Poly-cystic ovarian syndrome, an email I recieved today...

[emptywallet]

This was written to me today, by a female friend of mine. She knows how I operate with my own body such as dieting and bulking up, and knows I've tried every method under the sun in as many different ways. She knows I can help her make an informed decision on alot of things, so she wrote me this today.

This is hard to write... but I wanted an objective opinion and UVA has axed all nutrition courses due to budget cuts. Recently, I was told that I have hormone levels that are consistent with PCOS (poly-cystic ovarian syndrome). This condition also makes you insulin resistant. I've always been a little thicker than I'd like, and it never made sense to me because I've been eating a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet for probably about 4 years and I'm no less of an exerciser than your average gal. I know calorie deprivation is the worst method to lose weight so I haven't tried any crash diets.

Well everything I've been reading on this PCOS stuff says I should change my diet to something relatively low-carb, but not so low that I induce ketosis. I haven't had a real non-birth control induced period (I know, girl stuff sorry) since I was about 13 and supposedly losing weight will make it come back and solve my infertility. But man, low-carb is against everything I've been taught. If I'm not supposed to go so low that I am inducing ketosis.. I don't know where the benefit of being low-carb is. But I know that due to the insulin resistance crap that I could wind up a diabetic and I don't want that shit.

I made an appointment with an endocrinologist at the end of the month. Hopefully I'll get some answers. I don't really know exactly what I want you to answer.. probably just want to get some off my chest.

I believe what she's asking, is that the diet recommended to her, the low carb one, she wants an opinion on it. However if I have another avenue for her to go down, she wants me to help her with that. What she has been doing, (totally cutting out fat) in my opinion is a horrible idea, from my experience. Its hard for me to steer her in a direction because typically all I've worked with are males, and I don't know how much different women are than men when it comes to different diet approaches and training methods to losing weight. I myself go by a 40/30/30 with total calories being multiplied by 12 for a diet when I want to trim down a little. It works very very well for me. However I don't know where to begin with her as I've never seen how women (please excuse my ignorance) react to different diets and methods when done at the same time as a man. Any help?

 

[valerie]

Seems to me there was a recent discussion on pcos just a short while ago. Might want to do a search. -valerie

 

[Ceebs]

http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=208760&highlight=PCOS

 

[bignate73]

i just started reading Atkin's book and hes a proponent of low carb diets for people susceptable to PCOS. i'd have to look but i believe he stated that there was a correlation between high carbs and PCOS, or a reduced risk of PCOS with a lower carb intake. (one or the other)

 

[MS]

"i just started reading Atkin's book and hes a proponent of low carb diets for people susceptable to PCOS"

LOL, he is a proponent of low carb diets for everyone!

She may benefit from lowering her carb intake, especially empty or refined carbs. But instead of overdosing on fat, she may want to try replacing lots of the carbs with protein instead, as well as ensuring she is getting enough essential fatty acids. And of course some regular intense exercise wouldn't go amiss.

 

[bignate73]

[B
LOL, he is a proponent of low carb diets for everyone!

[/B]

aint that the truth....

 

[fawnmarie]

Hokay - as a decades long sufferer of PCOS, I have to step in here. At one point, my PCOS became so bad that eventually a 3-pound cyst and half of my reproductive equipment had to be removed. Before it got to that point, I had about 1-2 periods a year from the age of 12-26.

PCOS comes with host of annoying and embarassing symptoms and it pretty much sucks hind tit!

Among them is insulin resistance (weight gain), oh - and scarring acne, and um, underdeveloped breasts (not just "small" - but including the inability to nurse), general hairiness of body, thinning and falling out hair on head, infertility, painful ovulation (when it happens at all), etc. There are imbalances of LH & FSH, as well as an excess of androgens, and estrogen dominance (because women with PCOS don't ovulate normally or frequently enough to produce enough progesterone). And estrogen dominance itself can cause depression, insomnia, weight gain, cellulite, etc.

Low-carb diets DO help and ARE recommended, and one has to put oneself in the mindset of needing to treat a medical condition, rather than following "cookie-cutter" diets out of women's magazines.

Reducing sugar and starches reduces the amount of androgens being produced. I'm not sure of the mechanism, but from what I recall of earlier reading, women who eat a lot of carbohydrate rich food produce more androgens. The diet also reduces the amount of insulin being produced, which in very short time increases insulin sensitivity.

Surgery improved my fertility, but I still had some serious problems with it.

To lose weight, I went low-carb in 1996 and have not been bothered by my PCOS since, have had regular periods, acne stopped, etc.

Later I added pregnenolone for another health condition and found that it really reduces the embarassing hairiness. Also, progesterone, which offsets the estrogen dominance. Progesterone will also help normalize her menstrual cycle (more than losing weight will - plenty of fat chicks have periods!)

Tyrosine I found helps with the slow-thyroid often associated with PCOS.

It really stinks having to change one's diet radically for a medical condition, but I have to state that since changing my diet, my symptoms are very much relieved, and I no longer weigh 200 pounds. I was even able to finish off a little breast growth after the age of 30, rarely have painful periods or ovulation, and have normal 28-30 cycles like a "real" girl.

That really is the way you have to look at - as a diet prescribed for a medical condition. The pleasant side effect is that it will help lean down a woman fighting weight gain due to PCOS. It will, for the insulin resistant, also add about 500% more energy to perform intense exercise (insulin resistance makes you logey and easily fatigued).

Fawn

 

[fawnmarie]

Oh - and about the dietary fat issue.

She should NOT reduce fat. High carb, low fat diets increase the amount of SHBG (sex-hormone binding globulin) which will make what estrogen and progesterone she DOES have unavailable to target cells.

Another thing being tested for PCOS is saw palmetto, which is an anti-androgen (blocks at the site androgen receptors). As many of you might know, it is recommended for male prostate health, but trials for women with PCOS are pretty new. There are pharmaceutical anti-androgens available as well.


Fawn