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Supplements To Manage PCOS
Jane Aherne
Video
15 min
00:00:01 Hello everyone. Thank you so much for joining me today to watch this video, which is about supplements to manage polycystic ovary syndrome or PCOS. And so if you haven't already watched the videos on what PCOS is and how it affects fertility and also nutrition considerations for how to manage PCOS, I do recommend doing so as it will give some insight into what I'm talking about in this video, and will give you the sort of first considerations to factor and will give you the sort of first considerations to factor
00:00:33 into your nutrition and lifestyle in order to manage PCOS. And then you can couple that with the information on supplements in this video. So a brief introduction. As a nutritionist and a practitioner who always uses a holistic approach for treating conditions conditions such as PCOS, I would always say nutrition and a healthy lifestyle come first. Please try to get good foods a healthy lifestyle come first. Please try to get good foods into your body. Enough sleep, exercise, routine,
00:01:05 good work and stress management and life balance in there before you immediately look to supplements to treat your condition. There are many factors that I mentioned in the other videos I've made about what nutritional considerations and lifestyle considerations you need to factor into your routine that will help to support the supplements, or the supplements will help to to support the supplements, or the supplements will help to support the nutrition and exercise. Um, because just thinking that
00:01:38 supplements are going to be enough to treat all your symptoms is a little bit of a naive thought. Um, get some good advice, whether it's from a doctor or a health coach or a nutritionist or someone who specializes in reproductive health. And please ask them before you go buying expensive supplements and potentially getting the dosage wrong, buying expensive supplements and potentially getting the dosage wrong, or having something that is maybe, maybe not necessarily good for for you or right for you. And always remember last point on
00:02:11 here. Supplements are not medication. Again, they're all natural ingredients and are not pharmaceuticals. So if you are wanting to use medications to treat your symptoms. Supplements are not the same without further delay. What supplements do I recommend to help treat polycystic ovary syndrome? What supplements do I recommend to help treat polycystic ovary syndrome? Well, the first one on the list is inositol. Um, in the notes you can see I've written it as a component of cell
00:02:37 membranes, which as you can imagine, is very good for egg health. It is often referred to as myo-inositol because this is the one that has the most significant research. But if you do have a supplement or a multivitamin or a pre-pregnancy supplement, it is commonly referred to as just inositol. They are the same thing. Don't be concerned that you're They are the same thing. Don't be concerned that you're taking the wrong one. Um. What it does helps to increase
00:03:06 insulin sensitivity. PCOS causes insulin resistance. And you don't want that. You want insulin sensitivity. Um, which in turn will help to regulate your menstrual cycle and may improve oocyte quality. So that is the egg before it matures. So if you've watched previous videos or you know about PCOS, you know that the follicles are underdeveloped and the eggs don't mature. So with inositol that can help to benefit that and then may So with inositol that can help to benefit that and then may
00:03:32 help to induce ovulation. Uh, dosage should be a minimum of four grams per day. Now if you are taking a pre-pregnancy supplement, check the dosage and how much you're taking per day. This is certainly the minimum amount I would recommend for PCOS because pre-pregnancy supplements are for women. They're assuming that don't have these conditions. So it's good for again egg health and An ovulation. But if you have polycystic ovary syndrome, it might be beneficial
00:03:58 But if you have polycystic ovary syndrome, it might be beneficial to be on a higher dose. Please get advice though, before you start taking, say, a myo inositol powder on top of a pre-pregnancy multivitamin, as you want to be careful with the dosage and maybe incrementally sort of build up the dosage rather than going in hard and heavy. Supplement number two is the wonderful omega three. There are very few people who walk into my clinic and who don't leave with a recommendation to take omega
00:04:28 into my clinic and who don't leave with a recommendation to take omega three, because it is a wonderful, uh, nutrient and fatty acid that I recommend for many people, mainly because of its anti-inflammatory properties. And this can help to reduce inflammation that has been caused by PCOS. Um also can be beneficial for helping your lipid profile so it can help to reduce triglyceride levels. So despite the fact that omega three is a fatty acid, an and essential fatty acid.
