What is Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)?

Have you ever heard of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)?

Discover what it is and how it can affect your health with our expert guide.

Getting to know the Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

No matter if you are living in London or any other place of the world, the Polycystic Ovary Syndrome is a term that you frequently hear among female conversations.  

It is a disorder of the endocrine system that affects females during their reproductive age (1).

In other words, it is a hormonal disorder where your body produces more than normal male hormones (although you are a female).

As a result, you may experience imbalances in your:

• menstrual cycle,
• acne,
• excess facial and body hair,
• weight gain and others (2).

Have your confidence levels and mood lately taken a dive?

• If you live in greater London, learn more how a lifestyle focused polycystic ovary syndrome specialist London based can help you transform your body shape, metabolism, mood and achieve results.

Keep reading.

The name of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome is given because of the characteristic small cysts that are developed on one or both ovaries (3).

Studies show that when you have PCOS you are at higher risk of metabolic disorders such as:

• Obesity,
• Type 2 diabetes,
• Cardiovascular diseases,
• Psychological disorders, and
• Pregnancy complications (4).

According to estimations, type 2 diabetes among females with PCOS is going to increase by more than 25% in the next 25 years in the UK.

This indicates the need for an effective polycystic ovarian syndrome treatment.

How common is Polycystic Ovary Syndrome?

The diagnostic criteria for PCOS differs between doctors or countries, therefore, depending on these criteria, Americans estimate that PCOS affects between 6-12% of the women of reproductive age (5).

According to the NHS statistics, PCOS affects about 10% of the women in the UK (3).

Considering these numbers, you can easily understand that PCOS affects the quality of life of many women in the UK.

Since environmental and lifestyle factors like physical inactivity and dietary factors are contributing to the onset of PCOS, it is estimated that the percentage of females with PCOS is higher in big cities like London (6).

On top of that, there are still knowledge gaps among physicians (7).

Sometimes they fail to diagnose PCOS, or they do not have enough time to dedicate for the appropriate treatment and lifestyle modification of their patient.

• All these make it a necessity to find a polycystic ovary syndrome specialist London based to help you successfully battle the PCOS problem that you are facing.

Summary: Polycystic ovary syndrome is the most common hormone abnormality of reproductive-aged women, occurring in up to 10% of such individuals.

It is characterised by:

• overproduction of the androgen testosterone,
• menstrual abnormalities when ovulation does not occur and
• enlarged ovaries containing multiple small follicles (polycystic ovaries).

If you have been diagnosed with PCOS, you have the chance to change negative thought patterns and reduce the related symptoms – contact us now for a FREE CONSULTATION.  

Signs and Symptoms of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

How do I suspect that I might have PCOS?

It is not always easy to realise that you might have PCOS.

As mentioned earlier, even qualified doctors miss some PCOS cases.

However, there are some signs and symptoms that can be considered as an alarm for PCOS.

You should always pay attention to your body’s messages.

Here I present a list of the most common signs and symptoms associated with PCOS:

Body’s signs and symptoms of PCOS

• Period Changes Monitoring: your period might stop, or you might experience irregular periods (8).
• Fertility Problems: difficulties in getting pregnant since ovulation does not take place (8).
• Weight Gain: there are studies showing that women with PCOS have a higher rate of weight gain and are more often overweight or obese compared to women without PCOS (9).
• Hirsutism or Excessive Hair Growth: in areas of the female body that are not supposed to have hair.

These hairs are thick and dark in areas like:

• chest,
• tummy,
• neck,
• face,
• lower back, and others (10).

The prevalence of hirsutism was higher among PCOS patients from South Asian descent living in the UK, compared with the ones of European descent living in the same areas (11).

In big multicultural cities like London you can easily recognise women with hirsutism.

• Acne or Oily Skin: having PCOS does not mean that you will have acne, however, almost 1-2 out of 5 women with PCOS are reported to have acne.

You will experience oily skin in case of high levels of male hormones (12).

• Hair Loss or Thinning of The Hair. These hair-related symptoms are most frequently noticed at the vertex of the scalp (12).

Mood and Mindset Signs and Symptoms Of PCOS

• Depression and/or Stress: It is not only the reality of living in London that can stress you. A high number of women with PCOS experience depression symptoms or increased stress (13).

