PCOS Deep Dive: Uncovering Root Causes & Natural Solutions | Dr. Sam Singh MD

In today's episode, we will be talking about PCOS, polycystic ovarian syndrome. It is a leading cause of infertility affecting 10% of women in their reproductive years, and shockingly, half of those women remain undiagnosed. In this episode, I want to take you to the root cause of this issue. So breaking down PCOS isn't a small task, so I have split this discussion into two parts, but rest assured, you will get the most comprehensive functional medicine perspective on PCOS in this series. It's my promise to you, by end of this series, you will have an amazing understanding of PCOS, and you need the right knowledge to tackle this condition from its neck. I am Dr. Singh. Welcome to my channel. As a medical doctor with board certifications in internal medicine and obesity medicine, my goal is to blend the conventional medicine with the holistic approach of functional medicine. My mission is to create a personalized medicine approach that aligns perfectly with your unique health needs, offering you the most effective outcomes. And I'm not here to make sensational, fearmongering, clickbait videos, which unfortunately most of the internet space is filled with. What really matters is the difference we can make together. If this information helps even one of you to gain better health, then I feel my mission is accomplished. Let's dive into today's topic with that goal in mind. So what is PCOS? Or polycystic ovarian syndrome. So it is a hormonal issue in women, a hormonal imbalance affecting the women's reproductive systems. So the ovaries release an egg each month as part of a healthy menstrual cycle, which is controlled by a delicate balance of hormones. FSH, or follicle stimulating hormone, and LH, or luteinizing hormone, they are both released by your brain. Now, FSH helps in the egg's maturation, while LH helps the ovary to release it. In PCOS, this perfect balance is thrown off. The eggs may develop, but they are not released as they should be. Instead, they remain in the ovaries and form cysts, which leads to the polycystic aspect of this condition. But not all women with PCOS have cysts in their ovaries, and that's why it's so important to understand this condition and why it gets so undiagnosed. Because you could have abnormal menstrual cycles, abnormal periods, or other symptoms, but you go to the doctor, get the ultrasound done, and if the ultrasound does not show any cysts, it does not mean you are not on the PCOS path. Now, this is very important for you if you are trying to get pregnant, suffering from infertility, or not able to conceive. As I said, many of the women who actually fit the PCOS picture, they go undiagnosed. And this happens because if your doctor is only looking for the classic signs, you might miss the whole picture. And regardless, the things I'm going to discuss in this video are going to help you whether in getting pregnant or dealing with infertility. So let's gear up. In everyone's body, there are two arms of the hormones— estrogenic, the female hormones, and the androgenic, the male hormones. And they are present in both males and females. Now, androgenic hormones dominate in males and estrogenic hormones dominate in females. Now, if you have PCOS picture, you are going to experience a shift in this natural balance. You will have higher levels of androgenic hormones than you should. This increase in androgenic hormones leads to a whole host of issues, but the most noticeable changes include the development of facial hair called hirsutism. Along with that, the common noticeable symptoms of PCOS include not being able to conceive, infertility, irregular cycles, unexpected mood shifts, and acne on the face. But don't worry, let's see how we can tackle this monster together. Let's gear up a little more. So in the traditional conventional medical approach, a doctor will put you on a medicine to regulate your menstrual cycles involving oral contraceptive pills or birth control pills. And if you want to get pregnant, the fertility medicines come into the picture. Plus you will get lifestyle advice such as, you know, lose your weight, weight management, and you might be put on a medicine like metformin. But I want you to take a step further into it. Let's try to address the root cause of the problem. So let's go to the core of the problem. Let's not just scratch the surface, let's go upstream. Now the major cause of the PCOS, the elephant in the room, is insulin resistance. Now high insulin resistance increases the production of the male hormones or androgens, which disturb your natural hormonal balance and lead to PCOS. Let's break it down. Insulin is like a key that helps sugar from your blood enter your body cells where it's used as energy. But what happens when the lock starts to stick and the key doesn't fit as well? That is insulin resistance. Imagine you usually need a small amount of insulin to open those cell doors for the sugar. Now, because of insulin resistance, you need much more insulin to do the same job. So your body has to produce more insulin to push the same amount of sugar into the cells. When your body consistently produces more insulin, it leads to an imbalance that eventually affects your hormones and ovarian function, and this leads to PCOS. Now you can say the PCOS is diabetes of the ovaries, and no wonder why women with PCOS are at a much higher risk of developing diabetes in the future because of insulin resistance. Now insulin resistance is a big topic and I promise I will make a separate very nice video on that very soon. But for now, what can you do to decrease insulin resistance? Number 1, increase fiber in your diet. Eat more fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, and lentils. Number 2, balance your meals. Combine carbohydrates with proteins and fats to slow down sugar absorption into your bloodstream. Aim for about 25 grams of protein per meal. Eat more fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut to improve your gut health. Include resistant starches in your diet like oats, cold cooked potatoes, and green bananas. Include omega-3 in your diet, which is found in stuff like salmon, flaxseeds, Stay hydrated, avoid artificial sweeteners, and control stress, as high stress hormones raise your insulin resistance also, guys. And beyond diet, there is another powerful tool which decreases insulin resistance. Any guess? Yes, exercise. But it's very important, just not do only aerobic exercises. You also need to do weight training on a regular basis. So you need to have combination of aerobic and anaerobic. Which means cardio and weight training. Now I understand if you're not in that momentum, you're not exercising and you don't want to do it or you can't do it. At least start walking after your meals for 20 to 30 minutes. It's called postprandial walk. So basically what's happening here is physical activity is making your body more sensitive to insulin, meaning your body cells are getting better at absorbing sugar. And that's exactly what we need to decrease insulin resistance. And let me take you further into understanding the core of the PCOS problem. So insulin resistance negatively affects the proper release of the brain hormones. Remember those LH and FSH? And you need those hormones to signal the ovaries to release the hormones. Now, when ovulation doesn't occur on time, the downward hormonal balance— the hormones which have to come from the ovaries, they also go off balance. Now this creates a domino effect because what happens is the imbalance further increases your insulin resistance, and the insulin resistance goes even higher, affecting further hormonal imbalance. So insulin resistance causing hormonal imbalance, and hormonal imbalance causing insulin resistance, and the insulin resistance causing further hormonal imbalance. So you see, becomes a loop, a cycle, and we need to break this cycle. We need to get out of this cycle to break this PCOS thing. So basically what I'm trying to say is the insulin resistance is the strongest factor, and if you can control that, you have the biggest impact on controlling your PCOS picture. But wait for the two other factors, the two other root causes, which I'm going to talk about in part 2. Now they are equally important they don't just create the PCOS picture but also reinforce the insulin resistance. So that's it for now, friends. We will continue rest of the discussion in part 2. Goodbye for now. See you soon in part 2.