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A Naturopathic Approach to PCOS:
Doc's Top Picks
When I work with PCOS patients in my practice, there are four key steps to my approach: Assessment, Diet, Exercise and Supplements. I will share here my top 3 picks in each area.
AssessmentIt is important to identify what type of PCOS you have and what role it plays in your overall health picture. My top 3 picks to help here are a thorough health history, ultrasound images of the ovaries, and blood testing. First, a health history will include many questions such as: Are you thin or overweight? Do you have acne, hirsutism or irregular cycles? Are you trying to conceive? Do you have a family history of diabetes? Second, an ultrasound can give visual confirmation about the existence and the extent of cysts on the ovaries. Third, blood tests can rule out other diseases, focus treatment strategies, and provide baselines for evaluating the effects of treatment. The blood tests I often include are Testosterone (free and total), DHEA-S, FSH, Estradiol, Thyroid panel (TSH, free T4, free T3), Prolactin, Lipid panel (cholesterol), fasting glucose and insulin.DietThe cliché is so true… You are what you eat! PCOS is a condition that is dramatically affected by the food choices you make every day. My top 3 rules to live by here are that you choose real foods that are low glycemic, and that you eat small frequent meals. It’s interesting to think about how many of the items on the grocery store shelves these days our great grandparents would even recognize as something to eat. So first, shop the perimeter of the store and focus on real food, like fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy, and whole grains. You want to choose foods that look like they came from a farm, not a factory. Second, the low glycemic diet described in The Natural Diet Solution for PCOS and Infertility is a highly effective way to manage the insulin resistance that is so often at the root of PCOS. And third, it’s not just about what you eat, it’s also about when you eat, so try for small frequent meals. Keeping a regular schedule of meals and snacks that maintains a steady blood sugar will help to prevent cravings and help you succeed in your diet changes. Your food is your medicine, three times a day, or in this case, perhaps five or six times per day!ExerciseOne of the most significant ways to decrease your PCOS symptom is by increasing your exercise. You need to start where you are and gradually increase, as you are able. My top 3 picks to a balanced exercise plan are resistance, aerobics, and stretching. First, resistance exercise, or weight training, helps to build lean muscle tissue. This lean tissue makes you stronger and raises your metabolic rate so you’ll burn fat faster. Second, aerobic exercise increases your heart rate, burns fat, and gives you that exercise high that can help to elevate your mood for the rest of the day. Third, stretching exercises help to prevent injury and help to calm the mind.SupplementsThis is a big category that can include vitamins, minerals, micronutrients, and herbal medicines. It’s hard to narrow it down because each case is so unique in terms of priorities so, for this article, I’m going to focus my top picks on herbal medicines. Overall, my top 3 picks for herbs that women with PCOS should know about are vitex, saw palmetto, and green tea. Vitex, also known as chaste tree berry, is a wonderful women’s health herb. It helps to regulate the menstrual cycle by orchestrating the hormonal production from the pituitary and the ovaries. Saw Palmetto is more often used in men’s health, but is very appropriate in PCOS for the reduction of testosterone and androgenic symptoms such as acne, hirsutism and irregular cycles. Green Tea is useful as an anti-androgen, but gives additional benefit as an anti-oxidant and is known to stimulate weight loss, too.
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SAN FRANCISCO NATURAL MEDICINE
formerly: SOMA Acupuncture & Natural Health Clinic
Carl Hangee-Bauer, ND, LAc • Amy Day, ND • Erika Horowitz, ND
1615 20th St • San Francisco CA 94107 • 415-643-6600Naturopathic Medicine • Acupuncture • Herbal Medicine • Supplements
Nutrition • Women's Health • Breast Thermography
Smoking Cessation • IV Nutrient Therapy • Bioidentical Hormones • Detoxification
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