PCOS Review Newsletter #49
A free health newsletter for women with polycystic ovary syndrome or polycystic ovaries.
Issue #049 November 12, 2007
Nancy Dunne, N.D., Naturopathic Physician
Bill Slater, Research Associate
1) More Good News about Inositol and Pinitol for PCOS
2) Which Works Better…Metformin or Diet?
3) Young PCOS Women Have Hardening of the Arteries
1) More Good News about Inositol and Pinitol for PCOS
New research from around the world suggests that a common B vitamin will help to restore a normal cycle, improve odds of becoming pregnant, and reduce insulin and blood sugar problems.
Inositol and its biochemical cousins, d-Pinitol and D-chiro-inositol, improve the insulin message system in your body so that insulin can do a more effective job of controlling your blood sugar. In other words, inositol can reduce a condition called "insulin resistance", which is thought to be a root cause of polycystic ovary syndrome.
At the Vita-Salute University in Italy, researchers studied 25 PCOS women who were not having their cycle. At a dose of 4,000 milligrams a day, they were given a combination of inositol and folic acid (another B vitamin) for six months.
88% of the women restored at least one spontaneous menstrual cycle during treatment. 72% maintained a normal cycle beyond the end of the treatment. 40% became pregnant.
The authors of the study conclude: "Myo-inositol is a simple and safe treatment that is capable of restoring spontaneous ovarian activity and consequently fertility in most patients with PCOS."
We have both inositol and d-Pinitol available from our online store. Inositol is very inexpensive. The D-Pinitol is more potent and is a more complete formula. It is more expensive than inositol.
View our inositol products at the online supplements store.
Next month, we'll review another new study about how d-Pinitol can help you.
Source:
Papaleo E et al, Myo-inositol in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome: A novel method for ovulation induction, Gynecol Endocrinol. 2007 Oct 10;:1-4 [Epub ahead of print]
2) Which Works Better…Metformin or Diet?
According to research at Royal Medical Services in Jordan, it's a draw! A better diet or metformin were equally effective, if you have polycystic ovary syndrome and are overweight.
In this study, one group of 24 women were put on a calorie-restricted diet (25% protein, 25% fat, 50% carbs). Another group of 22 were given 850 mg of metforming (Glucophage) twice a day for six months.
After six months, both groups had equal improvement in menstrual cycles, weight reduction and testosterone levels.
The primary difference between better diet and metformin is that metformin has some undesirable side effects whereas as a healthier diet has no side effects whatsoever.
Click here to learn more about metformin's side effects.
Secondly, the one-time purchase of a healthy diet book such as The Natural Diet Solution for PCOS and Infertility is much less expensive than taking metformin for years and years. This book allows you to eat plentiful amounts of healthy food without consuming too many calories.
Third, a healthier diet will increase your lifespan, help you avoid developing chronic diseases, give you more energy, help to create a healthier baby, help you lose weight, and reduce other problems such as acne, hirsutism and hair loss.
If you're relying on metformin alone, now is the time to think about also improving your diet.
Source:
Oublian HS et al Dietary intervention versus metformin to improve the reproductive outcome in women with polycystic ovary syndrome. A prospective comparative study, Saudi Med J. 2007 Nov;28(11):1694-9
3) Young PCOS Women Have Hardening of the Arteries
When we think of hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis), we think of old people. That is not the case if you have polycystic ovary syndrome.
A study just released by the Universidad de Alcala in Spain showed that young PCOS women had signs of hardening of the arteries, whereas other young women did not. The high levels of male hormones such as testosterone appear to be responsible for this problem. Insulin resistance and weight did not appear to be a factor, according to this study.
It's well known that women with polycystic ovarian syndrome are more like to develop cardiovascular disease than other women. Atherosclerosis can eventually lead to stroke, heart attack, eye problems and kidney problems.
You can control the excessive male hormone problems to some extent by taking birth control pills. But for how many decades do you want to be taking birth control pills? What else might you do?
You may have heard that men and women who exercise a great deal and eat a very healthy diet don't get hardening of the arteries like other people do. One of the reasons is that exercise and healthy diet work to bring your hormones into a more normal balance.
There's a lot you can do to control PCOS and heart disease. It just takes some effort, focus and consistency.
Source:
Luque-Ramirez M et al, Androgen excess is associated with the increased carotid intima-media thickness observed in young women with polycystic ovary syndrome, Hum Reprod. 2007 Oct 11; [Epub ahead of print]
Thought for Today: "Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love and something to hope for." -- Joseph Addison
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