PCOS -Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)

What Is PCOS?

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is a metabolic, hormonal, ovulation and insulin disorder related condition that affects one in 10 women. In a normal menstrual cycle, follicles grow on the ovaries and eggs develop within those follicles. After a certain period of time, only one of those eggs reaches maturity sooner than the other eggs. When this egg reaches maturity it is released into the fallopian tubes. The other follicles that have not matured then dissolve back into the ovary.
However, under certain conditions (genetic, hormonal imbalance and insulin resistance being some, but not all, of these conditions), the ovaries are larger than normal, and there are several follicles that do not reach maturity but appear in clumps. These are polycystic ovaries. Women who have PCOS also experience, in addition to the formation of polycystic ovaries, an array of symptoms, also referred to as a syndrome.
While a woman can have polycystic ovaries without suffering from PCOS, all women with PCOS will have polycystic ovaries.
PCOS is a complex condition in which numerous underlying factors in basic body processes have been disrupted. Since the human body is a unified whole, a disorder in one area will ultimately lead to problems in other areas. This is why it is important to treat PCOS and ovarian cysts as a systemic disorder (in other words treat the disorder holistically) rather than treat it as a problem concerned solely with your ovaries.

What Are Ovarian Cysts?
Follicles are small fluid-filled sacs in the ovaries that normally develop into eggs as a natural part of the ovulation process. However, as already mentioned, under certain conditions, some follicles migrate to the surface of the ovaries but fail to release an egg. The follicles then become cysts (a follicle larger than 2 cm) and grow larger with each menstrual cycle.
While most cysts are harmless (only 15 cases per 100,000 are cancerous) some cysts can cause pain and bleeding.
Ovarian cysts most commonly develop among women in their childbearing years but can affect women of all ages.

The Real Cause Of PCOS And Ovarian Cysts
The most fundamental truth regarding the vast majority of chronic health conditions, including PCOS and ovarian cysts, is that there is no such thing as a single cause.
As with other health conditions, PCOS is a condition that is triggered by several primary and secondary factors and the relationship between them. There are factors and co-factors that contribute to PCOS and to the development of ovarian cysts, and there are causative agents that aggravate an already compromised PCOS condition.
There are also life situations, external factors and mental factors that directly or indirectly form the environment in which the internal balance is disrupted. These then manifest themselves as common PCOS symptoms and ovarian cysts.
Because every health problem is multidimensional, the solution must be multidimensional, in order to eradicate the problem from the root. This is one of the reasons why science and conventional medicine fail in treating most western afflictions. Instead of treating the body as a unified whole, they tackle the manifestation of the condition or the infected parts.
Some of us are more genetically prone to disease than others, but that is not to say that if we have some tendency to develop a condition or a weakness of some sort, there is nothing we can do. As I will later illustrate, we can partly change our genetic structure and we can also solve other parts of the health condition puzzle. We can make a difference, reverse our diseases and regain our health and energy by making affirmative decisions to change our lifestyles, dietary choices and thoughts that lead to poor health, toxic buildup, and weak immune systems along with several other factors, which promote
the majority of all common illnesses. Then we can gain control over our health and inner terrain.
The primary factors that lead to PCOS and ovarian cysts are:
• Genetic predisposition
• Poor dietary choices
• Weakened immune system
• Accumulation of toxins in the digestive tract (including
environmental toxins)
• Insulin resistance and obesity

These five factors create the prefect internal environment for PCOS that manifests as ovarian cysts, among various other symptoms.
Having hormonal imbalance (such as during menstruation), taking antibiotics, prescription medications and steroids, stress and lack of sleep can also contribute to PCOS and to the formation of ovarian cysts.
Now, let’s go into more detail about each of the primary and secondary factors that contribute to PCOS.
*Genetic Predisposition
Most research has shown that the genetic pattern of women with PCOS is somewhat different compared to women who don't have PCOS. It seems that the genes of women who have PCOS make them predisposed to abnormal metabolism and the dysfunctions of cell activity.
However, the claim that women with PCOS have a genetic tendency that cannot be altered is nothing but a myth. While genes are a set of rules or principles that determine your physical characteristics, along with the tendency to develop or prevent diseases, your genes, similar to a blueprint, can be altered.

