How PCOS Disrupts Metabolism

💥 How PCOS Disrupts Metabolism 💥

Most people think of PCOS as a hormonal condition, but it actually affects both the hormones and the metabolism. 

Hormonal patterns typically seen in PCOS include elevated testosterone (causing hair to grow in all the wrong places or acne beyond teenage years) and estrogen dominance (high estrogen and low progesterone). 

But here are some ways PCOS interacts with metabolism:

1️⃣ Insulin Resistance

Insulin Resistance is strongly associated with PCOS. This leads to elevated blood sugar, high cholesterol, and trouble losing weight. 

2️⃣ Chronic Inflammation

PCOS is often accompanied by increased levels of inflammation throughout the body. This can make it harder to maintain blood sugar balance and a healthy weight.  

3️⃣  Thyroid Function

Women with PCOS are more likely than the general population to also be diagnosed with low thyroid function. That translates to a slower metabolism, fatigue, and weight gain.

Why does this matter?

Because if all we do is look at testosterone and estrogen in PCOS, we are missing a huge opportunity. We need to treat PCOS as the whole-body condition that it actually is. We need to support insulin function and thyroid function while, at the same time, working to quell inflammation. 

That’s what we do in functional medicine. 

This is part 2 of 4 in my series on PCOS, so pay attention. Stress can also get into the PCOS mix—messing with both hormones and metabolism. That post is coming soon. Be sure to like and follow ❤️so you don’t miss it. 

5 PCOS Misconceptions

Do you believe these myths about PCOS? ⤵️

PCOS stands for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, but the name does not tell the whole story. It’s one of the most common conditions to affect the menstrual cycle and reproductive health, yet it’s also frequently misunderstood and misdiagnosed. 

I’ll be doing a series of posts on PCOS, but first let’s clear up some common misconceptions about this condition:

Myth 1️⃣: Everyone with PCOS has ovarian cysts.

Nope. It’s possible to have PCOS with no ovarian cysts, and it’s possible to have ovarian cysts without PCOS. To be diagnosed with PCOS, a person only needs to meet 2 out of 3 conditions: ovarian cysts, irregular periods, or testosterone excess.  

Myth 2️⃣: Everyone with PCOS should take the birth control pill. 

Nope. The pill is commonly prescribed to women with PCOS, but it is far from the only option and does not address the whole picture. Whole-body strategies that rely on nutrition, lifestyle, and stress management can also be powerful ways to manage PCOS.

Myth 3️⃣: Everyone with PCOS is overweight. 

Nope. While it’s true that PCOS causes many women to gain weight, this is not an absolute. Also, weight loss becomes easier when we address the deeper metabolic patterns of PCOS, like changes in cortisol and insulin resistance. 

Myth 4️⃣: You can’t get pregnant with PCOS.

Wrong. Even though PCOS is a common cause of infertility, it does not mean that pregnancy is impossible—particularly if you work to support your hormones and reproductive health through diet, lifestyle, and functional medicine. 

Myth 5️⃣: PCOS will go away at menopause.

Nope. PCOS disrupts far more than the menstrual cycle. Its effects on insulin resistance, cortisol, inflammation, and weight gain continue (and may even worsen) after menopause. 

Want the bottom line? ⤵️

Even though PCOS is a complex condition disrupting numerous hormones and metabolic pathways, it does not mean you need to feel bad for the rest of your life. We have an extensive set of tools in functional medicine to support hormonal and metabolic health in PCOS. 

Be sure to like and save this post so you’ll see more in this series on PCOS 📌

How to Combat the Aging Brain [New Study] 🧠

This one is for anyone who cares about their memory as they age 🧠

🗞️ The just-released COSMOS-Web Study asked this question: Can flavanol supplements benefit the aging brain?

Flavanols are naturally occurring compounds in plant foods that have antioxidant and health-promoting properties, but not everyone eats enough 🍎🍇🍫

Building on over 15 years of research, the current study assigned 3500 healthy older adults to take a daily flavanol supplement (or placebo) for 3 years. The supplement contained 500 mg of flavanols, including 80 mg of epicatechins.

The results?

✅ Memory scores improved slightly for everyone taking the daily flavanol supplement.

✅ Memory scores improved most significantly (by 16%) in those who were consuming a poorer diet and had lower baseline levels of flavanols.

✅ Even more importantly, memory improvement was sustained for at least two more years

Think of it like this:

Just like the developing brain of newborns and small children requires specific nutrients for proper development, so too does the aging brain require specific nutrients for optimal health.

Now we know flavanols are some of those key brain nutrients.

Reference

Brickman AM, Yeung LK, Alschuler DM, et al. Dietary flavanols restore hippocampal-dependent memory in older adults with lower diet quality and lower habitual flavanol consumption. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2023;120(23):e2216932120. [link]

The Simplest Way to Breathe Better Air 🌿

🗞️🗞️This just in!!

Indoor plants remove toxins from the air—including cancerous compounds and gasoline fumes ☠️

🌿 A study out of Australia just found that a mix of indoor plants effectively removed 97% of the most toxic pollutants from indoor air in just 8 hours.

Most people spend 90% of their time indoors, where the air can be 2-5 times more polluted than outdoors, so this information is powerful.

Other studies have shown plants to help purify air, but this is the first to show they can remove gasoline fumes, which is one of the most common indoor air pollutants worldwide.

Not everything needs to be complicated ❌

In this case, better health might be as simple as adding a few plants to your home.

#indoorplants #airpurification #healthyhome #environmentalmedicine #elementsnatmed

Reference

University of Technology Sydney. "Plants remove cancer causing toxins from air: Plants can efficiently remove toxic gasoline fumes from indoor air.." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 26 May 2023. [link]

Junk Food Messes with Sleep (New Research!)

New Research!! ⤵️

👉👉 Even if you sleep the exact same number of hours, eating junk food during the day can affect the QUALITY of your sleep—making sleep more shallow and less restorative.

Let’s back up 🚙

Sleep consists of different stages with different functions. Deep sleep, for example, regulates hormonal release. Each sleep stage is also marked by specific electrical activity in the brain.

A brand new study in the journal Obesity looked at what happened to sleep quality (measured in a sleep laboratory) when healthy young men ate nutritious meals vs. junk food. Here’s what they found:

🔹 Participants slept the same number of hours, regardless of which diet they consumed.

🔹 They also spent the same amount of time in each of the sleep stages.

🔹 But slow-wave brain activity (a measurement of how restorative deep sleep is) was less in those who ate the junk food.

This means that the junk food resulted in sleep that was less deep—similar to what happens with aging and insomnia.

Why should you care about restorative sleep?

Because it’s essential for…

💫 Graceful Aging

💃 Balanced Hormones

🔥 Healthy Metabolism

🧠 Brain Function, Mood, & More!

Like if you learned something ❤️

Share to spread the word ↗️

Reference

Brandão LEM, Popa A, Cedernaes E, Cedernaes C, Lampola L, Cedernaes J. Exposure to a more unhealthy diet impacts sleep microstructure during normal sleep and recovery sleep: A randomized trial [published online ahead of print, 2023 May 28]. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2023;10.1002/oby.23787. [link]