PCOS Reversal Update 2024: Tackling Root Causes with Dr. Sam Singh, MD
Dr. Sam Singh argues metformin only treats symptoms, not the three root causes of PCOS: insulin resistance, chronic inflammation, and gut dysbiosis. He recommends specific supplements like myo-inositol and resveratrol, foods like cinnamon and green tea, and practical steps like fermented foods and avoiding artificial sweeteners to address each cause upstream.
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Welcome back to our deep dive into polycystic ovarian syndrome. I am Dr. Singh, a medical doctor board certified in internal medicine and obesity medicine. I specialize in functional medicine and holistic health. My goal is to combine the best of the conventional medicine and functional medicine worlds together and fuse them into a personalized medicine approach which makes most sense to you and gives you the best results. Let's have a good Discussion, let me turn a very complicated knowledge into something super easy and simple to understand for you. People always ask me what truly drives me. So what truly drives me is the impact these discussions have on you. Even if one person walks away with a better understanding and a plan to improve their health, that's a win in my book. Now let's get started with part 2. So in our first episode, we tried to understand the root cause mechanics of PCOS with a major focus on its major driver. Which is insulin resistance. So in conventional medicine, metformin is commonly used to manage PCOS symptoms because it targets insulin resistance. But then you are only scratching the surface. It's a very superficial Band-Aid or very downstream approach. I am not against it, it's fine, but it's not enough. Let's go upstream. Let's go to the root of the problem and handle it from there. In the same context, Next, I also want to share with you 3 nutraceuticals based on the research which are potentially helpful in PCOS and routinely used in functional medicine and integrative medicine world. But here's my disclaimer, these are not FDA approved. So talk to a qualified practitioner and discuss your needs before taking them. So the first one is N-acetylcysteine, which has gotten very popular lately. Look at this study. They compared N-acetylcysteine head-on with metformin, and in this study they found equal outcomes in terms of pregnancy rates, serum blood LH levels, fasting insulin levels, and LH to FSH ratio. The second commonly used nutraceutical is myoinositol alone or in combination with another isomer of inositol, which is D-chiroinositol. Myoinositol is shown to improve the way the ovaries function, how the ovary responds to insulin and utilizes glucose. Therefore, its beneficial role comes from improving ovarian function and insulin sensitivity in PCOS. In studies, they found a dose of, uh, 2 grams a day linked to improved insulin action. Another nutraceutical is resveratrol, which is getting so popular in the anti-aging, longevity, and wellness community. It's a natural polyphenol found in grapes, nuts, and berries. It's a strong antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and has cardioprotective properties. In this study, they found significant benefits of resveratrol supplementation in PCOS. You know, we are what we eat and food is medicine. So what other foods can we use as medicine when it comes to making your body more sensitive to insulin? Or in other words, what are some insulin sensitizers in your pantry? So first up, cinnamon, chamomile, aloe vera, green tea, fenugreek— they are all great sources of antioxidants and polyphenols, but they are also great insulin sensitizer. Now let's talk about the second root cause of PCOS. Okay, so the first cause which we discussed so far is insulin resistance, and the second cause is inflammation. I'm sure you have heard this term. People often talk about it, but they fail to explain it. If You fail to explain, you fail to understand, and therefore fail to fix the issue. So inflammation in one line is when your immune system is activated in the wrong way for a long period of time. Let me say that again. When your immune system gets activated in a wrong way for a long period of time, or in other words, when a healthy immune response shifts towards an unhealthy immune response. Now this misdirected immune response becomes harmful, leading to unhealthy state over time. This generalized inflammation starts causing damage to various organs throughout the body. You remember from the first video, the estrogenic female hormones and androgenic male hormones. So when inflammation reaches the ovaries, it boosts up the androgenic hormone production. And you know by now, more androgenic hormone means PCOS picture. So now you must be thinking, what can you do to decrease inflammation in your body? So number 1, exercise is non-negotiable, guys. It's like killing two birds with one stone. It decreases your insulin resistance and also reduces inflammation. And number 2, maintain a good circadian rhythm. I know you're hearing me saying this like a broken record again and again, but yes, true. A healthy circadian rhythm is super important. So now how does a healthy circadian rhythm come? So healthy circadian rhythm comes from eating at fixed times during daylight hours, maintaining natural body rhythms, and keeping consistent sleep and wake cycles. Simple, right? Number 3, get good quality sleep. And number 4, eat a healthy balanced diet. I recommend the Mediterranean diet, a variety of fruits and vegetables. Remember, diversity of fruits and vegetables on your plate will translate to a diversity of benefits in your body. And lastly, decrease your stress levels. I made so many separate videos on stress, so please check it out. And our third and final root cause of PCOS is bad gut health. Yes, you heard it right. Gut health is very strongly linked to PCOS. To be more precise and specific, when I say bad gut health, it means dysbiosis. Dysbiosis means the bad bugs or bacteria in your gut, they go high and the good, the beneficial bacteria, they go down. It's a whole big topic and I'm very passionate about it, but I'm gonna leave it for separate videos in the near future. But here are 3 simple things you can do today to help with dysbiosis. Number 1, avoid artificial sweeteners and minimize your sugar intake. Number 2, eat a diverse range of fruits and vegetables. And number 3, eat fermented foods such as yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles, and kombucha. I love kombucha. So what else can we do? So we have talked about so many things. Some other botanicals that we haven't discussed so far, but they are very effective in overall hormonal balance, uh, one is the milk thistle, which is very good for liver support, and chaste berry, a very prominent botanical used in functional medicine, not just in the menopause for controlling menopausal symptoms, but also for for hormonal balance control in PCOS. Black cohosh is another good one. Take a look at this paper where they did a comprehensive review of clinical studies with herbal medicines on polycystic ovarian syndrome. And now comes our final part, the moment of wellness, where I summarize everything for you. So if you are suffering from PCOS, in my opinion, the conventional approach can offer you only so much. It's great, nothing wrong with it, but it's not enough. It does not address the root cause of the issue. All in all, there are 3 major root causes of the PCOS picture. Number 1, insulin resistance. Keep your insulin levels low. Number 2, keep your body free from inflammation. And number 3, improve your gut health. So basically, if you do these 3 things, you will help yourself in thousands of different ways. You will definitely lose excess weight. Your body will get healthy overall. Not just with PCOS. So that's it for now. Stay healthy, stay tuned, stay informed. More exciting stuff coming every week. And remember, the peak of your health is your true wealth. Thank you very much.
