Healthy PCOS

PCOS Hair loss is caused by excessive amounts of male sex hormones called androgens. If you've been following me for anytime you know I always want to target the source of symptoms and not the symptoms themselves. Androgens are produced in three areas within the female system; 1) The ovaries - driven by insulin resistance and high insulin levels 2) The adrenals - driven by excessive amounts of cortisol and stress 3) Adipose (fat) tissue - driven by excess body weight How Androgens Cause Hair Loss Your hair grows in a cycle with the actual hair growing about 0.3mm to 0.4mm each day, which adds up to around six inches per year. However, not all of the hair follicles are growing new hair at the same time. Hair growth occurs in a cycle. At any given time, each strand is in a different part of the cycle. It’s a good thing that each of our hair’s cycles are not in sync, otherwise we would shed all of our hair at once! This means throughout the year your hair is in a ...

  WHAT IS MACA ROOT? Maca is a Peruvian plant grown in the Andes mountains that is a common ingredient in Peruvian cooking. It’s said to have an earthy, nutty, butterscotch-like flavour - yum! (if you’re into that). It belongs to the family of cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli, kale, and cabbage. However, aside from its culinary uses, maca can also be processed and commercialised as a pharmaceutical because of its organic and biological nature. In fact, Peruvians have been using maca root for PCOS as a medicinal tool for centuries either in the form of its natural state, maca powder, or maca capsules. Traditionally, it has been used to boost fertility, energy, stamina, and sex drive. This is because of maca’s highly nutritious content; roughly 28 grams of it contains 20 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of protein, 2 grams of fiber, 1 gram of fat, 133% of the RDI Vitamin C, 85% of the RDI copper, 23% of the RDI iron, 16% of the RDI potassium, 15% of the ...

  The keto diet  is incredibly popular amongst the  PCOS community  currently. Many are sprouting its magical results but, there isn't anything magical about the ketogenic diet. WHAT IS THE KETO DIET? The ketogenic diet is a very low-carb, high-fat diet that involves drastically reducing carbohydrate intake (5% of overall calorie intake) and replacing it with fat (75% of your diet to come from fats). This reduction in carbs puts your body into a metabolic state called  ketosis. To ensure you're in ketosis, it's best to buy a ketone meter. This measures blood ketone levels by pricking your finger and taking a small sample of your blood. It usually takes 2-4 days to enter ketosis and so you shouldn't be jumping in and out of the diet otherwise, you aren't actually following it. KETO BENEFITS TO PCOS Keto can definitely benefit someone who has PCOS if they also have  insulin resistance.  Certain studies have shown that the keto diet may improve...

  Insulin resistance (IR) is one of the root issues of PCOS and impacts as many as 70% of all women with PCOS. IR drives many of the unwanted symptoms of PCOS, from high testosterone levels, and therefore acne, hair growth, hair loss, and irregular menstrual cycles, fertility issues, unexplained weight gain, poor energy levels, dark skin patches, and increased risks of metabolic syndrome. Popularly prescribed medications for women with PCOS such as Metformin are designed to reverse insulin resistance by improving your cells insulin sensitivity. Just think of it like this; Insulin resistance causes many issues but, insulin sensitivity is the opposite, so you want to be doing everything you can to reduce insulin resistance, therefore, improve insulin sensitivity. When 99.9% of people talk about losing weight, weight loss, and diet, they only ever refer to calories, and if your someone who is fortunate enough not to have a condition that impacts your hormones or metabol...