Polycystic Ovary Disease (PCOD)
In today’s fast track world we all are left with very less amount of time to take care of our mental and physical health. Especially for the ladies who have to endure a lot of gynecological issues along their way to adolescence. Rising gynecological diseases has become one of the major concerns of the modern day world. Women who are the carrier of life need to maintain a healthy lifestyle in order to transfer the same to the next generation and so on. Various ill eating and lifestyle habits are still haunting the women health today and has emerged in the form of disorders that can be malign to fatal to the patients, hence taking care of one’s health has become important not just for one’s own sake but also for others and especially the offspring’s. One of such issues that affect women is PCOD and unfortunately there is no known cure to this disorder.
PCOD is an abbreviated form of Polycystic Ovary Disease, which is a rare condition that affects one in ten women who are at their child bearing stage and is caused due to hormonal imbalance. Polycystic ovaries are generally larger in size and denser than the normal ovaries. The condition is caused due to numerous small cysts in the ovaries. Cysts are noncancerous have a sac-like structure that can be filled with fluid, pus, or other gaseous materials.
PCOD leads to a condition in which a women’s sex hormone i.e. estrogen and progesterone levels are out of balance. It can also trigger diabetes, infertility, acne, excessive hair growth, problems with menstrual cycle, fertility, cardiac function and appearance. PCOD is one of the most common reasons for infertility in women.
Symptoms:
There are no fixed symptoms of PCOD and it varies from women to women. The most common symptom of PCOS is irregular menstrual periods. As in PCOS there is a decrease in female sex hormones it causes women to develop few male characteristics such as: excess hair on face, chest, and stomach etc. decrease in breast size.
Other common symptoms are: obesity, acne, infertility, anxiety, depression, abnormal hair gain or loss, dark skin patches, pelvic pain, deeper voice, thin hair.
Causes:
- High Insulin levels can affects the functioning of the ovaries and causes abnormalities leading to PCOS.
- The PCOS condition can be hereditary. If any of your family members have the condition then the probability of you having it also increases.
- Low-grade inflammation. Body’s white blood cells produce substances to fight infection in a response called inflammation. Various researches has proved that women with PCOS have low-grade inflammation and that this type of low-grade inflammation stimulates polycystic ovaries to produce androgens.
Diagnosis of PCOS:
There is no single test to diagnose PCOS. Doctors take into consideration few medical history and different tests to diagnose PCOS like: Physical exam, pelvic exam, pelvic ultrasound and blood test. The doctor will have to examine all the symptoms to determine whether one has PCOD or not.
PCOS also causes problems during pregnancy like: miscarriage, gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, C- section etc.
Treatment:
Improper lifestyle is one of the biggest contributors to PCOD. It has no permanent cure as of today but the condition can be controlled. So instead of going with drugs intake many women across the world have used right diet and workout to lead a better life with improved health.
In some cases surgery has been used by doctors for some women with PCOD. However this is just a temporary solution that can promote ovulation and reduce male hormone levels. There are various homeopathic and Ayurvedic treatments also available.
If unattended, PCOS can lead to chronic medical conditions and health issues such as insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol level and heart diseases.
Women with PCOD have insulin resistance and therefore their diet are very much similar to the diabetic diets with high fiber and low carbohydrates.
Here are a few Diet Strategy that can help women alleviate the symptoms:
- Inclusion of more fruits in the diet and avoiding the dairy based products. Dairy-based products can increase the insulin levels in the body and can aggravate the other symptoms.
- Eating lean meat and avoiding red meat.
- Cutting down sugar intake.
- Avoiding saturated fats as they can raise the cholesterol levels to women’s body.
- Drinking lots of water throughout the day.
- Eat food in the natural state and avoid processed ones as they can create imbalance in the hormonal levels.
- Avoid alcohol.
- Regular eating is always advisable. Try to eat in every 3–4 hours.
- Avoid Soy Products.
- Green leafy vegetables.
- Avoid caffeine.
- Avoid junk food.
- Avoid Smoking.
For amazing recipes of the diet for PCOD patients can be found on this link: http://www.health-total.com/recipes/pcod-recipes/
Women with PCOD should keep a track of their menstrual cycle and should consult a doctor immediately if there is a gap of more than 40–50 days between two periods.
Apart from maintaining a fiber rich and low carb diet one also needs to exercise daily for about 45 to 60 mins. The PCOS condition reduces insulin levels in the body and cause obesity and darkening of skin so it is very important that women with this condition should work out regularly.
Conclusion:
So it is observed that even though in the absence of a permanent treat to PCOS the symptoms can be alleviated if a healthy lifestyle with good eating habit and exercising. Exercises can be mild to high intensity work outs and are very important in maintaining the strength of the body and fights obesity. The article is not just for women who are affected by PCOS but also to those women who might have the probility of getting affected due to presence of the disease in their family etc. This research aims at identifying the disease’s root cause, understanding the symptoms and finding the ways to mitigate it through a changed mindset of health and life.
Thank you.
Source:
http://www.health-total.com/pcod/
http://food.ndtv.com/health/the-right-diet-can-go-a-long-way-in-helping-you-with-pcod-772795
