I would like to write another post without focusing on Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine but General Health.
PCOS is a condition that affect how women’s ovaries work. Unfortunately it seems to be a common condition affecting more and more women, affecting on their ovulation’s cycles (they may not ovulate), have high levels of androgens (androgens are usually thought of as male hormones, but the female body naturally produces a small amount of androgens too), and have many small cysts on the ovaries. PCOS can cause missed or irregular menstrual periods, ecess hair growth (due to the levels of androgens), acne, weight gain and the most concerning symptom between fertile women; INFERTILITY.
The exact cause of PCOS is unknown. Most of the studies link to abnormal levels in the body, including high levels of insulin. However not all diabetic women suffer from PCOS. Therefore it is still an unknown cause.
What we know it is about a study published back April 2016 linking PCOS with an ABNORMAL GUT FLORA. This is an interesting new theory connecting with Chinese Medicine theories for the first time in science.
It has been proven that acupuncture treats PCOS symptoms but we didn’t know scientifically if Chinese Medicine can actually treat the cause too.
In Chinese Medicine, the Metal element which relates with Lungs and Large Intestine generates directly to Water element, which relates to the Kidney, the Urinary Bladder and the Reproductive system. If the Large Intestine is unbalanced (GUT FLORA unbalanced), then the Reproductive system is going to be affected too. I always see a correlation between Large Intestine and Ovaries unbalance in my clinic through Pulsynergy and Tongue diagnosis. The pulse in the Lung/Large intestine is deficient whereas as the Kidney/Ovaries is strong and stabbing.
Sex hormones can upset the balance of the bacteria based in our gut. Therefore considering Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is associated with aparticularly altered microbiota, the treatment for PCOS should be focused on repopulate the GUT FLORA with the right bacteria before even planning to have children.
Another key question here would be: How do you know if you’re suffering from PCOS? Women usually are diagnosed after trying to conceive naturally with an unsuccessful result for over a year, and they’re being diagnosed with this condition via ultrasound where cysts are visible.
Therefore if you’re having irregular or absent periods for no reason, acne, an excess facial or body hair growth or even the opposite; scalp hair loss. Then it means you have high levels of testosterone (a male hormone) and similar hormones in the blood. These signs are key to know and if would help to check them up at early age (on your 20s).
Another interesting theory is the one described by psiconeuroimmunologists that states high levels of testosterone levels in women (testosterone is a sex hormone) is linked with poor gut flora on women suffering from PCOS. That’s why it’s been proven that women suffering from PCOS; if they ingest probiotic/gut health supplements such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus rhamnosus y Lactobacillus, they have an improvement on their gut dysbiosis, reducing their levels of testosterone on women with PCOS and get regular periods back to normal with no need of following any other treatment.
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Photo by Robert Penaloza
