May 31st, 2011
What you eat has a huge impact on your health in general and PCOS in particular … and white rice should not be part of your diet.
The National Center for Global Health and Medicine in Japan has just reported that women who consumed the most white rice had 2.5 times the risk of developing PCOS-linked diabetes as compared to women who ate the least amount. Both diabetes and PCOS share a common root cause, namely insulin resistance.
The reason that white rice is a problem is that it’s a refined carbohydrate. In contrast, brown rice is unrefined.
Refined carbohydrates cause havoc with your blood sugar and insulin levels as well as disturbing metabolic processes and causing an imblance among other hormones.
No matter whether you are lean or overweight, any refined carbohydrate is detrimental to minimizing the effects of PCOS.
Try to stop eating white rice and switch to brown. Most people end up prefering the taste of brown rice once they’ve tried it a few times
May 30th, 2011
Scientific evidence is growing that cinnamon extract appears to help the body control blood sugar levels.
Controlling blood sugar is especially important for women with PCOS because it can help to reduce or even reverse the hormonal imbalance called insulin resistance, which is thought to be the #1 cause of polycystic ovarian syndrome.
Studies suggest that cinnamon may have an insulin-like effect on cells, triggering them to take glucose out of the blood. Alternatively, cinnamon may cause an increase in the activity of the transporter proteins that move glucose out of the blood stream and into cells.
In a recent study by Columbia University, a group of 15 women with PCOS were given either cinnamon extract or a placebo in their diets for two months.The women who took the cinnamon had a significant improvement in their insulin function. In sharp contrast, the women taking the placebo showed no improvement.
It’s not all good news, however. Cinnamon may increase the risk of liver problems and reduce the blood’s ability to clot. Because cinnamon may lower blood-sugar levels, caution should be exercised when combining it with common diabetic medications and/or supplements that may also lower sugar levels. Some of these supplements include: alpha lipoic acid, bitter melon, chromium, devil’s claw, fenugreek, garlic, horse chestnut, Panax, Siberian ginseng and psyllium.
Check with your doctor to see if cinnamon is right for you.
May 27th, 2011
It’s well-known that omega-3 fish oil can help to improve a number of PCOS-related issues, such as depression, chronic inflammation, heart disease, high blood pressure, high blood fats (triglycerides), diabetes and stress.
But could fish oil also benefit your body shape? A new study from the Department of Health
Sciences at Gettysburg College suggests it might.
Researchers gave one group of women 4gm of fish oil while another group took 4gm of safflower oil. Compared to the safflower oil group, the fish oil group gained lean (muscle) mass while losing significant fat mass.
The fish oil group also tended to have reduced levels of cortisol – a stress hormone that contributes to increased fat, especially around the middle.
The finding was particularly significant for PCOS sufferers because women with polycystic ovarian syndrome often have elevated cortisol levels.
May 26th, 2011
Yesterday we reported on how new research has shown for the first time that the heart-damaging amino acid called homocysteine is reduced in overweight young PCOS women when they exercise regularly.
A normal amount of homocysteine is healthy. But an elevated level means that your metabolic processes are not working properly and it can lead to premature atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), especially in connection with PCOS.
Elevated homocysteine is also associated with heart attacks, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, cognitive impairment and cervical cancer. Women with PCOS generally have higher levels of homocysteine compared to females without the condition.
Too much homocysteine is particularly bad news for women suffering from polycystic ovarian syndrome because they usually also have a cluster of cardiovascular risk factors, such as excess weight, blood fat abnormalities, impaired glucose tolerance, insulin resistance and high blood pressure (hypertension).
Researchers examined the effects of exercise on homocysteine concentrations in young, overweight or obese PCOS women. Twenty-one women undertook a six-month program, with 12 following an ab exercise regime. The others did not.
The exercisers showed a significant decrease in homocysteine concentrations and waist-to-hip ratio and a significant increase in oxygen consumption, compared to the non-exercisers.