Genetic research has shown that your genetic characteristics can be modified and influenced by numerous choices and factors. From the moment of birth until you die, your environment, inside and outside your body, can greatly impact your genetic disposition.
By choosing to take control over your inner and outer environment (by changing your diet, for example) you can strongly influence your genetic tendencies and therefore help your body overcome disease.

*Poor Dietary Choices

A diet high in refined carbohydrates, processed and toxic foods and low in fresh fruit and vegetables affects biochemical processes within the cells, contributes to hormonal imbalance, worsens digestion and interferes with the natural toxic elimination process.
Lack of good nutrition is another factor. Our bodies need to obtain about 40 essential vitamins, minerals and nutrients to enable the cells in our bodies to fully function and remain healthy. These nutrients mostly come from our diet since the body cannot produce them by itself. When we eat more processed foods and fewer foods with high nutritional value, the immune system declines and becomes less effective since nutrition is highly essential for healthy immune functioning. With a weakened defense system, we make it easier for PCOS and ovarian cysts to develop.
Over-acidity in the digestive system, usually due to a diet high in acidic foods, is another major factor. A state of over-acidity causes the blood to become sludgy and thick, creating the ideal environment for candida growth (more on the acid-alkaline balance later).
The consumption of refined or processed foods spikes your blood sugar to high levels. Insulin levels increase in order to control the sudden increase in blood sugar. Too much insulin eventually makes the cells "insulin resistant.” (more on the insulin-PCOS connection later)A healthy diet that consists of certain micronutrients (biotin, calcium, chromium, magnesium, selenium) can help reduce insulin resistance. The typical western diet is deficient in many of these micronutrients.
A family of substances called excitotoxins (MSG being one of them), along with numerous other chemicals added to your food to "improve" the taste, texture or appearance, can hinder and damage cell function and nerve cells. This in turn can hinder your body’s ability to keep your hormones balanced. (Nerve cells in the hypothalamus are also responsible for the stimulation or suppression of hormone secretion).
Low doses of MSG injected into mice caused abnormally high levels of LH (luteinizing hormone). Elevated levels of LH is one of the primary reproductive problems that PCOS women have. Administration of MSG to female rats when they were young showed a disruption of ovarian cyclicity after puberty.

*Weakened Immune System Or Autoimmune Disorders
When the immune system is weakened due to several factors such as nutritional deficiency, high toxic buildup (heavy metals, chemicals, bacteria, viruses, and parasites), stress, lack of sleep or the use of pharmaceutical drugs such as antibiotics and steroids, the body becomes vulnerable to virtually every type of sickness and disease. In this state the body cannot defend itself and cannot control the process of toxic elimination and hormonal balancing as it could if the immune system was at its peak performance.
Autoimmune disease is another issue. This is an inflammatory condition where your immune system mistakenly considers organs or cells as "foreign" to your body and attacks them.
Hormone disorders and substances and microorganisms in your food and physical environment can all influence your immune system.

A recent study in which 108 women with PCOS participated found that 40.7% had immune antibodies for autoimmunity versus only 14.8% for women without any of these conditions.
Congested Toxins In The Bowels, Liver, Blood And Lymph And Exposure to Environmental Toxins
Our constant exposure to thousands of toxins on a daily basis through the food that we eat, the air that we breathe, the drugs that we take and our poor quality of our water supply all lead to toxic buildup in the blood, lymph, kidneys and colon. This leads to short-term and long-term health conditions. Among them are PCOS and ovarian cysts.
You can take thousands of herbs, supplements and over-the-counter preparations to relieve your PCOS symptoms and eliminate ovarian cysts, but without cleansing your internal system and your digestive tract in particular, it will be like painting a rusty car, and you will never get rid of it.
The liver in particular is essential to maintaining blood sugar levels, recovering your hormonal balance, improving your fertility and performing other functions such as removing excess insulin from the blood stream. When excess insulin, for example, is not removed, it remains high in the blood and may contribute to insulin resistance. These functions are all responsible for keeping your PCOS symptoms under control and for eradicating and preventing the formation of ovarian cysts.
The optimal PCOS diet and the cleaning protocols outlined in this book were designed to ease the fat and toxic load on your liver, to provide nutrients that the liver needs to do its work and to re-build liver and bile function.
Once you have cleansed your internal system, your detoxification process and your immune system will have vastly improved, and your liver’s ability to release toxins, balance hormones and remove excess insulin from the blood will be enhanced. You will feel more energetic and healthier, and your body

