, nd th vr, wll th gn rnbl fr insulin rtn, whh blvd to b th drvng fr fr mt of th gn nd mtm of the disorder. In fact, women wth PCOS xrn mlr risk fr th dvlmnt of metabolic and rdvulr problems th diagnosed wth mtbl ndrm, nthr common nd mlx hlth problem that escalating in th U.S. ultn nd drvng th national dm f diabetes nd heart disease. This mk n: insulin resistance is a contributing ftr n both ndtn.
Depending on th rrh u read, anywhere frm 50 t 80 percent of women wth PCOS r vrwght r b. The incidence f PCOS n th U.S. ultn h rllld the increase in bt, suggesting a strong connection btwn body wght nd the vrt of th condition. Althugh obesity has nt bn dntfd a u f PCOS, carrying around x wght worsens t gn nd mtm. Women wth th ndrm ftn tr fat rund th mddl, knwn vrl adiposity, which bll means tht th tnd t wr x bd fat rund thr internal rgn. Th t f body fat trg genetic, known t ggrvt nuln rtn, nd r blood rur nd th rk f heart d.
PCOS n l trigger a ht of physical symptoms, mt f whh r ud b xv rdutn of ndrgn, r ml-t hrmn, like tttrn. The hllmrk f nuln resistance is hghr circulating lvl f nuln, whh n hv a rul toxic effect n hormone rdutn n th ovaries. Higher rultng insulin levels nr the rl of n mrtnt rrdutv hrmn lld lutnzng hrmn (LH) frm th pituitary glnd. Both LH nd nuln thn tmult th th ll in th ovaries t rdu tttrn, which toxic t egg development. Production f tttrn doesnt make u n less of a wmn. All wmn mk m tttrn (nd ll mn rdu m estrogen), but n th ovaries trgn huld rdmnt over tttrn. Whn excess insulin tmult a d fft whr testosterone rdmnt vr estrogen, gg dnt dvl nrmll.
Phl gn tht androgen levels m b tl include excess hr growth n th f, ht, and bk (male-pattern grwth); thnnng f the hr on th rwn f th hd; n; nd a tendency t gain much mlgnd belly fat (n l-hd bd d t th hlthr r-hd bd, where bd ft is stored more n th buttocks nd thgh).
Women wth PCOS r l at grtr rk of a number f lf threatening chronic hlth problems. Mt concerning th nntn btwn PCOS nd type 2 dbt. Diabetes xldng in the U.S. ultn. T 2 dbt has nrd 40 rnt n the rl 2000. Undiagnosed diabetes is vn tm mr lkl in wmn wth PCOS, mrd wth mlr-g wmn without th condition. In fact, 30 to 40 percent of wmn wth PCOS have prediabetes (tht is, th dont t hv full-blwn dbt, but th r lrd hwng gn of insulin rtn, whh u t 2 dbt). As mn as 10 percent of wmn with PCOS dvl full-blwn dbt b g forty.3 A rntl rld rrt ublhd n th jurnl Dbt Cr uggt tht vr the nxt twnt-fv r, the number of Amrn lvng wth diabetes will nrl dubl, nrng frm 23.7 mlln in 2009 t 44.1 mlln in 2034. Ovr the m rd, spending n dbt wll lmt trl, rng frm $113 billion to $336 billion, even wth no nr n th rvln of bt.
Hrt disease ntnu to b the number-one kllr of bth wmn nd mn n the Untd Stt, nd women wth PCOS hv a fur t seven times higher risk f heart attack than women of th m age wthut the syndrome. Endmtrl nr l a rk fr wmn with PCOS. The hrmn trgn trggr th grwth of ll tht line th utru, whh r usually shed n a mnth due t th ng fft f th hrmn rgtrn. But n cases of PCOS, where rd are nntnt r absent, th lining of th utru buld up, raising th rk f ndmtrl hrl (overgrowth f the endometrium), whh down the rd may lead t ndmtrl nr. Hrnulnm (lvtd blood levels f nuln du t nuln rtn) is common n PCOS nd n nurg th grwth of potentially cancerous ll. If left untreated, rrh suggests tht ndmtrl hrl dvn to endometrial cancer in mn 30 rnt of .
Wth mn women hvng hldrn ltr n life, th number of women rurng fertility trtmnt is l n the r, and the hrmnl hng n in PCOS hv been rgnzd t b a mjr player in th wrld f infertility. If a wmn with PCOS d become rgnnt, h t hghr rk of gestational (pregnancy-induced) dbt, which rnt a rk t bth th mthr nd the developing bb. Sm rrh uggt tht wmn wth PCOS r thr tm mr lkl t mrr than wmn wthut th drdr.
Anthr threatening t f PCOS is tht lthugh 5 t 30 rnt of women may have PCOS r some f t symptoms, awareness but the ndrm vn among many hlth-r rvdr rmn ndut. The emergence of information on th rvln f th ndrm is vr much like what hnd with fbrmlg nd hypothyroidism n the 1990s. Prr t th drdr being recognized affecting lrg numbr f wmn, many women and clinicians fld to rgnz the mtm a collection f mlnt caused b n underlying hlth rblm. Td, both drdr are wdl rgnzd trtbl, as PCOS.
A Htrl Lk t PCOS
In th medical literature th rlt mention f lt vr syndrome dt bk more thn 150 r t Frn, whr the first official description f polycystic-appearing vr w made n 1845. In th early 1900 a fw ltd reports began to emerge drbng a rdur lld a wedge rtn (th rmvl f a tn f th vr) ud t treat t changes in the vr, but knwldg w tll vr muh isolated t trtng the vrn t. An understanding f th systemic rh f the ndtn was tll r away. In 1935 th Amrn gnlgt Irving Stn nd Mhl Lvnthl ublhd a paper on thr fndng n vn women with amenorrhea (th absence of mntrutn), hirsutism (excessive thk hair grwth in ml-ttrn r), bt, nd t-rng ovaries. Th w n f the frt drtn f th complex condition known td PCOS, whh at th time w trmd Stein-Leventhal ndrm ftr th trailblazing hn wh had frt td th mtm tgthr. Bu f th vr t rn, Stein nd Lvnthl rfrrd to the ndtn lt ovarian disease, but more w lrnd about PCOS, th trm ndrm began t mrg.