PCOS Review Newsletter #39
Natural Health Ideas for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.
A free monthly newsletter for women with ovarian cysts or PCOS.
Issue #039 January 7, 2007 Bill Slater, Research Associate
1) ) Metformin Reduces Miscarriage Risk?
2) Birth Control Pills Could Make You Fatter
3) "Comfort Foods" and Chronic Stress
1) Metformin Reduces Miscarriage Risk?
If you've been taking metformin (Glucophage) and trying to conceive, possibly you've wondered whether you should discontinue it if you become pregnant. In fact, some doctors may recommend that you stop taking it if a pregnancy occurs.
Whether you continue to take metformin during your pregnancy is a judgment call for you and your doctor.
However, a recent study from Cairo University in Egypt suggests that metformin may actually be beneficial by reducing the risk of miscarriage. The study included two groups of women with PCOS.
The first group stopped metformin as soon as they discovered they were pregnant. The second group continued with metformin throughout the pregnancy.
The rate of early pregnancy loss in the group that continued with metformin was 11.6% compared with a 36.3% loss in the non-metformin group.
A probable reason why metformin is beneficial is that it improves the performance of insulin in your body by reducing "insulin resistance".
On the other hand, metformin has a number of significant side effects.
If you find metformin's side effects to be intolerable, don't
worry. You can reduce insulin resistance and thus reduce
miscarriage risk by eating a very healthy diet, getting plenty of
exercise, and managing stress. If you're unclear about what foods
to eat or not eat, refer to our book The Natural
Diet Solution for PCOS and Infertility.
Source:
Khattab S et al, Metformin reduces abortion in
pregnant women with polycystic ovary syndrome, Gynecol
Endocrinol. 2006 Dec;22(12):680-4.
2) Birth Control Pill Could Make You Fatter
As we've discussed in some past issues of this newsletter, birth control pills are not the panacea for PCOS that some people think.
For example, we cited one study that showed birth control pills made insulin resistance worse. Since insulin resistance is now thought to be a primary cause of PCOS, you have to wonder whether long term use of birth control pills is the answer to your health problems.
More recently, a study has revealed a link between weight gain and the use of the oral contraceptive Diane 35. Diane 35, a combination of the synthetic hormones ethinylestradiol and cyproteroneacetate, is widely used in the treatment of PCOS in many countries.
In this study, 19 non-obese women with PCOS were evaluated before and after using Diane 35 for about 7 months. The researchers noted that the women gained a significant amount of weight during the 7 months. Their cholesterol levels also increased.
Clearly, birth control pills are not problem-free.
We recommend that you carefully assess the benefits and risks of birth control pills. Ask your doctor what the benefits and risks are, if you don't know.
You can also visit our webpage about
birth control pills.
Source:
Vrbikova J et al, Weight change and androgen
levels during contraceptive treatment of women affected by
polycystic ovary, Endocr Regul. 2006 Dec;40(4):119-23.
3) "Comfort Foods" and Chronic Stress
When a person is under stress, a common response is to want to eat something.
If this is true for you, are you more likely to want a bowl of chocolate ice cream or a garden salad?
Chances are, you will go for the ice cream and never mind the salad.
Why would this be? In times of stress, a pleasure center in your brain called the "nucleus Accumbens" stimulates you to eat foods high in sugar and fat calories. So you reach for the ice cream (or any high-calorie) junk food because it is a "comfort food" for you. Eating these foods gets your nucleus Accumbens to calm down and thus you don't feel as stressed out.
But consuming junk foods as a way to deal with stress has disastrous consequences for your health, causes you to gain weight around your middle and worsens all of your PCOS problems.
Is there a better way? Absolutely!
The answer is to minimize and control stress in your life.
We can't emphasize enough how important it is for you to find effective ways to deal with chronic stress. This is why we included a lengthy chapter on stress management in our PCOS diet book (see Chapter 14.2). We urge you to read this chapter and take steps today to deal more effectively with stressors in your life.
You'll be glad you did!
Sources:
Dallman ME et al, Chronic stress and comfort
foods: self-medication and abdominal obesity, Brain Behav
Immun. 2005 Jul;19(4):275-80.
Pecoraro N et al, Glucocorticoids
dose-dependently remodel energy stores and amplify incentive
relativity effects, Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2005
Oct;30(9):815-25.
Thought for Today: "Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely." -- Auguste Rodin
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