Nancy, our fearless editor, had a great post about her granddaughter’s astute observation of a correlation between fertility problems and obesity, and she mentioned how Polycycstic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is probably one of the most common conditions and causes of female infertility.
Interestingly, it is also secondarily related to obesity because it involves hormonal imbalances, particularly insulin resistance. Sound familiar? In my post on the Specific Carbohydrate diet, I wrote about how a bunch of us, in trying to help our children’s digestive problems, at the same time straightened out our excess carb intake (and exercise a lot more, what with all the veggie shredding and nut-flour grinding, etc.)–and then, oops! became pregnant. There was at least one oops! that was caused by a woman with PCOS assuming she was (and she ain’t no more) infertile.
PCOS is a syndrome, not a disease, which means it’s not a biological pathology on its own, it’s diagnosed by a constellation of symptoms, which include:
Irregular/few, or absent, menstrual periods; cycles that do occur may comprise heavy bleeding (*****check with a gynecologist, since heavy bleeding is also an early warning sign of endometrial cancer, for which women with PCOS are at higher risk)
Infertility, generally resulting from chronic anovulation (lack of ovulation)
Elevated serum (blood) levels of androgens (male hormones), specifically testosterone, androstenedione, and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS)
Hirsutism (excess hair)
Androgenic alopecia (baldness)
Acne / oily skin / seborrhea
Acanthosis nigricans (dark patches of skin, tan to dark brown/black)
Acrochordons (skin tags) – tiny flaps of skin
Prolonged periods of PMS-like symptoms (bloating, mood swings, pelvic pain, backaches)
Sleep apnea
And, last but not least, the symptom of obesity centered around the lower half of the torso: again, the stress-induced spare-tire fat that is also a sign of cortisol(a stress hormone) induced weight gain. Are we seeing a pattern here?
One of the reasons PCOS is so common is that it’s the ovaries’ JOB to make cysts, basically, with the monthly release of the egg; these are called “functional cysts”. However, this action is regulated by an intricate mix of hormones (estrogen, testosterone, etc.), which can be thrown off kilter by the many outside factors that have become a part of our lives.
Again, I’m not a medical professional, and all I have is my own experience, but having a healthy hormonal balance, no matter where you are in life, helps you enjoy life more. I am horrified to think of how my doctor merely prescribed hormonal birth control pills for me when I was having painful menses. They didn’t help that much, and with the SC diet, acupuncture, and my Fertility Blend vitamins, I’m much better. My sister was having similar problems and I was horrified to hear her doctor was prescribing Prozac for her. I think I’d rather try eating nut-flour muffins first…
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