Can PCOS And Hair Loss Really Be Related?
by:
Elias Coombes
A lot of women that experience hair loss from one degree to another may
actually have an affliction named PCOS. The medical term for PCOS is
polycystic ovary syndrome and afflicts a lot of women between the ages
of 12 through 45.
There are a lot of treatment plans for PCOS but if left unchecked could
be the causation of hair thinning. The major immediate remedy for PCOS
is to identify a means to bring down the weight of the person.
So much emphasis is made on proper eating habits these days that it
seems to go without heed. However in cases of obesity this may be the
culprit for hair loss.
The symptoms of PCOS include weight gain, irregular periods, fertility problems and thinning of hair.
Knowing that there are a lot of reasons why women experience this hair
malady sometimes it's best to eliminate the obvious. The process of
elimination is a good strategy to identify the cause of hair loss that
can prove or disprove a disease.
The thought of even having this type of disease never crosses the mind
of women because they can't associate their weight with the loss of
their hair. Yet this can be a real issue and having a treatment plan to
regulate body weight can be a solution for this.
Getting back on track with a healthy diet plan can benefit both the body
and the hair at the same time. It's never too late to start with some
type of diet plan that can start with regular exercise.
Of course you should check with your regular physician and have yourself
diagnosed but insuring that your body receives the proper nutrients can
only help you in the long run.
PCOS and hair loss can be a temporary condition if you have it diagnosed
and go on a preventive treatment plan that will help you.
It's probably no secret to you, if you're here reading this, that PCOS
is a type of endocrine disorder that can strike you at nearly any point
in your life. It's also probably known to you already what PCOS is and
what is believed to cause it--an inability to deal with glucose and an
insulin intolerance in your body.
All of these things combined can cause a condition in your body where
the ovaries begin to work less and to create symptoms that are difficult
for you to handle over a long period of time.
Among the things that your PCOS can cause are:
*Infertility
*Excessive hair growth
*Cramping and Pain
*Multiple ovarian cysts
One of the most important parts of PCOS and helping to control it is
your diet. PCOS diets need to be well controlled and to eliminate many
different things from the diet that may be causative agents of some of
the problems. Given that insulin intolerance is one of the major parts
of PCOS, a PCOS diet may be able to help you to lose some of those
symptoms.
PCOS is in fact one of the most common endocrine disorders and the onset
of it typically brings you symptoms that are given by more than one or
two abnormal cysts which begin to grow on the ovaries.
You will find that a PCOS diet may actually help you with some of these
symptoms. Symptoms are plentiful in PCOS and many of these can be
controlled by a PCOS diet.
PCOS diet requirements are typically going to be geared at helping you
to lose weight, but more, they will also seek to eliminate the chances
of further problems that you may see from your insulin resistance, such
as early adult onset diabetes. Lowering your fat intake and avoiding
carbohydrates particularly processed foods is one of the best ways to
help yourself by implementing a PCOS diet.
Carbohydrates tend to be less easily uptaken by the body when one is
insulin resistant. It is better for you to steer clear and to eat
instead more natural foods with higher fiber. Fresh fruits and
vegetables will be best for those who are insulin resistant. Nuts,
berries, fresh vegetables and fewer processed foods are the order of the
day.
Avoiding sugar or highly sugared or processed foods will also be in your
best interests in your PCOS diet. Avoidance of the fruit juices that
may be more sugary than fresh fruit, and also staying away from items
with high fructose corn syrup or corn sugar is also something you will
want to do as much as possible.
A PCOS diet is a more natural and healthful diet. Protein foods are the
best way to go for your condition and may help you to lose the weight
that is sometimes difficult to lose for the PCOS sufferer. Your PCOS
diet, in combination with exercise will go a long way toward helping you
to avoid the complications that can take place in PCOS.
Just by watching an hour of TV, or flipping through your favorite
magazine you know of the thousands of weight loss "plans" or diets that
are around today. For women with PCOS, it may be a bit misleading or
confusing.... we know we're supposed to watch our carbs, only eat "good
carbs" as this is what best controls our insulin resistance, therefore
controlling our PCOS. But the question is, which diet or plan do we
choose?
Below are the most common eating plans used by women with PCOS. I say
eating plan because I don't consider them "diets". We are not starving
ourselves, eating the wrong things for a short amount of time to lose
weight, etc. This is a life long choice for us. If we want to control
our PCOS and its symptoms, we need to chose an eating plan and stick to
it, indefinitely.
Glycemic Index
The glycemic index (GI) is a system used to classify foods with
carbohydrates on how fast they raise our blood-sugar levels. There are 3
general categories:
High GI Foods (GI value 70%2B)
These cause a fast rise in blood-glucose levels
Medium GI Foods (GI value 55-69) These cause a medium rise in blood-glucose
Low GI Carb Foods (GI value 54 or less) These cause a slow rise in blood-sugar
This is considered the best option for women with PCOS. A low-GI plan is
a balanced diet based with medium and low GI carbs, plus healthy
protein and fats (including plenty of healthy whole grains as well as
fruits and vegetables. A great plan to follow is Weight Watchers, as
they base their meals on the Glycemic index principal.