will be able to fight PCOS symptoms and prevent ovarian cysts more effectively.
Environmental toxins are other issues of great concern. These can disrupt your hormonal activity by interfering with the production and metabolism of hormones and by mimicking hormones. Environmental toxins can also lower progesterone levels, damage your fertility, the ovulation process and the health of your unborn child.
Chronic exposure to xenohormones (petro-chemically derived pesticides, emulsifiers found in soap and cosmetics, plastics, regular meat), and man- made chemicals found in our food and environment, can cause hormone dysfunction, ovary damage (damaged follicles which cause reduced production of progesterone) and infertility problems. Exposure to solvents, the most common type of xenohormones that are found in glue, dry cleaning clothes, nail polish and paint can lead to an array of health problems including: fatigue, anxiety, depression, brain swelling, fetus damage and oxygen deprivation in the brain.
While there is no escape from chemical pollution, including xenohormones, the PCOS diet, the solvents exposure guidelines and detoxification protocols outlined in the book will provide you with a diet that is as free as possible from environmental chemicals that will disrupt your hormones and damage your health. They will also remove chemical substances that are already in your body and strengthen your toxin elimination organs.
*Insulin Resistance
Studies show that at least 30% of women with PCOS have insulin resistance, Insulin resistance can manifest as acne, difficulty losing weight, high blood pressure, elevated blood glucose and carbohydrate cravings.
When the cells in your body are less responsive to the insulin hormone, you have insulin resistance, which damages the functionality of a myriad of insulin-dependent processes in your body (such as regulating the liver's production of blood sugar and fat). When you are insulin resistant, your pancreas gland produces extra insulin to counter the impaired related functions which in turn causes "hyperinsulinemia," - an abnormally high level of insulin in the blood. This leads to a vicious cycle where the excess insulin causes the cells to become even more insulin resistant.
As your pancreas becomes exhausted from producing large higher amounts of insulin, it starts producing less and less insulin, thus causing blood sugar levels to go out of control.
With regard to PCOS, ovarian cysts and hormonal imbalance, chronically high levels of insulin stimulate ovarian androgen production, causing excessive production of testosterone and other male hormones by reducing serum sex- hormone binding globulin (SHBG), that worsen PCOS symptoms.
While there is a genetic predisposition to develop insulin resistance, poor nutrition, dietary habits and too much body fat can greatly contribute to insulin resistance and thus worsen PCOS symptoms and hinder the body’s ability to eliminate ovarian cysts.
116BFailed Ovulation Process And Ovarian Cysts
In the presence of certain metabolic/hormonal disorders, the follicles migrate to the surface of the ovary but fail to mature (release an egg). When this distorted ovulation process occurs, ovarian cysts develop.
This occurs mainly because progesterone isn’t made.
In a normal ovulation process, the egg is released and the remaining sac part of the follicle transforms into corpus luteum. The corpus luteum then produces progesterone that stops further ovulations by the rest of the follicles in both ovaries. The rest of the follicles then gradually dissolve.When there is not enough progesterone, the area in the brain (hypothalamus) that is responsible for sending signals to produce hormones (estrogen and progesterone), stimulates the immature follicles to continue growing, by producing more estrogen.
The immature follicles develop into cysts and grow larger with each succeeding menstrual cycle, often causing pain and bleeding.
117BWhy Eggs Won't Pop And Progesterone Isn't Made
There are several causes behind dysfunctional follicles that won't release eggs and behind the fact that progesterone isn’t made. Among several other factors is the exposure of female embryos to xenobiotics (a large family of environmental pollutants that include xenohormones). As already mentioned, these are environmental pollutants that mimic the chemical activity of estrogen on the developing baby's tissues. Studies show that the creation of ovarian follicles is highly sensitive to the toxicity of xenobiotics. These chemicals can damage the female ovarian follicles and make them dysfunctional, unable to complete ovulation or produce sufficient progesterone.
118BLifestyle Factors That Contribute To PCOS And Dysfunctional Follicles
Stress invoked by either lack of sleep, emotional issues, anxiety or pressure in your daily routine has been scientifically proven to contribute to PCOS and ovarian cyst formation as stress depresses your immune system, causes anovulatory cycles and elevates blood sugar levels.
Taking birth control pills can shut down normal ovary function. A diet full of xenobiotics can hinder metabolism and prescription drugs can also negatively affect the menstrual cycle by impairing the functioning of the hypothalamus.