This is a bit personal but recently my doctor told me that I have PCOS, which is Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.
It can cause excess facial/body hair, irregular menstrual cycles, infertility, difficulty losing weight, and a bunch of other problems.
1 in 10 women have PCOS and I think it's the most common cause of infertility (I'm reciting verbatim here)
So, what can be done?
Again, here is where low carb/gluten free come in to play. A lot of women who have this who have given up carbs have had a lot of success with weight loss and even being able to conceive. A friend of mine has lost 85 pounds in a year going ketogenic (she hasn't tried for a baby yet so I'm not sure about that) when otherwise, she had little to no success. This includes weight watchers, counting calories, and so on.
I have read a lot of research about carbs and PCOS and here's one of the articles I have read. Here's an interesting one - http://www.thatsfit.com/2010/04/12/do-low-carb-diets-affect-pcos/
I didn't know that fat tissue is like an endocrine gland, and I didn't know PCOS sufferer's fat cells acted differently either. That's just one example.
In the book Wheat Belly, PCOS is also mentioned.
Do any of you have PCOS or know someone that does? Has a low carb diet helped?
I know someone who has PCOS and she was actually relieved that all of the symptoms she had finally had an explanation. It made everything make some sense. I'm not sure what different eating habits she tried, but I know that now she has happily gone vegetarian. I think she feels really great eating that way.
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