Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) affects one in ten women and is one of the most common causes of infertility.
Research has shown over and over again that PCOS is affected by diet, stress, sleep, nutrition, gut health, environmental exposures, and exercise.[1],[2],[3],[4]
These are all lifestyle and diet factors that YOU HAVE CONTROL OVER. While that list may seem daunting, this means YOU have the power and ability to affect your PCOS symptoms and your fertility with holistic solutions.
The women who have the most success at alleviating their PCOS symptoms and restoring their fertility are women who make diet and lifestyle changes. As a matter of fact, diet and lifestyle is the first line of treatment recommended by the American Society of Reproductive Medicine.[5] Often, women will see improvements as soon as they start to work on one or two of the factors affecting their PCOS.
What is the standard medical treatment for PCOS? (AKA “The Medical Band Aid”)
Most medical doctors prescribe drugs like birth control pills to regulate your cycles or to reduce period pain. They also prescribe Metformin for blood sugar balance, sometimes without even checking insulin levels. They may also prescribe Clomid to induce ovulation or progesterone to start your period.
Keep in mind:
- PCOS is a hormonal and metabolism issue.
- Your hormones get stuck in a self-driving and self-worsening (think snowball effect) process. Every cycle, the hormonal imbalance gets worse[6].
- These hormonal imbalances feed into your insulin hormonal feedback loops as well. Your body’s ability to handle blood sugar and your insulin levels get worse.
Your hormonal and metabolism issues are not “reversed” with these drugs. How your body got to this state in the first place is not addressed. These underlying issues may seem to be resolved in the short term, but they may still be causing other long-term problems. Taking drugs for PCOS can be one piece of the puzzle in the short term but ends up being a “band aid”, one size fits all, approach that leaves us still dealing with hormonal imbalances and metabolism problems (think future weight gain, diabetes, high blood pressure 40% more likely!!!, and other conditions).
“We can’t just focus on one thing, we have to look at women with PCOS as whole people, and look at their entire lives to really be able to help them.”
Achieving your goals for pain-free periods, pregnancy, fetal health and postpartum health are dependent on correcting your hormone and metabolism imbalances.
Our goal is to help you identify a holistic (whole body/whole self) plan to address your most important PCOS factors and support your body’s natural vibrancy and health!
The Effectiveness of Natural Approaches for PCOS
PCOS is affected by:
- Nutrients / Diet
- Stress Management
- Sleep Quality
- Gut Health
- Movement / Exercise
- Environmental Factors
Numerous research studies show these impacts. Here are a few:
These authors followed over 17,000 women for 8 years as they tried to become pregnant.[1]
“Our results suggest that the majority of infertility cases due to ovulation disorders are preventable through modifications of diet and lifestyle.”
In a study of over 2,000 women diagnosed with PCOS it was found that diet, lifestyle, and environmental factors play a role in the disease. Here is one example:[2]
“It was demonstrated that Bisphenol A (BPA), the main component of plastic containers, had a positive association with endocrine disturbances in PCOS”
In a review of 8 research studies on PCOS and diet/lifestyle, the authors concluded[3]:
“Dietary habits are the major cause of the metabolic syndrome (PCOS), and modification of the diet represents the easiest to achieve preventive measure for this condition.”
In this update on the current guidelines in how to treat PCOS the authors stated[7]:
“Lifestyle change alone is considered the first-line treatment for the management of infertile anovulatory PCOS women who are overweight or obese.”
Wondering if your symptoms may be PCOS ? Take the PCOS Self Assessment
Focusing On Fertility’s Natural Approach for PCOS Clients
Since your PCOS is triggered by different factors, your recommendations are going to be personalized to you.
We perform a thorough health history and client intake and work with you to decide a course of action, including diet and lifestyle changes. These changes have a profound effect on our symptoms and our fertility as numerous studies show, including diet and lifestyle changes, correcting digestion, correcting sleep, stress management, nutritional supplements, testing, and anything that helps you progress towards your goals.
- Symptom relief by addressing hormonal and metabolic imbalances
- Painful periods
- Acne
- Weight gain
- Inflammation
- Abnormal cycles
- Optimize fertility by addressing nutrition and lifestyle factors
- Cycle length and quality
- Egg health
- Sperm health
- Sugar handling (metabolism and hormonal health)
Other benefits from taking this natural approach: Improved mental state, healthier skin, healthier heart, reduced chance of developing diabetes, and better functioning immune system. Your WHOLE body benefits.
