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.
Diabetes Free
by:
Elias Coombes
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?
