Three Things You Can Do to Manage PCOS

Are you experiencing hormonal acne, irregular periods, and not feeling like yourself? These symptoms are common of PCOS, although there are a wide range of symptoms associated.

PCOS is estimated to affect 1 in 10 women of childbearing age and is one of the most common causes of infertility.

There are a few important things to know about PCOS. First, not everyone's PCOS experience is the same - symptoms that you have may differ from that of a friend/colleague. Second, not everyone with PCOS will have ovarian cysts. These are both reasons that it can be difficult to diagnose, and why testing and looking at the constellation of symptoms is critical. Whether you have high or normal androgens (testosterone, etc), cysts or no cysts, ovulatory cycles or anovulatory cycles, it's important to manage PCOS by addressing the root cause which often looks like supplementation, nutrition, lifestyle, and stress management (although not limited to these)! 

Here are three tips from our naturopathic doctors to help manage PCOS:

1. Manage blood sugar levels and insulin response. Insulin resistance is directly related to PCOS, so it is important to manage blood sugar and metabolism to manage symptoms. Nutrition focuses on proteins, greens, healthy fats, and fiber to promote blood sugar stabilization.
2. Take individualized, targeted supplements. While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to supplementation for overall health, this is especially true for PCOS. That being said, supplements can be incredibly helpful to control symptoms. Since PCOS can present with varying hormone levels and symptoms, supplementation is very individualized based on your presentation. A few supplements that we use often in folks with PCOS are myo-inositol, NAC, omega fatty acids, vitamin D. We also use herbs to help address hormones, mood, stress, inflammation, and sleep.
3. Exercise: ay movemet is beneficial. Previously, the data showed that too much strenuous exercise like HIIT workouts/running may be contributing to hormonal imbalance associated with PCOS and that shorter duration/lower impact workouts were ideal for this patient population. You'll likely still hear this, or have heard it before. Research updates in 2023 showed that ANY exercise is great exercise for improving PCOS symptoms and outcomes like improved menstrual cycle regularity. The studies explored HIIT workouts (high intensity interval training) and the data was recorded on smart watches, with most workouts being done outside, so this is very accessible!

If you're curious for more information about PCOS and how to manage symptoms and overall health, we recommend downloading our FREE guide that provides supplements, lifestyle, and nutrition tips to help get you started! 

Click here to explore our resources and build your health ecosystem! 

Want to learn more about a naturopathic approach to assessing and treating PCOS? We have a 1.5 hour learning session with corresponding resources available for purchase! Email hello@inbloomhealth.ca with the subject line “PCOS Webinar” and our administration team will take it from there!