00:04:58 It helps with the metabolism of fats and helps improve liver function, It helps with the metabolism of fats and helps improve liver function, and is wonderful at benefiting triglyceride profiles. Um can also help to reduce testosterone levels. And again, so certainly when you lower inflammation you can lower androgen levels so that they're at the right range, rather than using certain medications that might increase estrogen or progesterone to match the androgen levels. So you reduce your symptoms.
00:05:27 You actually naturally bringing the androgens down by taking something You actually naturally bringing the androgens down by taking something like omega three because of the way it manages inflammation. And then this in turn will help to regulate your menstrual cycle and improve chances of ovulation. Uh, when it comes to dosages, I would certainly, in the beginning stages recommend a very high dose. Now, with some of the other supplements, I'll be saying no. Start at the lower end and work up. Not the case with omega three.
00:05:53 Uh, usually when I have people come to see me, I will recommend a very a clinically high dose of both EPA and DHA. I will recommend a very a clinically high dose of both EPA and DHA. And I usually usually suggest that they take it in oil form. So not capsule form. Actually take a spoonful of oil each day for better bioavailability. So that's a very high dose. Um pure straight off the spoon. Yes, it has a fishy taste, but trust me, it's worth it. Number three is n-acetylcysteine.
00:06:27 Uh, the reason I recommend this supplement to manage PCOS is its Uh, the reason I recommend this supplement to manage PCOS is its antioxidant properties. It is a precursor to glutathione, which is one of the body's most potent antioxidants that it produces. And NAC is wonderful for liver health and really helps to improve the liver's detoxifying processes. Uh, we don't just metabolize food, we metabolize hormones. And the liver is responsible in this area also. So if you have high androgens,
00:06:56 You want to get those metabolized so the liver can help to do this. And NAC will help to support this also. And NAC will help to support this also. Um like the other supplements it improves insulin sensitivity, reduces androgens for the reasons I just said. And this in turn will support ovulation and therefore improve chances of conception. Now when it comes to dosages, uh, it should be relatively high. If you suffer with polycystic ovary
00:07:19 syndrome, um, the recommendations go quite high in my opinion. So the lowest sort of, um, starting point for people with PCOS, um, is I think is a relatively high dose, not like omega three. um, is I think is a relatively high dose, not like omega three. It's more like inositol when it comes to dosage. Start at the lower end. And then if you feel you'd like, um, further benefits or you feel like it's not being effective enough, you can then increase the dosage as you go along. As always, seek help. Ask for advice in this area because
00:07:53 NAC does have some negative side effects if you take it at too high a dosage in the initial stages. So you want to make sure it's a dosage in the initial stages. So you want to make sure it's gradually introduced into the body to give you the best support. I just want to briefly touch on some other supplements that could be beneficial. If you have PCOS and you're looking to reduce inflammation and improve insulin sensitivity. So these are the sort of more common supplements you tend to see.
00:08:18 And they can be included often in multivitamins or pre-pregnancy. Um, multivitamins. Uh, vitamin D3 gained a lot of popularity during Covid, um, because it's so beneficial at reducing inflammation in the body. Uh, it is the sunshine vitamin, reducing inflammation in the body. Uh, it is the sunshine vitamin, so we don't tend to get it from food. We mainly get it from the sun. Um, if you live in places like the UK where I live, um, or countries where you have long periods of winter and not much
00:08:45 sunshine, it's always beneficial to supplement with vitamin D3. I feel that most of the population, um, are either deficient or have low levels of vitamin D, so I would definitely recommend always supplementing in the winter if you have PCOS. always supplementing in the winter if you have PCOS. You can supplement all year if you like. If you'd like to and you can go as high, especially if you if you get a blood test back and your vitamin D is low, you can certainly
00:09:11 supplement with dosages up to 4000 units or 5000 units for say, a month, and then gradually bring this down to 2000 or 1000 per day. Zinc, again, really beneficial for fertility in general for both men and women. Good for egg health, sperm health, but again helps to reduce inflammation. Really good for ovulation and also androgen management. Really good for ovulation and also androgen management. Magnesium a lovely wonderful mineral. Again very good for insulin
00:09:37 sensitivity and inflammation and can also benefit sleep. Um chromium is another one. Really good for insulin sensitivity. Chromium so helps blood glucose levels. Um, especially if you have PCOS. Cinnamon. My favorite, uh, spice out there, and a lot of people would choose the one below, which is turmeric. But I love cinnamon. I think it's a magic spice. And again, it's really good for I think it's a magic spice. And again, it's really good for
