PCOS Review Newsletter #104

A free health newsletter for women with polycystic ovary syndrome or polycystic ovaries.   Issue #104      April 18, 2010

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1) How Inositol Improves Fertility

2) Is This Common Food Ingredient a Hidden Cause of PCOS?

3) Make Room for a Better Life

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1) How Inositol Improves Fertility

Inositol is a member of the B-vitamin family. It can also affect your outcome with PCOS and fertility.

Inositol is a necessary component of certain "signal transduction systems" in your body. A signal transduction is a mechanism that converts a biochemical stimulus to a cell into a specific cellular response.

In other words, inositol is necessary for the regulation of the behavior of your cells.

A problem that PCOS women have is a urinary loss of inositol that is significantly greater than other women. Therefore, it's logical to think that you need to consume more inositol in order to offset the urinary loss.

This is why we offer inositol powder in our online store. You can get a liberal amount of inositol at a relatively low price.

Inositol might help you in two ways.

1) First, it improves the quality of your eggs (oocytes).

An oocyte is a large and complex cell that needs an optimal environment to support its future function. It must be ready to regulate multiple cellular and developmental processes if it is to become fertilized and ultimately grow into a fully-functioning organism.

Some medical research has shown that inositol plays a central role in preparing the oocyte for successful activation at the time of fertilization. An inositol deficiency can disrupt the oocyte's ability to properly mature. Other research has shown that when the ovarian follicle cells that envelop your egg have a good supply of inositol, the quality of the egg is improved.

2) Second, it helps you reduce PCOS symptoms related to insulin resistance.

Inositol is a component of a "second messenger system" inside the cell that allows insulin to change the behavior of the cell. But in some women who have PCOS, there appears to be a breakdown in the relationship between insulin and this second messenger system.

The result of this breakdown is insulin resistance. With the insulin resistance comes all of the problems you know so well: infertility, hirsutism, acne, hair loss, weight problems, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

From the studies we've seen, it appears that women with PCOS have a problem with utilizing and metabolizing inositol.

Our review of the medical research suggests that many women would benefit by taking supplemental inositol.

A more expensive but possibly more effective option is to take a d-pinitol formula.

D-pinitol is a relative of inositol. The distinction between d-pinitol and ordinary inositol is that fewer metabolic steps are required to end up with the final substance required for the second messenger system inside the cell. So, with d-pinitol, the body has to do less work to create the material needed for the second messenger system.

In addition to the d-pinitol ingredient, the d-pinitol formula contains both chromium and vitamin D, which synergistically help to reduce insulin resistance.

Sources:
Papaleo E et al, Contribution of myo-inositol to reproduction, Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2009 Dec;147(2):120-3
Nestler JE et al, Role of inositolphosphoglycan mediators of insulin action in the polycystic ovary syndrome, J Pediatr Endocrinol Metab. 2000;13 Suppl 5:1295-8
Baillargeon JP et al, Uncoupling between insulin and release of a d-chiro-inositol-containing inositolphosphoglycan mediator of insulin action in obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome, Metab Syndr Relat Disord. 2010 Apr;8(2):127-36

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2) Is This Common Food Ingredient a Hidden Cause of PCOS?

As you may know, a condition called "insulin resistance" is thought to be a primary cause of polycystic ovary syndrome. Insulin resistance is an inability for you to efficiently utilize the hormone insulin. The result is an imbalance of multiple hormones, including an excessive level of testosterone.

The high testosterone can create problems such as acne, hirsutism and hair loss.

If you can get rid of insulin resistance, you can get rid of a lot of the problems associated with polycystic ovary syndrome.

So what might be causing this insulin resistance? There are many factors.

One of those factors is a sugar called "fructose", also known as "fruit sugar".

If you've read The Natural Diet Solution for PCOS and Infertility ebook, you know that only the fructose found in whole fresh or frozen fruits is recommended.

Any processed or manufactured fructose sweetener is definitely NOT recommended.