It is not easy facing extra hair in your body or noticing that you gain body fat without eating extra food.

Additionally, facing fertility issues is a very stressful situation that reduces your self-esteem and triggers depressive thoughts (13).

• Anxiety: is a common disorder among women with PCOS (14).

There is no need to suffer more and stress yourself and your mind for solutions.

We are in London and can help you solve your problems! – contact us now for a FREE CONSULTATION.  

Nutritional – Related Issues and PCOS

• Disordered Eating: there are studies indicating that binge-eating disorder is the most usual eating disorder among women with PCOS (15). However, there is a lot more to this.
• Increased Carbohydrates Consumption: You might notice that you eat a lot of simple carbs and feel that your body asks for them (16).

While working and travelling around London or might be in the world you may be, you feel the need for carbs and it is not always your increased physical activity but, your PCOS!

Confirmation of having PCOS

Usually, your endocrinologist or gynaecologist is the physician to confirm whether you have PCOS or not.

The diagnosis is done through the clinical examination where your doctor will check if you have at least 2 of the below – mentioned 3 symptoms:

• No period or Irregular periods.
• Excessive levels of male hormones that lead to excessive hair growth in areas of the female body that are not supposed to have hair.
• Multiple small cysts on one or both ovaries

Having cysts on one or both ovaries is not enough for the confirmation of PCOS.

A significant number of women have cysts on their ovaries without having PCOS and not all the women with PCOS have cysts (17).

What have you done after being informed that you have PCOS? Contact us now for a FREE CONSULTATION.

Treatment of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Despite the increased medical knowledge about PCOS, there is no specific strategy or medication to cure PCOS.

However, do not get sad by this because there are specific things that can be done to reduce or eliminate the PCOS symptoms.

Is it possible to cure PCOS with a specific medication?

As mentioned earlier, there is no specific medication to cure PCOS.

Depending on the symptoms, your doctor can provide medication.

Oral contraceptive pills are considered the first-line treatment used for the long-term management of women with PCOS (1).

The aim is to reduce the production of male hormones and to normalise the menstrual cycle.

In addition, your doctor might prescribe Metformin, which is an oral anti-diabetic drug, to reduce the elevated male hormone levels and insulin resistance (1).

Is medication the only way to treat PCOS?

Thankfully not!

Medication is not always a necessary strategy to treat PCOS.

It is quite often that doctors suggest initially lifestyle modifications instead of drugs.

Since bodyweight and high Body Mass Index (BMI) is closely associated with the occurrence of PCOS (18), lifestyle modifications such as customised diet and bespoke exercise, in time will result in weight loss and effective management of your PCOS, reducing most of the PCOS symptoms.

Are you interested in boosting and / or avoiding the needs of medication to treat your PCOS?- contact us now for a FREE CONSULTATION.

How long will Hirsutism be in my life?

The available therapies regarding hirsutism are plenty and depend on the severity of the problem and the age of the patient.

The options vary from physical hair removal methods to hormonal therapies or light-based therapies like lasers and intense pulsed light (2).

There is no standard duration for the elimination of hirsutism, however, the combination of oral contraceptive pills and antiandrogens (the medicines that acts against male hormones) is ideal for the management of hirsutism.

What about my acne?

In case your acne is mild, it can be managed with topical treatments like gels.

On the other hand, if the acne is more severe, it might need the use of antibiotics.

Moreover, the use of oral contraceptive pills might benefit adolescents with PCOS (2).

Fight PCOS with Diet and Nutrition

I mentioned earlier that weight-loss is an important factor in limiting the PCOS symptoms.

Studies show that reduction in specific macronutrients such as carbohydrates reduces the fasting insulin concentrations in women with PCOS, which can lead to improved reproductive and hormonal outcomes (19).

Moreover, research shows that no matter what type of diet the patient is following, a diet aiming on the reduction of your weight is beneficial for women with PCOS (20)

However, since PCOS is a marathon – long term health is more crucial than ever therefore, a healthy weight loss customised nutrition plan is paramount for long term health and PCOS results.

Another important thing to keep in mind regarding diet and PCOS is that overweight and obese patients with PCOS consume more fats and less protein compared to non – PCOS females (21).

Since insulin resistance is one of the most common characteristics of PCOS, a customised meal plan to reduce the chances of type 2 Diabetes.