South Beach Diet
The SBD consists of lean proteins, healthy fats and oils, nuts, seeds,
and fresh vegetables and fruits and is a favorable diet for PCOS. The
theory is if you cut back on carbs, and eat a higher percentage of
protein that your body will have less insulin responses to carbs. It
consists of three phases, where you slowly add more carbs back into your
meals. The point of the first phase is to get rid of cravings that
PCOS'ers have for carbs by eliminating them completely. Then, as good
carbs are added into back, you are less likely to lose control and
binge. The types of carbs allowed on the SBD are those that score low on
the glycemic index.
The Zone Diet
The Zone Diet is about balancing your hormones to control hunger on
fewer calories but still getting the nutrients your body needs for
long-term health. The Zone is a moderate-carbohydrate, moderate-protein,
moderate fat diet that has approximately one gram of fat for every two
grams of protein and three grams of carbs. These dietary ratios are
based off of the dietary recommendations from the Joslin Diabetes
Research Center at Harvard Medical School for the treatment of obesity
and type 2 diabetes.
The Zone's meals include:
Low-fat protein
Low glycemic-load carbs (mostly fruits and vegetables)
Heart-healthy monounsaturated fats
Warning !!!!
Another common "low carb" plan is The Atkins diet. This is NOT
recommended for women with PCOS, in fact it should be avoided
completely. The Atkins diet has been associated with a large number of
heart related conditions and even death. It focuses on completely
removing carbs, and eating high fat, unhealthy proteins (such as
hamburger, bacon, etc) which is why we need to stay FAR away.
Women with PCOS already have a higher risk of heart disease, high
cholesterol/blood pressure and stroke, so adding a diet high in fatty
proteins would only increase our risk. Plus, starving your body of the
carbs it needs to survive only increases the risk even more.
Millions of women around the world are unable to conceive due to
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, or PCOS, a complex reproductive disease or
infertility problem. PCOS may or may not involve cysts in the ovaries,
but always involves insulin resistance that causes the ovaries to absorb
too much sugar and produce testosterone.
In the case of PCOS the body secretes far too much androgen, the male
hormone, which counteracts the ovaries' ability to make enough
progesterone necessary for a normal cycle. The estrogen level is OK; but
the level of the luteinizing hormone (LH) is actually higher than
usual. The luteinizing hormone is actually working overtime in an
attempt to kick-start the cycle. Due to the high androgen levels
interfering with the follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), progesterone is
not triggered. In other words your follicles don't develop... instead
they turn into pea-sized cysts on your ovaries. The ovaries can then
enlarge.
Because the male hormone levels are out of whack you may develop:
facial hair
hair on other parts of your body
a balding issue
acne
obesity
irregular periods
Researchers at the Royal Alfred Hospital, Macquarie University, and the
University of Sydney in Australia recently ran a clinical trial to see
whether a low glycemic index (low-GI) diet might help women with PCOS
achieve pregnancy more quickly.
The Australian researchers gave the women in their study two very simple options:
1. Follow a diet of 'ordinary foods' eaten in carefully prescribed quantities, or
2. Eat any foods they liked, as long as they were low on the glycemic
index. Low glycemic index (low-GI) foods release sugars slowly into the
bloodstream.
The purpose of both diets was to treat insulin resistance, not
full-fledged Type 2 diabetes. Many women who have untreated PCOS,
however, eventually develop Type 2 diabetes.
At the end of a year, half of the women who started their diets had
managed to stay on plan or to 'graduate' from their diets after losing 7
per cent of their total body weight. Among the women who followed a
strict, calorie-restricted plan, 63% had resumed having normal menstrual
periods, a strong indication their fertility had returned. Among women
who ate whatever foods they liked from a low-GI list, however, 95% had
resumed having normal menstrual periods.
In PCOS, fertility returns when insulin resistance is reversed. The
results of this study suggest that Type 2 diabetics, as well, may do
better when they resolve to eat:
low-fat meats
fish
fruits and
vegetables
...rather than counting carbs and calories in highly processed foods.
Insulin resistance and PCOS go hand in hand. Women with insulin
resistance are either at risk for, or have been diagnosed with Type 2
diabetes.
About The Author
Are you looking for a Pcos Diet Plan? Having
an effective pcos diet plan will treat your current situation. how to
lose weight with pcos, Low-GI Diet Helps With Insulin Resistance in PCOS
and Type 2 Diabetes!, Can PCOS And Hair Loss Really Be Related?
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