Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) - Botanicals, Supplements, and Acupuncture (an update)!
Health Is PowHer Podcast Episode 60
With Dr. Anna Esparham-Evans, MD
PCOS affects almost 5 million women! It's becoming an epidemic. Women who have trouble with menstrual regularity, ovulation, fertility, ovarian cysts, acne, hirsutism or excessive hair in male-distributed pattern with insulin resistance is common.
We talk about the newest research on botanicals, herbs, supplements, and acupuncture!
This is an update to our original podcast episode on PCOS which can be found here at this link.
Listen below to the podcast!
https://healthispowher.libsyn.com/60-heal-from-pcos-botanicals-supplements-and-therapies-update
Spearmint:
Spearmint has anti-androgenic properties - in fact it reduced testosterone in one study of women who drank spearmint tea over 30 days.
Aloe vera
Phytosterols reduce androgens and reduce serum cholesterol and increase estrogens. In animal models, aloe vera reduced glucose, insulin and triglycerides!I love aloe vera because of it’s added benefit for people with constipation (though some people can be irritated by aloe vera). However, it can cause problems for people with sensitivity to latex and can be harmful to those individuals, cautious use advised.
Flaxseed:
Flaxseed plus spearmint shown to improve the androgen and hormone profile in an animal model.
Flaxseed in a research study showed that women had reduced insulin levels and insulin resistance when taking flaxseed for 3 months.
Green Tea:
Has quite a bit of influence on PCOS in several human studies - quite a few in my family’s country of Iran! They do such great research on supplements in that country.
Green tea enhances fat cell reduction (lipolysis) and reduces inflammation in PCOS rat models. It enhances the activity of the ovarian follicles as well to function normally. Green tea also blocks testosterone production and reduces luteinizing hormone (LH) which is elevated in PCOS, however, green tea can also increase testosterone levels so cautious use advised as some studies contradicted this.
Selenium:
This is an essential micronutrient that is extremely to fight oxidative stress as it is involved in your antioxidant status!
Selenium has been found to decrease serum insulin, triglycerides, and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) - cholesterol.
Typically selenium is taken as a 200 mcg dose per day for 8 weeks.
L-carnitine
This helps with turning fat into energy!
L-carnitine was found to improve ovulation and insulin resistance in women who took this with metformin (a drug known to help women with pcos manage their blood sugar)
Alpha-lipoic acid
Somewhat of a sulfur-based antioxidant made in our mitochondria. Taking this 400 mg daily helped women with pcos and obesity improve their metabolic profile and stave off diabetes. People with sulfur allergies or sensitivities need to be cautious with this supplement!
Berberine
A bioactive compound extracted from goldenseal herb.
Berberine has been found to reduce blood sugar and cholesterol profiles, but even more important was found to improve ovulation and regulate menstrual cycles in women with pcos in one study. A systematic review has found that more research needs to be done though in women with PCOS and how they respond to berberine.
Up to 1.5 grams daily was used (about 400-500 mg 3 times daily) in some of the studies
Acupuncture
one study found improvements in ovulation frequency and newer evidence has found improvements in insulin resistance and blood sugar control.
Electroacupuncture specifically found that it decreased sympathetic activity known to cause some of the parameters in PCOS associated with mood and stress just as much as exercise which is the standard of care for pcos!
Common points used incude SP4, KI3, and SP6
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