PCOS Review Newsletter #9

Natural Health Ideas for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
A free monthly newsletter for women with ovarian cysts or PCOS.

Issue #009 October 1, 2003
Nancy Dunne, N.D., Naturopathic Physician
Bill Slater, Research Associate

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1) PCOS Supplements - New Section of Our Website

2) How to Find a Top PCOS Specialist in Your Area

3) Should You Drink Milk - or Not?

4) Another Reason Why Women with PCOS Should Exercise

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1) PCOS SUPPLEMENTS - NEW SECTION OF OUR WEBSITE

We're gradually developing a new section of our website that will give you a complete list and explanation of the dietary supplements that may help you manage PCOS. You can view our new supplements section at:

www.ovarian-cysts-pcos.com/supplements.html

So far, we have an explanation of vitex (chasteberry):

www.ovarian-cysts-pcos.com/vitex.html

We've also given you some guidelines to ensure that you purchase the best quality supplements:

www.ovarian-cysts-pcos.com/supplements-quality.html

Please visit our PCOS Supplements section at least once a month -- we'll be adding more information every month.

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2) HOW TO FIND A TOP PCOS SPECIALIST IN YOUR AREA

We receive a lot of emails from you expressing your frustration with your present doctor and asking for the names of PCOS specialists in your area. Frankly, we don't have the time to keep track of PCOS specialists and provide you with a list of names. But we do understand it's very important that you have a doctor who really knows how to deal with this disorder.

Therefore, we have negotiated with an experienced medical research firm to provide you with a list of top PCOS specialists in your area and region at a much-reduced cost. The list includes both conventional and holistic physicians.

The company, founded in 1984, is called The Health Resource and is run by several women who have devoted themselves to finding the best-known specialists for PCOS and other disorders.

You can get a carefully selected list of the top doctors in your area who have a special interest in treating PCOS and who are best qualified to help you. There is no other place on the Internet where you can get a list of this quality. And most importantly, you will have an opportunity to find a doctor who can best help you!

For more information, go to:

www.ovarian-cysts-pcos.com/pcos-specialist.html

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3) SHOULD YOU DRINK MILK - OR NOT?

Many women with PCOS drink milk or consume dairy products because they are on the Atkins diet and use dairy as a source of protein. Or, possibly they eat dairy products because they understand the importance of eating low-glycemic foods, and dairy products have a low glycemic index value compared to other foods such as bread.

The purpose of these diets is to control or reduce your levels of insulin. After eating foods with a high glycemic index, your blood sugar climbs sharply. Insulin in then produced to bring the blood sugar back down to a normal level.

However, excessive insulin is a prime contributor to PCOS. If you can reduce your insulin levels, PCOS symptoms tend to diminish. This is why women often do well on a low-glycemic diet.

With carbohydrate foods, there is a strong positive correlation between the glycemic index and the amount of insulin produced in response to that food. Therefore, you would expect that a low-glycemic food such as milk would not cause much insulin to be produced. But a study conducted at Lund University in Sweden has shown that milk causes a strong insulin response, even though it is a low-glycemic food -- exactly the opposite of what you would expect.

Another study from Lund University also suggests that milk causes your insulin to go up. In this study, individuals were given low glycemic meals of spaghetti, with or without milk. People who had milk with their spaghetti had significantly higher insulin responses that the people who had spaghetti and water.

Even though these were small studies, they do suggest that consumption of dairy products because they have a low glycemic index will NOT lower your insulin response and thus may not reduce your PCOS symptoms. It's conceivable that milk could even make your PCOS worse.

There is one bright note, however. One of the studies showed that fermented dairy products such as yogurt had a lower insulin response than milk. So, if you choose to continue consuming dairy, switch to fermented products such as yogurt or kefir.

To find out more about the glycemic index, go to:

www.ovarian-cysts-pcos.com/glycemic-index.html

Sources: Ostman, EM et al, Inconsistency between glycemic and insulinemic responses to regular and fermented milk products, Am J Clin Nutr, 2001, 74(1):96-100. Liljeberg EH, et al, Milk as a supplement to mixed meals may elevate postprandial insulinaemia, Eur J Clin Nutr, 2001, 55(11):994-9.

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4) ANOTHER REASON WHY WOMEN WITH PCOS SHOULD EXERICSE

A recent study at the University of Warwick in England has provided the first evidence that regular exercise significantly lowers homocysteine in the blood of young overweight women with PCOS.

Homocysteine is an amino acid in the blood. A normal amount is OK. But an elevated level means that your metabolic processes are not working properly. Elevated homocysteine is associated with coronary artery disease, heart attack, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, cognitive impairment, and cervical cancer. Women with PCOS often have high homocysteine levels, especially those who are taking metformin (Glucophage).

In the Warwick study, a group of women who exercised for six months had a significant drop in their homocysteine levels. They also reduced their waist-to-hip ratio, meaning that their bellies got smaller. In contrast, there was no change in the non-exercising group.

We believe that regular, frequent exercise is crucial for managing polycystic ovarian syndrome. If you're not exercising, please get started now!

To find out more about the relationship between homocysteine and metformin, go to:

www.ovarian-cysts-pcos.com/glucophage-metformin-pcos.html

Source: Randeva, HS et al, Exercise decreases plasma total homocysteine in overweight young women with polycystic ovary syndrome, J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 2002. 87(10):4496-501

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