Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) affects between 10-20% of women or 1 in 5 of your friends!
This systemic endocrine and metabolic syndrome is becoming increasingly popular among Australian women with many pharmaceutical drugs and therapies being prescribed to ease symptoms, but a more natural remedy is available.
What causes PCOS?
The root cause of PCOS of largely unknown, many experts in the field believe that the condition is primarily genetic and can run in families. Triggered by a hormone imbalance the ovaries make abnormal amount of the male hormones androgens resulting in the symptoms of PCOS.
It is also believed that factors such as insulin resistance, low-grade inflammation, elevated cortisol and chronic stress can trigger PCOS in individuals.
How do you know if you’ve got PCOS?
PCOS is usually found in young adult women. The first symptom of PCOS is often a lack of ovulation or the ceasing of your period. Due to the high levels of hormones flowing through the body patients may experience unexplained weight gain, acne, increased hair growth and elevated insulin.
PCOS has also been linked to anxiety and depression as well as infertility.
What to do if you think you might have PCOS…
The first step is to contact your health care professional, your health care team can conduct tests to diagnose your symptoms. PCOS can be detected by testing the pituitary gland, insulin levels. and monitoring ovarian hormone level and androgens.
As part of your PCOS health care team you should engage with a naturopath to determine the root cause of your PCOS and discuss diet, herbal medicine and other potentially life changing treatments. Everyone is different and the causes of your PCOS may differ to others.
What lifestyle changes can I make to help with PCOS?
There are a few very easy, small changes you can make to help with your PCOS.
The number one thing to focus on is diet and exercise. By reducing your body fat and increasing your exercise routine you can begin to control your bodies insulin resistance. Adopting a low-glycemic diet focused on lean protein will also assist in balancing your insulin with give you great results.
How can you take a holistic approach to Menopause?
Many traditional forms and medicine turn to synthetic hormones and antidepressants to treat women in menopause. These chemical-based pharmaceuticals can have serious side effects on our healthy with little relief from the symptom’s patients with menopause face.
By taking a holistic approach to your health and menopause you are welcoming a safer and often more effective approach to health care.
The focus of this approach is to balance the hormones through diet, nutritional supplementation, bioidentical hormones and naturally occurring antidepressants.
When presenting to your general practitioner with symptoms of menopause such as hot flushes many women are prescribed with antidepressants or serotonin reuptake inhibitors such a Zoloft, Prozac and Effexor. These heavy-duty drugs can have serious side effects for women’s physical and mental health such as;
- Agitation
- Suicidal thoughts
- Loss of bone density
- Nausea
- Diarrhea
- Insomnia
- Decreased sexual desire
- Inability to orgasm
If you would like to explore a safer more holistic approach to menopause, please contact our friendly team today.