By Dt. Shikha Mahajan
Holistic Nutritionist, Diet Podium
PCOD is a metabolic disorder, stemming from a hormonal disorder due to our sedentary lifestyle and bad eating habits. PCOS is a common problem among teen girls and young women. Today, 1 out of 10 women has PCOS. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a hormone imbalance that causes irregular periods, unwanted hair growth, and acne. PCOS begins during teenage, can be mild or severe and causes problems ranging from medical, aesthetic as well as psychological and social.
PCOS is caused by an imbalance in various hormones, both in your brain and your ovaries. PCOS usually happens when levels of hormone LH (produced by the pituitary gland) or insulin (from the pancreas) are too high, which then causes the ovaries to produce excess testosterone.
- The pituitary gland, located in the brain, makes the “luteinizing hormone” (LH) and “follicle stimulating hormone” (FSH).
- After getting the signal from LH and FSH, the ovaries make oestrogen and progesterone, the female sex hormones.
- Generally ovaries also make a bit of the androgen testosterone, a male sex hormone while the pancreas make insulin. High levels of insulin can also cause the ovaries to make excess of the hormone testosterone.
- Many patients with PCOS or PCOD also have of the metabolic syndrome, which is marked by insulin resistance, obesity, and dyslipidaemia etc, suggesting an increased risk for cardiovascular disease.
- For long now, diabetologists have been noticing the co-morbid diseases of obesity, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia in their type 2 diabetic patients. They also recognise the necessity of treating these conditions in order to improve outcomes. The condition, when insulin resistance, obesity, hypertension, and dyslipidemia are grouped together as a cluster, has been termed “the metabolic syndrome.”
The most common form of treatment today for PCOD is the birth control pill. However, it comes with various side effects including both long term hormonal issues and nausea, vomiting, head spin etc. in majority women. Other kinds of hormonal therapy including the “vaginal ring” and “the patch” are often used for this reason. Even if one is not sexually active, birth control pills may be prescribed to them as they contain the hormones that your body requires to treat PCOS. Birth control pills can:
- Correct the hormone imbalances related to PCOS.
- Lower the level of testosterone improving acne and lessening hair growth,
- Regulate the menstrual periods in cases of irregularity.
- Lowers the risk of endometrial cancer, which is higher in young women who have an irregular ovulation cycle.