What is PCOS?
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is driven by a complex mixture of insulin resistance, elevated androgens (aka male sex hormones), adrenal dysfunction, and inflammation.
These core health imbalances can be absolutely catastrophic to a normal functioning female body, and lead to issues like irregular periods, weight gain, infertility, facial hair, acne, hair loss, cravings, fatigue, mood swings, low libido, type 2 Diabetes, heart disease, a higher risk of certain cancers, and more.
Insulin Resistance
The majority of women with PCOS have insulin resistance or blood sugar dysregulation. What is it?
Normally, insulin rises and falls after eating, taking sugars from our food and converting them into energy. With insulin resistance, the body stops responding to insulin as it should and sugar aka glucose has a harder time getting into our cells. After a while, our blood sugar starts to rise and this can lead to type 2 Diabetes and worsened PCOS symptoms like weight gain, irregular periods, fatigue, infertility, and cravings.
Working to improve insulin resistance and keep blood sugars nice and balanced can ultimately reverse pre-Diabetes and many PCOS symptoms, and drastically reduce the risk of heart disease, certain cancers, hypertension, high cholesterol, and obesity.
Elevated Androgens
Testosterone is a hormone we typically think of when we think about men. BUT, did you know women also produce and need small amounts of testosterone? Yep, and even men make and need small amounts of estrogen!
Problems arise, however, when a woman makes *too much* testosterone.
Over half of women with PCOS have elevated testosterone, and it can cause facial hair, weight gain, acne, hair loss on the head, and wacky unpredictable periods. Testosterone issues in women can also negatively affect our mood, libido, and self-confidence.
Lowering our testosterone with PCOS is 100% possible, and working on key dietary, supplement, and lifestyle changes can make all the difference.
Adrenal Dysfunction
What is Cortisol, and what does it have to do with our adrenal health?
Our adrenals are small glands that sit on top of our kidneys. They make our main stress hormone, cortisol. Cortisol isn’t all bad! In fact, we need some to survive! However, when cortisol is constantly running high for extended periods of time, it can lead to symptoms like fatigue, poor sleep, slow metabolism, weight gain, mood swings, acne, and a lack of ovulation (aka irregular periods). This is basically the very definition of “burnout.”
Researchers have found consistently higher levels of cortisol aka our stress hormone in women who have PCOS, and women with PCOS are three times more likely to struggle with anxiety and depression. In today’s busy, fast-paced world, adrenal issues only make managing PCOS symptoms harder.
Sometimes, “self care” just doesn’t cut it, and we need additional support for our stress levels, cortisol, and adrenals.
Inflammation
It’s well known in the medical and health space that inflammation is thought to play a direct role in almost every serious health disease out there. When it comes to PCOS specifically, research suggests this condition is always closely associated with inflammation. Most studies done on the subject show women with PCOS have higher levels of inflammatory markers in their blood (like C-reactive protein - CRP) than women without the diagnosis. In fact, women with PCOS exist in this low-grade inflammatory state chronically!
The low-grade inflammation that’s associated with PCOS can be a risk factor for type 2 diabetes, infertility, skin issues like eczema and rosacea, joint pain, and even heart disease.
Just by working to fan the flame and turn the inflammation volume knob down, we can drastically improve PCOS symptoms and reduce our risk of more serious health complications in the future.
The VITA-PCOS Solution
Insulin resistance, elevated androgens, adrenal dysfunction, and inflammation drive PCOS symptoms. VITA-PCOS is designed to fight back and knock them out, one by one.
VITA-PCOS’ proprietary blends of functional body-benefiting natural nutrients help regulate insulin, cortisol, and testosterone to support healthy hormones and whole-body health.