Why Doctors Don’t Recommend These Natural Approaches to Everyone
- Doctors follow an accepted protocol for PCOS which includes hormonal birth control and metformin for insulin management. These are widely recognized, and most doctors just aren’t informed that there are other options. Some feel that their hands are tied if they want to go outside of these protocols[8].
- Women accept these medications and don’t know to ask for more help.
- Doctors spend on average 17 minutes with a patient! There just isn’t time to go into these approaches and help you implement them.[9]
- Some doctors don’t believe their patients. We know many women who say their doctor didn’t believe them or told them their symptoms were normal. Even worse is when their doctor accuses them of overeating when they’re struggling to lose weight.
Are you ready to do more for your PCOS management?
FIRST, TAKE THE PCOS SELF ASSESSMENT
Taking the self assessment will help you determine what factors are affecting your metabolism and hormones.
Were you looking for Part 2 and Part 3 of this blog series?
PCOS – What is it and how does it impact fertility?
How we work with you to turn your PCOS around and optimize your fertility
NEXT, BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL!
If you would like an in depth look at your unique situation with a Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, make sure to set up a Discovery Call and we can work together to determine how to proceed.
We can help YOU figure out what path is BEST for you!
Things you can do now:
- Take our PCOS Self Assessment to see which factors are driving your PCOS symptoms.
- Take a look around our site. As you’ve seen, sleep can be a big factor in PCOS, make sure to check out our sleep blog and start working on your own sleep! Download the worksheet and get started!
- Pick one thing to change in your household. It could be finding a different lotion or laundry detergent or not cooking with plastic.
- Download Choosing a Prenatal if you are planning on getting pregnant.
- Stay tuned for the next parts of this series!
References
[1] Diet and Lifestyle in the Prevention of Ovulatory Disorder Infertility; Obstet Gynecol. 2007 Nov; Jorge E. Chavarro, MD, ScD, Janet W. Rich-Edwards, MPH, ScD, Bernard A. Rosner, PhD, and Walter C. Willett, MD, DrPH
[2] Lifestyle and environmental contributions to ovulatory dysfunction in women of polycystic ovary syndrome Bingqian Zhang, Wei Zhou, Yuhua Shi, Jun Zhang, Linlin Cui, and Zi-Jiang Chen
[3] The Effect of Low Carbohydrate Diet on Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials; Int J Endocrinol. 2019 Nov 26; Xiaoshuai Zhang, Yang Zheng, Yanan Guo, and Zhiwen Lai
[4] Exercise Interventions in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis; Front. Physiol. 2020 Jul 7; Rhiannon K Patten, Russell A Boyle, Trine Moholdt, Ida Kiel, William G Hopkins, Cheryce L Harrison, Nigel K Stepto
[5] Recommendations from the international evidence-based guideline for the assessment and management of polycystic ovary syndrome; Fertil. Steril. 2018 Aug; Helena J Teede, Marie L Misso, Michael F Costello, Anuja Dokras, Joop Laven, Lisa Moran, Terhi Piltonen, Robert J Norman, International PCOS Network
[6] Ovarian and adipose tissue dysfunction in polycystic ovary syndrome: report of the 4th special scientific meeting of the Androgen Excess and PCOS Society; Fertil Steril. 2010 Jul; Bulent O. Yildiz, M.D. and Ricardo Azziz, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., for the Androgen Excess and PCOS Society
[7] A brief update on the evidence supporting the treatment of infertility in polycystic ovary syndrome; Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol. 2019 Dec; Michael F. Costello, Marie L. Misso, Adam Balen, Jacqueline Boyle, Luigi Devoto, Rhonda M. Garad, Roger Hart, Louise Johnson, Cailin Jordan, Richard S. Legro, Rob J. Norman, Lisa Moran, Edgar Mocanu, Jie Qiao, Ray J. Rodgers, Luk Rombauts, Eliza C. Tassone, Shakila Thangaratinam, Eszter Vanky, Helena J. Teede
[8] Future Implications of Using Registered Dietitians in Multidisciplinary Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Treatment; Healthcare (Basel). 2018 Dec; Wendy M. Wolf, Rachel A. Wattick, Pamela J. Murray, Melanie Clemmer, and Melissa D. Olfert
[9] A Time-Motion Study of Primary Care Physicians’ Work in the Electronic Health Record Era; Fam Med. 2018; Richard A. Young, MD | Sandra K. Burge, PhD | Kaparaboyna A. Kumar, MD | Jocelyn M. Wilson, MD, MPH | Daniela F. Ortiz