The Building Blocks of PCOS

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, or PCOS, is one of the most common hormonal disorders seen in females of a reproductive age and most classically results in hirsutism (hair growth in unwanted places) or Hair loss, Weight gain, Skipped Menstrual Cycles, and Infertility.  

Crucial Areas to Assess and Balance to win your war with PCOS: 

Inflammation: This process can be the result of a variety of underlying mechanisms.  Maybe autoimmunity is driving this, maybe a GI infection is driving this, maybe it’s the food you eat.  But, checking your biomarkers for inflammation and then identifying and removing sources of inflammation will be mandatory.

Stress: Did you know that stress can drive inflammation itself?  We intuitively know how bad “stress” is but hormonal disorders can be driven solely by stress.  Advanced testing can allow you to know exactly how high your stress hormone levels are, and then a person like myself could craft an individualized response and prevention strategy.

Insulin Resistance: Many do not know this, but underlying blood sugar dysregulation is an enormous driver of PCOS symptoms.  Testing your blood sugar markers, adjusting your dietary template, and using targeted nutrients/supplements can move this dial significantly.

Androgens: Androgens refer to your “testosterone + testosterone friends” levels.  These can be tested to understand exactly where YOU are on this spectrum and accordingly tracked as treatment plans are created and improvement happens.

Hormonal Imbalances:  Often we will see that Androgens are elevated in PCOS, and Estrogen and Progesterone are not in a proper dynamic balance in total.  This can result in missing your cycles.  Here again, we have the option to look deeply into your blood levels of hormones to assess and then track over time.  

Thyroid: Your thyroid manages metabolic activity, and if your thyroid is under-functioning that will worsen blood sugar concerns, which then further drive PCOS symptoms.

Environment.  Oof.  Our world is full of toxic exposures.  And so the idea is not to hide in a shell, but being curious about notable exposures from plastics, heavy metals, and/or pesticides and swiftly remove them.  This is an important aspect of balancing hormones.

Nutrition: I saved the best for last!  ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS, Nutrition is foundational.  PCOS is a condition that responds very well to nutritional changes, and typically a low carbohydrate diet +/- intermittent fasting can create a radical change.

All this being said, PCOS must still be individualized. So, talk with your doctor about your case — or pop over and allow us to support you if that is what resonates!