PCOS Review Newsletter #96

A free health newsletter for women with polycystic ovary syndrome or polycystic ovaries.   Issue #096      December 30, 2009

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1) 72% of PCOS Women Are Too Low in Vitamin D

2) Melatonin and Your Ovaries

3) Reset Your Stress Button

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1) 72% of PCOS Women Are Too Low in Vitamin D

It seems that we can't stop talking about the value of vitamin D in the management of polycystic ovary syndrome.

The Medical University of Graz in Austria just released a study 206 women who had PCOS. They discovered 72.8% of these women had a vitamin D deficiency. That's nearly 3 of every 4 women!

The researchers found a correlation between low vitamin D levels and an elevation of these symptoms of PCOS: weight, belly fat, blood pressure, blood sugar, insulin resistance, insulin, triglycerides and cholesterol.

If you have any of these signs or symptoms, you should find vitamin D supplementation to be quite helpful. You can find signficiant supplemental vitamin D in the d-Pinitol product.

Whether you have the above symptoms or not, we urge you to get a vitamin D test from your doctor if you have PCOS or infertility. This is an obvious first step in your management of PCOS.

By the way, we also came across another study showing that vitamin D reduces cardiovascular risk, which we'll discuss in a future newsletter. Women with PCOS frequently have early indications of cardiovascular disease.

Source:
Wehr E et al, Association of hypovitaminosis D with metabolic disturbances in polycystic ovary syndrome, Eur J Endocrinol. 2009 Oct;161(4):575-82

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2) Melatonin and Your Ovaries

A new study from the University of Texas Health Science Center has confirmed that the hormone melatonin plays an essential role in reproductive health.

Melatonin is a hormone that your body produces during darkness. It is not produced during daylight hours or when your lights are on. Melatonin helps to regulate your day-night biorhythm and is a powerful antioxidant.

In addition, melatonin has a direct on your ovarian function.

Authors of the study concluded: "Melatonin could become an important medication for improving ovarian function and oocyte [egg] quality, and open new opportunities for the management of several ovarian diseases."

An earlier report from the St. Louis University School of Nursing said that light exposure may affect menstrual cycles and symptoms through the inhibition of melatonin. The also said that women with PCOS may have a greater vulnerability to the influence of light-dark exposure.

What does all this mean?

It means that adequate melatonin production during darkness could improve the functioning of your ovaries, and possibly also improve the quality of your eggs.

People who are "night owls" and leave the lights on until late at night are less likely to produce enough melatonin. Nightly melatonin production is also reduced if you turn on the lights when you get out of bed to go to the bathroom.

Melatonin production is enhanced if you sleep in total darkness.

It's quite important to get to bed at a reasonably early hour, in a very dark room. You want to give your body a chance to start producing melatonin.

Getting a good night's sleep in total darkness should be an integral part of your strategy for dealing with PCOS.

Ask your doctor about supplemental melatonin. It is available in the United States without a prescription.

Sources:
Tamura H et al, Melatonin and the ovary: physiological and pathophysiological implications, Fertil Steril. 2009 Jul;92(1):328-43
Barron ML et al, Light exposure, melatonin secretion, and menstrual cycle parameters: an integrative review, Biol Res Nurs. 2007 Jul;9(1):49-69

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3) Reset Your Stress Button

It's winter and many of us are dealing with the weather challenges, travel, visiting relatives, eating unhealthy food and not getting enough exercise. Plus, we have the daily challenges of life, relationships, financial challenges, our job (or lack of one).

It's easy to get scattered, overwhelmed, or stressed out. It's easy to forget to take good care of your precious self.

We bring this up because mastery over PCOS is very much a mental game.

Sometimes even the best of us need to retreat to refocus our thoughts, energies and resources.

I personally struggle like everyone else to live a balanced and successful life. I have to take the time to remind myself that being in a bad mood or feeling stressed out is a choice, and that I can choose to look at my life and situation differently.

When you realize that you are experiencing burnout from the reality of life, it's time for you to bring to mind "the skill of awareness."

What this means is that you have an awareness that you are not in a resourceful mindset or mental state. You need to give yourself permission to nurture yourself and honor your emotions.

It's important to remember that feelings are energy and they need to be acknowledged.

Do yourself a big favor and create an outlet that allows you to get out of your negative state of mind and honor your feelings.

I love to go to the nearby seashore, even if the weather isn't so good. It's immensely calming to gaze out over the water and listen to the sound waves meeting the shore. I can view the snow-capped mountains in the distance. Seabirds glide by. It is quiet and peaceful. All of my problems and concerns become insignificant for this moment. I give myself permission to quiet my mind and become totally immersed in the Present Moment. When I come home, I feel like a different person. I have a different perspective on my problems and often come up with a creative solution.

What can you do to play hooky and do something that will renew your soul, give you temporary escape from life's challenges and demands, and give you some resourceful insights?

Write down some of the ways you will reset your stress button. And then schedule some time to make it happen!

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Thought for Today: "Almost every wise saying has an opposite one, no less wise, to balance it." -- George Santayana