00:10:01 insulin sensitivity. And then you have turmeric or curcumin. So the active anti-inflammatory component within turmeric. The good thing about curcumin supplements is that it's always coupled with black pepper, which is needed to activate the anti-inflammatory properties. Um so again all of these supplements really, really good. There's no risk really of toxicity with any of them. Um, so they'll usually be found in multivitamins or you can take them,
00:10:25 Um, so they'll usually be found in multivitamins or you can take them, uh, just as as they come on their own in a supplement if you wish to, just to help further support symptoms of PCOS and reduce inflammation and increase insulin sensitivity. Lastly, I've written it on here and I've underlined it is a supplement called berberine. Now, this can be a bit controversial because there are some studies out there that say it's as effective as metformin, but the methodology used is maybe a little bit questionable. Um, but I have certainly found with
00:10:59 some of the clients I see when they take berberine, they notice huge some of the clients I see when they take berberine, they notice huge changes in their insulin sensitivity and their glycemic control. So their blood glucose levels are reduced, especially when they have very, very high levels of insulin and blood glucose. Um, can help with lipid profile as well and improve liver health. Now this is often coupled with changes to nutrition and lifestyle changes exercise. So I don't want to say that berberine
00:11:26 lifestyle changes exercise. So I don't want to say that berberine is some miracle supplement. Um, but it really can be beneficial, particularly for insulin sensitivity or improving insulin sensitivity. However, the reason I've underlined it is that I would certainly give berberine a warning because although it works wonderfully for many people and certainly many clients who I've seen, I've also had clients who have taken berberine and as soon as they've taken it, suffer with quite bad gastrointestinal problems and so pains and aches
00:11:55 with quite bad gastrointestinal problems and so pains and aches in the abdomen after eating and after they've taken the berberine, and sometimes even waking in the night running to the bathroom. So yes, berberine is natural. You can buy it online, but please seek advice before you start taking it. And if you are already on something like metformin, it might not be a good supplement for you to take. So do seek advice, um, before you start taking it, but I just want to put it on there so people are
00:12:27 aware that this supplement does exist and it can be quite effective aware that this supplement does exist and it can be quite effective in the right circumstances. Okay. To conclude, number one, yes, supplements can be highly effective when it comes to treating PCOS. Um, but I would always suggest that you seek guidance and figure out what your symptoms are and which supplements would work best for you. And number two, this should be coupled with really, really good nutrition. Uh, good healthy lifestyle routine,
00:12:55 um, stress, work life balance, good sleep, meditation, exercise. um, stress, work life balance, good sleep, meditation, exercise. And again, I'm going to mention it again, good nutrition, good food, what works best for PCOS and what works best for you. Number three um, speak to someone, whether it's a doctor, a nutritionist, um, any sort of healthcare coach or healthcare provider, um, someone who knows their stuff when it comes to reproductive health. So please do not just go online now,
00:13:27 after watching this video and buying all the supplements and throwing them after watching this video and buying all the supplements and throwing them in, get a good balance because no one wants to be on a diet of pills. Um, but just making sure that you couple the supplements with good nutrition and are careful with dosages in the initial stages, you should be fine. And number four, there's always more research coming out. So, you know, keep your ear to the ground when it comes to new supplements or new
00:13:54 findings with supplements, and just make sure that they're evidenced based research and not somebody trying to sell you something. based research and not somebody trying to sell you something. I certainly in this video, I'm not trying to sell any supplement. Um, so it's important that you get non-biased, um, opinions on supplements and, you know, people who can speak from experience to help guide you when taking them. And certainly in point number four, I wanted to touch on the fact that a personalized approach is always best.
00:14:23 Some supplements work for some people. They don't necessarily work for others. And when I see clients, I look at every aspect of their life that could And when I see clients, I look at every aspect of their life that could be affecting their symptoms of PCOS. And that's how I decide which supplements would suit best and what would work best for them. Uh, when they when they need it most. Okay. I hope this has been helpful. Thank you so much for listening and take care.
