PCOS expanded as
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome is a lifestyle disorder that is affecting more than
80% of the urban women today. I always knew what it was because of the internet
but had never really had a talk with an expert about it. I had a lot of
misconceptions regarding PCOS, that was cleared when I went for
a blogger session with VLCC
Wellness Centre. That one session helped me understand
the issue so much better – and I still feel like I have only scratched the
surface and have so much more to understand.
What Causes PCOS?
But I wanted to write
about it here in the hope of enlightening some of you. So what is PCOS and how
does it affect women? Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome is a hormonal imbalance
disorder that affects the ovaries. In a nut shell a woman’s body is controlled
by 2 hormones – Oestrogen and Progesterone – both of which are produced
during certain period of your monthly cycle. If there is a reduction in either
one of those hormones, it will lead to hormonal imbalance which in turn leads
to formation of cysts in your ovaries which will then lead to a slew of
unwanted physical symptoms.
What are
the symptoms of PCOS?
Some of those
symptoms include cystic acne, hair loss, unwanted hair growth in places where
hair is not supposed to grow, weight gain and in some cases irregular periods.
If you constantly get cystic acne, especially around your chin area, you might
be suffering from PCOS. If you gained a lot of weight in a short period of
time, you might be suffering from PCOS. If you have hair growth on your chin,
you might be suffering from PCOS. If you have irregular periods, you guessed it
right; you might be suffering from PCOS.
How can you treat
PCOS?
First step towards
treatment would be to meet with an expert. At VLCC there are
doctors that deal with PCOS with superior expertise. You see, PCOS is not
just a dermatological issue or a gynecological issue; it is a lifestyle issue
that affects skin, hair,
weight and ovaries. It requires expertise from all those fields and VLCC offers
all that under one roof. The first thing they will do is run tests to
ensure that you are indeed suffering from PCOS and not thyroid. Once they are
sure of it, they will suggest a slew of lifestyle changes to get your hormones
to work normally. And if your condition is severe, they might put you on birth
control to induce synthetic hormones in your body.
Some of the lifestyle
changes you can do yourself to treat your condition would be to exercise more
often, include some super foods like almonds, buttermilk, flax seeds and
fish in your diet while avoiding negative foods that will aggravate you condition
like sugar, chocolates, caffeine and cheese. Go on a low carb, high protein
diet. I have read on the internet that dairy causes acne. I tried avoiding it
completely for 2 years but found no difference to how my skin reacted. In fact,
some of the probiotic dairy like curds and buttermilk is essential for your
diet because they help build your gut immunity.
Reducing weight will
help your condition to a large extent, so do everything in your power to ensure
you don’t pile on pounds. If you already have put on weight, do everything in
your power to ensure that you reduce your weight. It’s difficult but not
impossible. The main thing to remember is that you are not alone. 8 out of 10
women these days suffer from some form of PCOS. I for instance get cystic acne
around my chin area and it drives me crazy!
Apart from
helping you with your weight and skin issues, VLCC also provides a slew of
groundbreaking cosmetological solutions. They are known to bring cutting edge
cosmetology to India such as vampire facial which makes use of your own blood
to treat aging skin and hair, DNA slimming where
they will provide customized slimming solutions based on your DNA, cellular
matrix, microdermabrasion and peels, Botox, meso therapy, fillers, etc.
