January 31st, 2011
The number of people with pre-diabetes in the U.S. is now thought to be 79 million, with many women suffering from this condition because it is closely linked with PCOS. That’s a very sizable proportion of the American population who risk developing type 2 diabetes if they neglect their current condition.
Luckily, you can increase your chances of avoiding the slide into this even more serious form of diabetes and improve your management of PCOS at the same time by relatively small changes in lifestyle. Pre-diabetes is reversible and it doesn’t require you to completely overhaul your diet or run a marathon.
There’s no single perfect diet to stave of type 2 diabetes. But eating healthy food can help prevent high blood sugar. That means switching to healthy fats like those found in olive and canola oil, fish and walnuts, Plus you should eat lean animal protein such as skinless chicken, while skipping refined carbohydrates like white bread, cornflakes and white rice.
Tomorrow we’ll have some more tips for avoiding type 2 diabetes, which is irreversible in the majority of cases and often requires daily injections of insulin.
The type 2 viarety is a severely increased risk for blindness, kidney disease and the need for amputation.
January 29th, 2011
It’s essential to do so, no matter what your age.
For a start, PCOS can disrupt the menstrual cycle. This affects general health because having regular periods during child-bearing years is important to prevent osteoporosis and maintain the protective effects of estrogen and progesterone on the body.
Older women are also affected by PCOS. The condition can make post-menopausal women vulnerable to osteoporosis, too, along with an increased chance of type 2 diabetes and heart-damaging metabolic syndrome. Younger PCOS sufferers also share an increased risk of these latter conditions.
A complete evaluation by a doctor includes a physical examination, checking for insulin resistance, a fasting lipid profile, a glucose test, a check on hormone levels and an insulin test. A blood sample is very informative for testing elevated thyroid and prolactin levels. If these tests come up positive, doctors look for an altered FSH-to-LH ratio and increased levels of androgens. A pelvic ultrasound is sometimes suggested. It can be possible to see the pearl-necklace pattern of cysts from PCOS on some women’s ovaries.
If there is any abdominal pain or pressure around the ovaries, an evaluation is certainly necessary. In most cases, a woman will be monitored on a regular basis to make sure her cysts are not at risk for rupture.
If you have PCOS or think you do, take heart in realizing there are many things you can do to alleviate or even reverse your symptoms naturally, without drugs. Like any condition related to hormone imbalance, taking the right steps to improve your lifestyle via nutrition and regular exercise can help to restore you to good health.
January 28th, 2011
It’s essential to cut back on your salt intake to below 2300 mgs. a day, which is the equivalent of a teaspoon of table salt. Too much salt can raise blood pressure, a classic symptom of heart disease which is closely linked to PCOS.
The simplest way to reduce salt intake is to stop cooking with salt. You may be surprised at just how much flavor you can add to a meal. Depending on the type of meal you’re making, try ditching salt for pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, basil, oregano, celery seed, sage and dill.
Lemon juice and apple cider vinegar add a tasty kick to vegetables. And nutritional yeast adds a savory flavoring to sauces and stews.
Remove the salt shaker from the table. Replace it with a seasoning of your own, such as a combo of garlic powder, onion powder and lemon pepper.
Read labels carefully when shopping at the grocery store. Compare brands for each item and choose the one with the lowest sodium content. Whenever possible, choose sodium-free varieties, especially in canned goods. If all you can find are regular canned goods, rinse the vegetables or fruit in water to remove as much excess salt as possible.
Skip the saltiest of foods, such as canned meats and fish, ham, bacon and sausage, salted nuts and peanut butter, chips, olives, cheese and pickles.
Choose fresh over prepared and packaged meals, which is where the majority of our salt intake comes from. Instead, buy foods as fresh as possible and make your meals from scratch.
Avoid salty condiments, like soy sauce, steak sauce, tamari and Worcestershire sauce.
Make your own salad dressing. You can find recipes online or experiment with your own. Try a combo of virgin olive oil, apple cider vinegar, dill, garlic and pepper.
Stay away from fast food. It is sky-high in salt content (not to mention fat).
January 27th, 2011
Restaurant meals can play havoc with your healthy PCOS regime because they often come drowning in sauce or smothered in dressing and salt. Some contain nearly three days’ worth of the recommended daily salt intake.
Those of us with PCOS are vulnerable to heart disease. So it was alarming when a survey of 17 national chains calculated that 85 out of 102 meals contained more than a day’s worth of salt, with some packing more than 6,000 mgs of sodium.
That figure is almost three times the American Heart Association recommended maximum daily limit of 2,300 mgs, which is the equivalent of a teaspoon of table salt.
Excess salt is a major risk factor for heart disease-linked high blood pressure. Too much also ups your odds of developing kidney disease.
Conversely, cutting sodium consumption by 25-35% can lead to a 25% decrease in the risk of a heart attack or stroke.
Tomorrow we’ll look at ways of to cut back on salt intake … without really noticing!
