PCOS Review Newsletter #92

A free health newsletter for women with polycystic ovary syndrome or polycystic ovaries.   Issue #092      October 31, 2009

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1) New Way to Reduce Hair Loss?

2) Spearmint Tea Helps PCOS Symptoms

3) Plastics Chemical Tied to Aggression in Young Girls

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1) New Way to Reduce Hair Loss?

Hair loss or the inability to re-grow hair is one of the most distressing aspects of PCOS.

Could stress be part of the problem? Some people think so. Others don't. New evidence is now showing that stress does indeed inhibit hair growth.

We discovered a very interesting study of mice conducted by the University Medicine Berlin in Germany. The mice were subjected to noise stress.

The researchers were able to identify several biochemical signals that were produced by the brain's response to stress. These signals disturbed the function of the hair follicles, including inflammation, cell death, and hair follicle regression.

This study demonstrates a direct relationship between stress-created biochemicals and hair growth problems. In other words, there is a connection between your brain and your skin (where your hair follicles are).

Every part of your body in connected to and influenced every other part of your body in some way. In this case, your response to stress is more than just a negative feeling. It might also contribute to hair loss to some extent.

And we've spoken in past newsletters and in the PCOS diet book about the destructive role chronic stress plays in the continuance or worsening of symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome, such as increased belly fat and increased infertility.

We think that management and reduction of chronic stress is a vital piece of successful long-term management of PCOS and some of its symptoms.

You can learn some stress management methods in Chapter 14.2 of the PCOS diet book.

Source:
Peters EM et al, Hair growth inhibition by psychoemotional stress: a mouse model for neural mechanisms in hair growth control, Exp Dermatol. 2006 Jan;15(1):1-13

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2) Spearmint Tea Helps PCOS Symptoms

Have you been drinking your spearmint tea?

In our April 2007 newsletter, we reported exciting news from a Turkish university about how spearmint tea appears to inhibit hirsutism (excessive hair growth) in women who have polycystic ovary syndrome.

We're happy to report more interesting news about spearmint tea.

This time, 42 women with PCOS were studied at Eastbourne District General Hospital in the UK. One group had spearmint tea twice a day for one month. The other group had a placebo.

The spearmint tea group had a reduction in their levels of testosterone, a male hormone. Too much testosterone contributes to PCOS symptoms, such as acne, infertility and hirsutism.

The women reported that they experienced a reduction in their hirsutism. However, an objective measure of hair showed no change.

So conclusive proof for spearmint tea's effectiveness in reducing hirsutism is still lacking. The original Turkish study was only for five days and the UK study was for only one month. This is too short a period of time to properly evaluate the effectiveness of spearmint tea.

However, these preliminary studies suggest that spearmint tea may be helpful for testosterone-related problems such as hairiness. The researchers reported that "…the preliminary findings are encouraging that spearmint has the potential for use as a helpful and natural treatment for hirsutism in PCOS."

Source:
Grant P et al, Spearmint herbal tea has significant anti-androgen effects in polycystic ovarian syndrome. a randomized controlled trial, . Phytother Res. 2009 Jul 7. [Epub ahead of print]

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3) Plastics Chemical Tied to Aggression in Young Girls

Did you know that chemicals in the environment can hurt your health and contribute to dysfunction of your glands and organs?

One of those chemicals is bisphenol A (BPA). In an earlier newsletter, we shared that animal or human studies of BPA suggest that it might contribute insulin resistance, miscarriage, breast cancer, polycystic ovaries, fibroids, or obesity. Please read this previous newsletter.

Almost no one is talking to PCOS women about minimizing exposure to chemicals in our environment. It seems that most doctors act as if it doesn't even exist.

However, we believe that reducing your exposure is part of any successful long term management program for polycystic ovary syndrome -- and doing so will benefit your future daughter.

A new report has come to our attention. This study included 249 pregnant women whose urine samples were collected when they were 16 and 26 weeks pregnant, and within 24 hours of birth. 99% of the women had at least one urine sample with detectable levels of BPA.

The children's behavior was reported by the parents when the children were 2 years old. Girls whose mothers had encountered the most BPA early in pregnancy tended to become somewhat more aggressive than normal, and boys became more anxious and withdrawn.

This is the first study to link human behavior with BPA. Animal studies have earlier indicated behavior changes in BPA-exposed animals.

All the research data suggests that it's time that we all take chemical pollution more seriously.

Even though it's invisible, you can start by reducing your exposure to BPA. It is used in a multitude of hard plastic products such as water bottles, food containers, infant bottles and medical equipment and supplies. BPA may also be found in the lining of canned foods and in many other non-obvious products such as thermal-printed cash register receipts and some dental sealants.

We suggest that you reduce the use of canned foods and eat more fresh food instead. Try to use glass containers instead of plastic. Don't use plastic bottles to feed your baby; use glass instead.

If you're trying to conceive, or are pregnant, it's especially important to reduce your exposure to BPA and the other chemical "hormone disrupters" in the environment.

Source:
Environmental Health Perspectives journal (Oct 6, 2009 online issue).

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Thought for Today: "Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm." -- Winston Churchill