PCOS Review Newsletter #99

A free health newsletter for women with polycystic ovary syndrome or polycystic ovaries.   Issue #099      February 8, 2010

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1) PCOS-Related Liver Disease - Carnitine, Fish Oil to the Rescue?

2) How Teens Can Reduce Belly Fat

3) Use Gratitude to Escape the Psychological Trap of PCOS

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1) PCOS-Related Liver Disease - Carnitine, Fish Oil to the Rescue?

According to a medical study from Cornell University, if you have PCOS, you also have a 50-50 chance of also having a liver disease called "nonalcoholic fatty liver disease" or NAFLD.

Cornell reported that 55% of PCOS women have NAFLD. Moreover, fatty liver disease is not restricted to overweight women. In this study, nearly 40% of the women with NAFLD were lean.

NAFLD is a medical condition that starts with fat inappropriately accumulating in the liver. The accumulated fat can cause inflammation in the liver, which is called "non-alcoholic steatohepatitis" or NASH. NASH could then eventually lead to liver cirrhosis or failure.

NAFLD is not something you want to ignore, even though your doctor has probably never discussed it with you. If you have chronic NAFLD, you can't become truly healthy.

There a numerous undesirable consequences of not treating NAFLD. For example, the Ziv Medical Centre in Israel has just reported that "fatty liver proved to be a strong predictor of coronary atherosclerosis", i.e., cardiovascular disease. In this study, people with NAFLD had twice the rate of plaque deposits in their arteries and twice the rate of narrowing of the arteries.

A recent study from South Korea has shown that people with NAFLD have more polyps in their colon and thus have a higher risk of colorectal cancer.

NAFLD is serious business. NASH is even more serious.

Don't be lulled into a false sense of complacency just because you are taking birth control pills. Birth control pills to not make NAFLD or NASH go away.

Fortunately, we've uncovered some new research showing that there at least two nutritional supplements that can be helpful.

The first is l-carnitine. The University of Catania in Italy has published a report showing the supplemental carnitine was effective in suppressing NASH and improving liver function. The patients in this study took 1 gram of carnitine twice a day for 24 weeks.

The second is omega-3 fish oil. The University of Edinburgh did a review of the medical literature regarding omega-3 oils for treating NAFLD. They concluded "Omega-3 fatty acids are a promising treatment for NAFLD…"

An even more relevant study was conducted by the University of Western Australia. The researchers examined the effect of omega-3 oils on the liver fat of 25 women who had PCOS. One group of these women took 4 grams of omega-3 oils for 8 weeks. The other group took a placebo.

The omega-3 group had significantly decreased liver fat. And their triglycerides (blood fat) and blood pressure both went down.

The researchers reported: "Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation has a beneficial effect on liver fat content and other cardiovascular risk factors in women with PCOS, including those with hepatic [liver] steatosis."

A good diet, such as the one as described in our PCOS diet ebook, is essential for reducing your risk of NAFLD. In particular, we recommend that you completely avoid "high fructose corn syrup", which encourages fatty buildup in the liver.

A number of supplements are also helpful. We've reviewed two of them in this article: l-carnitine and omega-3 fish oil. By the way, these nutrients are also helpful for other symptoms of PCOS.

Source:
Hwang ST et al, Relationship of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease to colorectal adenomatous polyps, J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2010 Jan 13. [Epub ahead of print]
Assy N et al, Presence of coronary plaques in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, Radiology. 2010 Feb;254(2):393-400
Malaguarnera M et al, l-Carnitine Supplementation to Diet: A New Tool in Treatment of Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis-A Randomized and Controlled Clinical Trial, Am J Gastroenterol, 2010 Jan 12; [Epub ahead of print]
Masterson GS et al, Review article: omega-3 fatty acids - a promising novel therapy for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2009 Dec 30. [Epub ahead of print]
Cussons AJ et al, Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation decreases liver fat content in polycystic ovary syndrome: a randomized controlled trial employing proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy, J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2009 Oct;94(10):3842-8

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2) How Teens Can Reduce Belly Fat

A very interesting study of 85 overweight Latino teenagers (aged 11-17 years) revealed a simple way for them to lose belly fat.

Their diet was followed for two years and their body fat was measured. Some of them gained belly fat while others lost belly fat.

The reason? Fiber!

Those who decreased their intake of dietary fiber over the two years increased their belly fat by 24%. Those who increased their dietary fiber intake reduced their belly size by 4%.

The authors of the study concluded: "Small reductions in dietary fiber intake over 1-2 years can have profound effects on increasing visceral adiposity [belly fat] in a high-risk Latino youth population."

Whether you are a teenage or not, or a Latino or not, dietary fiber is your friend. For one thing, fiber helps you to better manage blood sugar and insulin levels. Abnormal blood sugar and insulin lead to fat accumulation, especially around the middle.

Excellent sources of fiber are: vegetables, fresh fruit, raw nuts and seeds, and whole grains. Even a moderate increase in fiber consumption will help you.

For example, you could try to consume at least five servings of freshly prepared whole vegetables per day, which is the amount recommended by the US Dept. of Agriculture. This simple act, if continued over time, can cause you to lose weight where you don't want it: around your midsection.

For a more complete discussion of fiber, refer to chapter 4.5 in The Natural Diet Solution for PCOS and Infertility ebook.

Sources:
Davis JN et al, Inverse relation between dietary fiber intake and visceral adiposity in overweight Latino youth, Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Nov;90(5):1160-6

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3) ) Use Gratitude to Escape the Psychological Trap of PCOS

It's no secret that PCOS presents you with all kinds of emotional and mental challenges. It's well known that many who have polycystic ovary syndrome develop self-esteem issues. Sometimes there is a feeling of not having any control over one's own body, or even feeling like some kind of freak.

The result of these feelings is the "deadly D's": depression, desperation, despair, disgust, disappointment or defeat. Or perhaps you experience feelings of frustration, anger or isolation.

It can be hard to maintain a positive outlook and to be kind to yourself.

It's so easy for us to slip into a negative perspective on things. A negative perspective actually impedes your progress towards gaining the upper hand over PCOS or infertility.

That's the problem. What is a solution?

I recommend you express your gratitude every day about something good in your life. I've just started to do this a couple of days ago myself and I'm already noticing a difference. I simply feel more cheerful, more positive, more hopeful and less overwhelmed.

Try it. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

Here's what to do. Go to www.gratitudelog.com, which is a community of people who share their expressions of gratitude and support each other.

Sign up as a member. It doesn't cost you a penny. Share with the community what you are grateful for. And you can find out what other people are grateful for.

Others will read what you are grateful for and give you a positive, supportive reply.

You can develop gratitude "friends" who will follow you, or you can follow them.

My fond hope is that hundreds of you will join the www.gratitudelog.com community and start to share your gratitudes with each other on a daily basis. You can also find me on this site, where I will be sharing what I'm grateful for.

If you all join together, you can give each other a daily lift. There is power in numbers. If we all have something good to share, we uplift every individual as well as the entire community.

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Thought for Today: "In so far as the mind is stronger than the body, so are the ills contracted by the mind more severe than those contracted by the body." -- Marcus Tullius Cicero