Studies show that a plant-based diet is crucial for the prevention and management of type 2 Diabetes.

This kind of diet includes complex instead of simple carbs, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated instead of saturated and trans fats and ameliorates insulin resistance.

A customised plant-based diet plan helps you avoid the consumption of meat, cholesterol, saturated fat and its products, including avoiding the consumption of hormones used for the animal’s growth but, also safely reducing IGF1 and IGF2 (insulin growth factors).

On top of that, a customised pcos diet plan uk will help you meet your nutritional needs and fight not only PCOS, but help to prevent to some extent several other potentially harmful diseases like cancer, cardiovascular diseases, etc (40).

It is worth mentioning that a plant-based diet improves also your:

• physical and emotional
• reduces the feelings of depression and
• helps you achieve a better quality of life (41).

Exercise and Workout:

What should I eat and how should I train for my PCOS?- contact us now for a FREE CONSULTATION.

You already know the importance of exercise for good health and overall well-being.

What you might not know is the impact that physical activity has on decreasing symptoms of depression and anxiety.

According to cutting edge studies, exercise is associated with:

• improved cognitive functioning,
• life satisfaction, and
• psychological well-being (22).

On top of that, physical activity compares favourably to antidepressant medications in cases of mild to moderate depression and at the same time it can be used as an adjunct to medications to improve depressive symptoms.

You are in London, why don’t you start training outdoors around greens and visiting more the parks?

Furthermore, physical activity may benefit patients who have a mood disorder and comorbid anxiety.

Research shows that exercise is as effective as psychotherapy in the treatment of anxiety and it is almost as effective as pharmacotherapy (23).

The impact of exercise is so great that even single bouts of exercise can positively affect on cognitive-emotional processes such as:

• mood,
• attention, and
• states of tiredness among patients who face mental disorders (24).

Change Lifestyle:

There is a need for long term focus to manage to battle your PCOS.

This is not a sprint but, is a marathon.

The extra body weight that you might have, was gained gradually with long-term lifestyle choices.

You need to be determined and show patience to achieve your goal of limiting the PCOS symptoms.

The importance of optimising lifestyle in re-creating balance, inner strength and wellness – HEALTH BODY TRANSFORMATION

• Reduce Sugars and simple carbohydrates.

This will help you control and decrease the insulin resistance, reduce your blood sugar levels, and maintain a healthy body weight.

• Portion size: Reduce the portions that you eat so that you gradually reduce your total caloric intake
• Eat organic: eating organic can help you reduce your exposure to pesticides.

Pesticides have been associated with PCOS (25).

• Avoid bottled and canned foods: Reduce the consumption of bottled and canned foods. Bisphenol A (BPA) is a component used in beverage bottles and in metal can coatings used to protect the food from directly contacting metal surfaces (26).

Research highlights the potential role of BPA as a causal factor of PCOS (27).

• Maintain positive attitude: Try to focus on the good days that are coming after reaching your goals and forget the negative thoughts that PCOS might have caused.
• Exercise: exercise to improve your overall well-being and increase your self – confidence.

The inner balance will make you feel and look better and physical activity can give you the necessary boost to achieve it.

Physical Activity & PCOS

Regular exercise performed in a customised manner seems to be most effective in improving insulin resistance, even without any noticeable change in weight or body fat measurement.

Regular physical activity will help to:

• Reduce androgens.

There are studies showing that exercise induces a significant decline in male hormones related to PCOS such as free testosterone (28).

• Improve insulin resistance.

Research highlights that increased physical activity is crucial for the prevention and treatment of insulin resistance (29).

• Could regulate menstrual cycles.

There is scientific evidence supporting that selected exercises positively influenced menstrual symptoms and abnormalities (30).

• Induce ovulation.

Yes, exercise can induce ovulation.

After a review of several studies on patients with PCOS, researchers concluded that there is a significant increase in ovulatory cycles in patients who were exercising compared to the ones who did not (31).

• Improve fertility

This is one of the good news about exercising and PCOS.

When researchers investigated the association between leisure-time physical activity and the probability of achieving a pregnancy, they concluded that physical activity works and improves fertility among obese or overweight females (32).

• Increase energy levels

Living in a big city like London, with lots of traffic can make you feel tired.

