PCOS Review Newsletter #86
A free health newsletter for women with polycystic ovary syndrome or polycystic ovaries. Issue #086 August 3, 2009
1) Do Women with PCOS Need More Vitamin D?
2) 10 Healthy Diet Tips When Travelling
3) Exercise: Does Sweating Mean I Am Out of Shape?
1) ) Do Women with PCOS Need More Vitamin D?
We were surprised to discover new research indicating that nearly three of every four women with PCOS may have vitamin D levels that are below optimal. The Medical University of Graz in Austria studied 206 women affected by PCOS and found that 72.8% had insufficient vitamin D levels.
The most common treatment for polycystic ovarian syndrome is birth control pills or metformin. The issue of vitamin D adequacy is rarely if ever discussed.
Yet vitamin D is needed to help you reduce insulin resistance, which is thought to be a primary cause of PCOS. Vitamin D is also necessary for a multitude of functions in your body, including bone health.
Moreover, another report from the Royan Institute in Iran suggests that PCOS women have some genetic variation that affects how effectively vitamin D functions in the body.
It's possible that these genetic variations may contribute in some way to insulin resistance and PCOS. The researchers said: "The findings of the present study indicate that genetic variation in the vitamin D receptor may affect PCOS development as well as insulin resistance in women with PCOS."
The Austrian study reported a close association between metabolic syndrome, PCOS and low vitamin D. Metabolic syndrome has a lot of overlap with PCOS.
A few common symptoms of metabolic syndrome are large waist circumference, high waist-to-hip ratio, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and high blood fats. In this study, women with PCOS who also had metabolic syndrome also had the lowest vitamin D levels.
The bottom line is that if you are overweight, have insulin resistance or metabolic syndrome, it's highly recommended that you get a vitamin D blood test. You could also take a supplement formula that contains a good level of vitamin D, such as d-pinitol. A small study from Aristotle University in Greece showed favorable results in treating overweight PCOS women with vitamin D.
What if you are lean? Your need for vitamin D may be less than for someone who is overweight. But who knows? Regardless of your weight, it's wise to get a vitamin D blood test and find our where you stand.
Sources:
Wehr E et al, Association of hypovitaminosis D with metabolic disturbances in polycystic ovary syndrome, Eur J Endocrinol. 2009 Jul 23. [Epub ahead of print]
Mahmoudi T et al, Genetic variation in the vitamin D receptor and polycystic ovary syndrome risk, Fertil Steril. 2009 Jun 5. [Epub ahead of print]
Kotsa K et al, Role of vitamin D treatment in glucose metabolism in polycystic ovary syndrome, Fertil Steril. 2008 Oct 16. [Epub ahead of print]
2) 10 Healthy Diet Tips When Travelling
In addition to having an enjoyable vacation or travel experience, it's also easy to gain weight or get out of shape. Here are a few tips for staying healthy.
1) Make sure you to walk or otherwise get exercise. Bring a pedometer with you and shoot for a goal of 10,000 steps per day. This will help you to avoid gaining weight. Even if you're in a constrained situation such as a cruise ship, it's vital to walk every day.
2) Don’t eat everything on your plate. When eating out, serving sizes are usually too large so leave food on your plate, especially carbohydrates like bread, pasta, white rice and potatoes.
3) Stick to a schedule as much as possible and eat a good breakfast. Have a good portion of protein such as eggs with a meat. This will set your appetite for the day and reduce choosing the wrong foods at lunch time because you are starving. Minimize refined carbohydrates such as bagels, muffins, croissants and ready-to-eat breakfast cereals. You can also minimize fried fatty foods such as sausage and bacon. A vegetable omelet would be a better choice.
4) If traveling by plane, bring healthy snacks with you such as nuts or protein bars. Drink lots of water to help curb your appetite and prevent dehydration.
5) If on a road trip or camping, pack a cooler with fresh fruit, vegetable juices, raw vegetable trays and organic corn chips with hummus, baba ganouj or guacamole dips. Book hotel rooms with small refrigerators to store these healthy snacks.
6) Pack a day pack so that when you are sight-seeing you will have some of your own food and beverages on hand.
7) If you are eating out three times per day, avoid carbohydrates for at least one meal per day, such as pasta, potatoes, rice or bread. Many restaurants serve chef salads, chicken salads, etc. without carbohydrates.
8) Soda pop and alcohol are loaded with useless calories. One vodka cooler has 350 calories equal to eight teaspoons of sugar. Even vitamin water and sports drinks can be calorie-heavy. Lower calorie summer drinks include light coolers, light beer and wine spritzers. Non alcoholic suggestions are unsweetened iced tea, fruit flavored sparkling water, or sparkling water with a splash of fruit juice. Even vitamin water and sports drinks can be packed with calories. Just plain water is your best bet.
9) Continue your nutritional supplement program.
10) Indulge wisely. Allow yourself one treat every day and don’t finish it if you are satisfied with only a portion.
3) Exercise Question: Does Sweating Mean I Am Out of Shape?
By Gemma Magnusson, Personal Trainer for Women with PCOS
A great sign that you are getting into good shape is when you start to sweat! Sweating is a very good thing. There is also research to suggest that sweating can actually help to relieve depression. So by sweating you are making your body AND mind feel great!
But don’t get me wrong...excessive sweating will not make you burn more fat, it just represents the loss of water from your body which you must replace during and after your workout. Sweating is the body’s way of cooling itself. Whilst exercising and using your muscles you are generating heat inside your body which then is cooled by sweating.
The more hydrated you are before you train, the more likely you are to sweat, so remember to drink plenty of water before starting your exercise program. If you are exercising in a hot or humid environment you will need to drink extra water.
Feel good about sweating as every droplet of sweat means that you are one step closer to balancing your hormones and feeling just amazing!
Avoid sweating aids like rubber suits; just be prepared to sweat in your normal training clothes and always take spares with you so you have something fresh to change into after training.
When you first begin an exercise program, start slowly and work your way into your fitness. This avoids a massive shock to your body and you are more likely to keep fitness in your lifestyle this way. Going "all out" in the first week as if you were in some army training camp will most probably do more harm than good so remember to take it steady and don’t sweat too much at the beginning.
Thought for Today: "The more we refuse to buy into our inner critics -- and our external ones too -- the easier it will get to have confidence in our choices, and to feel comfortable with who we are." -- Arianna Stassinopoulos Huffington
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