Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) affects about 5–10% of women of childbearing age, and can occur at any age before menopause. It can often go undiagnosed for months, because its symptoms overlap with so many other women’s health concerns. PCOS itself is not a disease and no one is sure yet what causes it in the first place.

Women with PCOS have ovaries that create an abundance of follicles each month without producing an egg. PCOS can contribute to irregular periods, depression, excessive weight gain (despite diet and exercise efforts), acne, and excess facial hair. It is also the most common cause of infertility among women in the U.S.

PCOS is often temporary. It can occur in girls going through puberty (when their ovaries are trying to set a regular menstrual pattern) and in women during the transition years into menopause. It usually goes hand-in-hand with insulin resistance. PCOS responds well to a program of natural support that restores hormonal balance, especially with the dietary changes recommended for women with insulin resistance.

Insulin resistance, also called Syndrome X affects over 80 million Americans, and it appears to sit at the center of a web of related health problems. Women who are insulin resistant are at much greater risk of obesity, diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure), heart disease, high cholesterol, breast cancer and PCOS. There is some evidence that insulin resistance may contribute to endometrial cancer. It has also been implicated in Alzheimer’s disease.

Today most calories in an average diet come in the form of carbohydrates, and most of those are simple carbohydrates or sugars that quickly enter the bloodstream. The body has to release high levels of insulin to keep the level of glucose in the bloodstream from spiraling out of control. But in time the cells quit responding to this signal. At this point the body is insulin resistant and even more insulin is released, hyperinsulinemia. Letting blood sugar get too high is simply not acceptable. But the body wasn’t designed for these prolonged high levels of insulin, which disrupt cellular metabolism and spread inflammation.

It is possible that this extra insulin hitches onto the receptors lining the ovary and stimulates cyst production. This is an issue that should be monitored because women with insulin resistance have a much higher risk of developing other serious health problems, like diabetes, heart disease, and metabolic syndrome. Insulin resistance is always treatable with diet and exercise.

Women with insulin resistance and PCOS respond very well to modifications in their diet, adding nutritional support in the form of soy and other functional foods, multivitamins, minerals and omega-3’s, and beginning an exercise program. I, like many other insulin resistant women have responded quite well to high protein – low carbohydrate diets. Many women often get normal periods as their insulin levels normalize.