Healthy PCOS

PCOS is the most common endocrine (hormonal) condition among females in the world. It’s a condition   t hat deeply affects around 150 million women worldwide. That’s not a typo either — 150 million worldwide! It’s a condition that can have an immense impact on your physical and emotional well being. It’s also the leading cause of fertility issues among women. The first issue is that PCOS is a medical diagnosis, but there’s no surgery to ‘fix’ PCOS, there’s no medication that fixes PCOS so, getting the medical diagnosis simply informs you that your PCOS, it will most likely do little to help you treat it. Even now, 85 years after the first cases of PCOS were first diagnosed, there’s no PCOS-specific medication, not one. Metformin is primarily used to control blood glucose (sugar) levels in people who have type 2 diabetes. Spironolactone, often prescribed to  women with PCOS  to reduce excessive hair growth is actually used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure. Th...

  Exercise is one of those behaviours that can have a hugely positive influence on your PCOS. But, why is that exactly? It’s because all exercise will have a hormonal & metabolic result. Put in simple terms, exercise can change your metabolic and hormonal state but it is important to note that this can be a negative or positive result. Not all exercise will have the same benefits for PCOS. For example, for the last 30 years women have been told to stick to treadmills if they want to lose weight and that stepping foot in the weights area will have them looking like the Hulk. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. We now know that too much long-form cardio, like the advice given to females for decades can increase cortisol (stress) levels and result in depleted muscle mass, slowing down your metabolic rate. Types of exercise for PCOS Types of  exercise: 1) Resistance Exercise 2) Restorative Exercise 3) HIIT Exercise And example of your weekly workout schedule m...

Will losing weight help to reduce the amount of excess hair you're growing due to your PCOS? Excess facial and body hair in PCOS is usually the result of excess androgens in your body. Androgens are male sex hormones, such as testosterone, that are present in both men and women, but men naturally have much higher levels than women In women, androgens are produced by; 1) Primarily by the ovaries, caused by high insulin levels 2) Secondly, the adrenal glands, caused by chronic stress levels 3) Lastly, adipose (fat) tissue, if you are overweight or obese. If your PCOS is causing high levels of androgens in your system, you are likely to experience other androgen excess symptoms, such as; - Hair growth (face, chest, tummy, back) - Acne - Hair thinning or loss on the scalp - Menstrual cycle irregularities & fertility issues There are a few reasons why you're often told that losing weight will help reduce unwanted hair growth, including; - Holding excess body weight can...