Everybody says that after exercising they feel a boost in their energy levels.

But how true is this feeling?

In a review of studies, the conclusion was the same: “Acute exercise enhances feelings of energy”.

Moreover, exercise can battle fatigue when it is a low-to-moderate intensity exercise and lasting more than 20 minutes (33).

• Improve self-esteem

You have noticed very frequently that people who exercise usually seem to have more self – esteem compared to the ones who do not.

Train for Events

People who train intensively to reach a fitness goal or compete in events, have the highest self-esteem because through the competing goals they target to achieve they reach a certain physiologically optimal state balancing their mood, hormones, and happiness.

Why is this happening?

Because exercise is associated with:

• Perceived physical fitness
• Self-esteem, and
• Body image (34).

• Reduce anxiety and depression.

Exercise can help you improve your mood and relax.

Researchers suggest that engaging in physical activity protects against anxiety and lowers anxiety disorders (35).

In addition, exercise can help you solve your depression.

There is scientific evidence showing that exercise can have an antidepressant effect.

This effect can sometimes be as effective as psychotherapy or antidepressant medications (36).

What type of exercise should you do?

Research has shown that regular exercise is effective in improving PCOS symptoms.

Whether you choose to combine moderate or vigorous aerobic exercise or resistance (using weights) exercise, women’s PCOS symptoms will improve.

• High injury risks related to obesity and inactivity

Research has shown that there is a strong association between obesity and risk for injuries.

Amongst other things, there is increased load on the joints which creates more wear and tear over time, injury risks and, that the body isn’t able to keep up with the usual repair mechanisms.

Achieving a normal BMI may reduce not only the risk of chronic diseases but also the risk of injuries among obese and overweight individuals (37).

Moreover, you should keep in mind that there is an increased risk for occupational injuries among obese employees compared to those with a healthy weight (38).

On top of that, a sedentary lifestyle and inactivity can lead to loss of bone density and muscle mass and strength and even increase the risk of occupational injuries.

• Exercise risks related to muscles deconditioned, back pain, knee risks, and upper body (cervical pains).

When you are sitting regularly, and your physical activity is limited your lifestyle promotes deconditioning.

In other words, it is a form of exercise intolerance in which your body can not perform physical tasks according to the normal expectations.

Additionally, a sedentary lifestyle can cause joint contractures and stiffness of joints.

On the other hand, either you do some aerobic or anaerobic exercise, they both enhance bone formation and help your muscles to work properly and be in such a condition that simple moves don’t cause any back or muscle pain (39).

• Like with any other health issue, one solution fit all approach does not fit every case.

PCOS can cause several symptoms and deteriorate your health and mood.

Therefore, it is important to get a customised exercise programme for your specific needs and goals.

A customised exercise program can help you get over any current body imbalances, improve your fitness level and maximise your progress.

However, it should be an evidence-based programme complying with the latest guidelines and current knowledge about PCOS and exercise options.

It is a great idea to train outdoors and choose a London’s park as your training spot.

Tips for Women for Healthy Living

• Determination and monitoring: So, you are sitting comfortably on your couch and thinking about the changes that you can do to battle the symptoms of PCOS.

You must be determined to make healthy choices when you go shopping, spend some more time on cooking, and be careful when eating socially, enjoying your food, and avoiding any take-away food.

• Size matters! Thus, do not forget that it is crucial to reduce the size of your meals and snacks so that you are satisfied but not overfull when eating.
• Awareness: Become aware of why you eat. Food is a joy of the body and soul. Many people eat when they are stressed, sad, or bored.

You must eat when you are hungry and as much as you feel satisfied, rather than feeling too full.

• Flexibility and options: You should not restrict yourself too much. You should not try to punish yourself without any rewards.

Your lifestyle modifications must be long-term and once you achieved your goals – if you want this to be successful you must occasionally enjoy foods with more fat, salt, and some preferably naturally occurring sugar.

Consider a cheat meal every 2 -3 weeks as a normal reward as a necessary part of your journey to well-being and better health, however, just be careful that cheat meals are not an everyday or weekly habit.

Healthy eating could be a joy so, if this is the case you won’t have to consider a cheat meal.

Speak with your nutritionist and dietician to design in your customised nutrition diet plan, colourful, healthy and flavoured foods options tailored to your goals.