The most prevalent -- and unhealthy -- sweetener is "high fructose corn syrup". The fact that it comes from corn does not make it healthy.

Amazingly, the average American consumes 63 pounds of this substance every year.

So what are the consequences of high fructose corn syrup and how does it relate to insulin resistance?

The only organ in your body that is capable of metabolizing fructose is your liver. Through a very complex biochemical process, your liver is forced to convert a major portion of it into fat, which is stored in the liver. The more high fructose corn syrup you consume, the more fat you store. This leads to a condition we have talked about in previous newsletters: nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which is very common in women with PCOS.

In addition, some of the accumulated fat in your liver is released into the bloodstream as "free fatty acids" (FFAs). The FFAs are distributed to the muscle cells, where they create insulin resistance in the muscles. So now it is harder for your muscles to get the energy they need because insulin is less able to deliver blood sugar (glucose) energy into your muscle cells.

Secondly, fructose metabolism in the liver causes insulin resistance in the liver itself, which leads to further disorder in this vital organ and unhealthy effects throughout the body.

Consuming too much fructose leads to a host of other health problems that we can discuss in future newsletters.

In summary, fructose sweeteners are a primary cause of the insulin resistance that is making PCOS worse for you. If you want to relieve PCOS symptoms, then completely remove the manufactured fructose from your diet.

Read the label of every processed food or beverage before you consume it. If you're in a restaurant, ask the server if any of the drinks, sauces, dressings, spreads, baked goods, etc. contain corn syrup or any other sweetener. If so, avoid those items.

If you're an average American who consumes 63 pounds of high fructose corn syrup every year, it will be impossible for you to become healthy.

Watch the video below if you wish to educate yourself about the dangers of fructose. Dr. Robert H Lustwig, Professor of Pediatrics, at the University of California San Francisco will give you a very detailed explanation.

Source:
Stanhope KL et al, Consuming fructose-sweetened, not glucose-sweetened, beverages increases visceral adiposity and lipids and decreases insulin sensitivity in overweight/obese humans, J Clin Invest. 2009 May 1; 119(5): 1322–1334

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3) Make Room for a Better Life

Part of your healing program for PCOS is to focus on what you really want in your life. Doing so will relieve stress and thus help to rebalance your hormones.

You can start this process by getting rid of what you don’t want in your life in order to make room for what you do want.

To have the opportunity to attract what you do want -- such as a better relationship, more attractive clothes, or furniture -- you must make room for your desires to manifest.

No matter what your economic status, there are probably many possessions you’re not using. They only clutter up your life and space. If you want new clothes but every time you go into your closet you have to pry an outfit out because there are so many clothes jammed into it, you will have no motivation to go out and invest in clothes that make you feel attractive and confident.

Also keep in mind that you only have so much life energy. If you use that energy looking at garments you really don’t like, have gone out of style, or that no longer fit, you experience frustration, guilt or other negative feelings. They rob you of time and energy.

If you’re living in fear of lack and tightly holding on to everything -- your material possessions, your time, your love, your energy or ideas -- you’re shutting yourself off from the flow of life. When you dam up a stream, the water becomes stagnant. When you close off your life, you become stagnant. The more that unwanted things clutter your life, the less room there is for the things you want to appear into your life.

Pick different areas in your home or office and give yourself permission to go through your material possessions. Make two piles: one to throw away, the other to either give away or sell. Of the remaining items you keep, organize them in a way that makes you feel in control.

Get rid of old furniture, toys, novelties, office files, magazines, newspapers and broken items. Clear out the junk that robs you of your energy and time whenever you see or think about it. De-clutter your life of the tangibles and intangibles that no longer contribute to your well being. New things, new relationships, and new opportunities do not flow easily into a cluttered environment.

When you move things, people, or situations that no longer serve you out of your life, you’re clearing the way for what you do want. It’s difficult to know what you do want until you get rid of what you don’t want or what is no longer working.

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Thought for Today: "We are creating the future." -- Gunter Grass