• Applied nutrition knowledge is power to your goals: it is not easy always to make the right food choices.

Although London offers plenty of choices, sometimes you might need an expert to show you the way to improve your food habits.

Seek the advice of a long-term London nutritionist or a Personal Dietician in London if you need further help to identify which dietary approach is best for you.

He will educate you in a way that you can later shop wisely and be able to identify which foods- products will work for or against your nutritional goal.

How Nutrition Helps with PCOS Symptoms

As mentioned earlier, there is no specific approach to make PCOS disappear in some days.

Likewise, nutrition may not be the full solution, but if a client with PCOS loses weight then the PCOS symptoms will improve.

The impact of balanced nutrition is not only related to weight-loss, but it also helps you regulate hormonal imbalances which can relieve many skin and mood symptoms caused by PCOS.

But one could lose weight using a poor diet causing more problems in the future like food group imbalances, vitamin deficiencies or muscle mass loss which will worsen the health issues in the long-term.

Therefore, it is strongly recommended that you follow a customised meal plan that is according to:

• Your age and gender
• Metabolic needs,
• Daily schedule,
• Activities, and
• Recovery needs
• etc

You must focus on the quality of food and this can only happen through a balanced nutrition plan providing all the nutrients required.

Most of the studies on PCOS and their treatment agree that when diet and nutrition are combined, they can offer the best results.

Both diet and exercise play a huge role in weight management, and later in weight maintenance.

Therefore, elite personal trainers in London who are paying maximum attention to your nutritional imbalances and choosing the type of exercise that your body needs through a customised exercise and nutrition programme, can help you lose weight permanently, safely and effectively and it will teach you how to keep the weight off.

This combined strategy will gradually help you improve your:

• Nutritional status,
• Fitness level and
• Finally, your PCOS symptoms.

The journey needs effort on your side.

However, imagine that there will be always someone to assist you, your elite personal trainer London based.

He will support you with a weight loss diet in London until the end of this journey and until you achieve the final goal, a life that PCOS will not concern you anymore.

Who is Jazz Alessi

I am a long-term nutrition expert and a PCOS Personal Trainer lecturing about exercise customisation and nutrition at reputable organisations like London School of Economics, Cameron McKenna, City Group Bank etc.

Being supported unconditionally in your exercise programme and nutritionally educated directly by me will help you understand the powerful impact of food and customised exercise on your body and will help you realise the connection of nutrition and health.

I am an elite personal trainer in London and a long-term exercise specialist training Olympic athletes, medical doctors, A list actresses, models and actors.

I also work with critically injured clients requiring back pain rehab, knee pain rehabilitation, sustainable weight loss and PCOS exercise rehabilitation.

• Do you live in greater London and weight loss, confidence and PCOS mood changes is one of your concerns?

If you live in London, I will carefully assess your nutrition, lifestyle, activity, stress levels and medical history and I will design an effective nutrition programme to help you address any issues you have related to weight gain diet London based.

The customised advice I will prepare for you will help you understand how to perform properly your exercise, rehabilitation plan and get the maximum results for your London body transformation in a safe and effective way.

PCOS Conclusion

When your lifestyle is carefully customised as it should be PCOS is not a health issue that you should be afraid of.

For sure PCOS affect your daily life, adding stress, reducing your self-confidence, and affecting your mood on top of London rush.

However, there are customised lifestyle modifications that can be designed for you to reduce the PCOS symptoms and improve drastically your quality of life.

This is why long-term nutrition and exercise experts and nutritional imbalances trainers working with clients suffering from PCOS can help you improve your metabolism and completely transform your body image, mood and confidence levels.

A focused, balanced personalised meal plan and exercise programme can help you achieve your goals effectively and safely.

It is important to have the support and get knowledge from a PCOS expert.

I will help you understand what your body needs, how to eat properly and how to train safely to manage to lose weight and improve the quality of your daily life.

Contact Jazz Alessi at: 020 3633 2299 (Monday – Fri: 6:30am to 9pm – Saturday: 8am to 3pm).

Request for free consultation here https://www.personaltrainingmaster.co.uk/contactme/

For more information on sustainable long-lasting healthy weight loss and healthy body transformation services offered at our website, please visit https://www.personaltrainingmaster.co.uk

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