Today, we are talking about hirsutism, considered one of the most distressing and visible symptoms of polycystic ovarian syndrome. Impacting between 70 and 80% of women with PCOS, this condition is triggered by the overproduction of male hormones like testosterone and results in excessive hair growth on the face, neck, chest, or back. While hirsutism can cause despair, fear not; it is treatable! In this episode, Dr. Minni Malhotra shares tips for removing unwanted hair, managing your PCOS naturally, and so much more. Make sure to tune in today!

Key Points From This Episode:

• Hirsutism: what it is and what causes it.
• Six ways to tackle hair removal, from shaving and waxing to electrolysis and more!
• Why there is no one-size-fits-all solution for hair removal.
• Using medication to reverse the hormonal imbalance that causes hirsutism.
• A more natural and targeted way to correct hormone levels using COPE.
• Alternative interventions to manage PCOS and decrease hirsutism.
• Choosing the solution that is right for you.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

American Electrology Association

‘Hirsutism in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Pathophysiology and Management’

Dr. Minni Malhotra Email

Anchor Wellness Center

The Institute of Functional Medicine

What is nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and how is it connected to PCOS? This is the 100th episode, and Dr. Malhotra is explaining why you need to gain knowledge and actively change your lifestyle to meet normal, good-level liver functions. Dr. Malhotra looks at global studies done on the connection between PCOS and NAFLD, how genetics play a role in a female's likelihood of having NAFLD, and why we need to keep an eye on our liver functions. Dr. Malhotra explains the different components of the liver, the importance of preventing lifestyle-related diseases, and why she uses the COPE methodology in her practice. There is a lot to remember when managing your PCOS, but make sure you don’t forget your liver!

Key Points From This Episode:

• What is nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)?
• The percentages and occurrences of NAFLD.
• How to diagnose NAFLD.
• Why genetics play a role in PCOS and NAFLD.
• What can cause NAFLD in women with PCOS.
• Why it is important to know your ALT level.
• Predictors to focus on when screening. 
• How to diagnose NAFLD.
• The connection between hyperandrogenism and PCOS.
• Why you need to make active changes in your life to ensure a healthy liver.
• It is possible to reverse fatty liver!
• How Dr. Malhotra helps her PCOS patients.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

American College of Gastroenterology

Dr. Minni Malhotra Email

Anchor Wellness Center

The Institute of Functional Medicine

Continuing in our series on digestion, today we discuss gut microbiome and assimilation in PCOS. We take a look at why women with PCOS don’t absorb the nutrients that they really need and suffer from poor gut health. In this episode, you’ll hear about how the inflammation, insulin resistance, fat accumulation, and hyperandrogenemia in PCOS is associated with endotoxemia and what studies say about the relationship between the two. We also break down Five R Principle to explain how to go about addressing this condition. To better understand how the hormonal changes associated with PCOS actually alter your gut microbiome and vice-versa, tune in today!

Key Points From This Episode:

• Today’s topic: gut microbiome and assimilation and why women with PCOS don’t absorb the nutrients that they really need.
• The hypothesis that endotoxemia is associated with the inflammation, insulin resistance, fat accumulation, and hyperandrogenemia in PCOS.
• A definition of the gut microbiome. 
• Studies that support an association between the gut microbiome and obesity in humans. 
• What endotoxemia is and how it can affect you.  
• How the hormonal changes associated with PCOS actually alter your gut microbiome and vice-versa. 
• What it’s like to have insulin resistance.  
• The Five R Principle to address this condition. 

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Dr. Minni Malhotra Email

Anchor Wellness Center

The Institute of Functional Medicine

Many women across the globe are affected by PCOS and similarly, some are plagued by chronic intestinal disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The overlap of these two disorders can be up to and above 42%. Today on the podcast, we’ll talk about digestion and PCOS, a complex and multi-factor condition. As listeners tune in, they’ll learn about the link between the two conditions, how hormones play a role in their interaction, how to get diagnosed and treated, and much more. So don’t miss out on this insightful conversation. 

Key Points From This Episode:

• Introduction to the topic of today’s podcast.
• PCOS and IBS.
• A recap on the telltale signs of PCOS and IBS.
• How the link between IBS and PCOS is valid.
• How hormones can affect the interaction of the two disorders.
• What you should do if you think you have both PCOS and IBS.
• Treatment options likely to help with these conditions.
• How you get diagnosed and treated for IBS and PCOS.
• How gut microbiota might be a potential pathogenic factor in the development of PCOS.
• Dr. Malhotra shares her COPE methodology.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Dr. Minni Malhotra Email

Anchor Wellness Center

The Institute of Functional Medicine

Today’s topic is an important one, and one not always fully understood. The relationship between Thyroid Disease and PCOS. Both are caused by endocrine dysfunction, and as their prevalence increases so does their mutual association. An illustration of this relationship between thyroid dysfunction and PCOS requires answers to two questions. What happens to the ovaries in thyroid disease, and what happens to the thyroid in PCOS? Don’t miss out on this information-packed episode, so tune in now!

Key Points From This Episode:

• Introduction to the topic of today’s episode.
• A comparison of the two dysfunctions.
• What happens to ovaries in thyroid disorders.
• Dr. Malhotra discusses a study on women with primary hypothyroidism, evaluating the ovarian volume before and after replacement with T4.
• We look at another study on girls with euthyroid. 
• How BMI is linked to PCOS.
• A study on patients with normal thyroid function and the correlation of TSH in the adipose tissue and insulin resistance.
• The connection between TSH and estrogen.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

PubMed

Dr. Minni Malhotra Email

Anchor Wellness Center

The Institute of Functional Medicine

Statistics show that 40% of women with PCOS experience depression, with this number particularly high in young girls. Today, Dr. Minni Malhotra explains why depression and stress are high-risk factors among patients with PCOS. Tuning in, you’ll hear what PCOS is and how it affects adolescents, the symptoms of PCOS that may cause depression and anxiety in patients, and how depression can lead to higher insulin resistance, compounding the issue. To learn more about how to treat PCOS and depression through lifestyle changes and other treatments, such as anti-androgen therapy and metformin treatment, don’t miss this episode!

Key Points From This Episode:

• What PCOS is and how it affects adolescents. 
• Statistics about the percentage of women with PCOS that experience depression. 
• Symptoms of PCOS that may cause depression and anxiety in patients.
• How depression leads to higher insulin resistance. 
• The benefits of lifestyle changes and standard metformin treatment to treat this condition.
• An example of one of Dr. Minni’s PCOS patients who prioritized her mental health to overcome her depression. 
• Some of the things you can do to improve your lifestyle and mental health. 
• The benefits of anti-androgen therapy. 
• The COPE methodology and how it may help you overcome PCOS and depression.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

“Increased risk of depressive disorders in women with polycystic ovary syndrome”

Dr. Minni Malhotra Email

Anchor Wellness Center

The Institute of Functional Medicine 

American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine 

Today on the show we’re talking about the relationship between polycystic ovarian syndrome and stress. While there is still a lot we don’t know about PCOS, there is an increasing body of evidence that demonstrates the important role that stress plays in PCOS manifestation. Tuning in you’ll hear an overview of the human biological stress response, the hormones involved, and how they can exacerbate PCOS when they are out of balance. Dr. Malhotra unpacks how stress causes these hormone imbalances and provides meaningful insights and practical advice on how to tackle stress in your life. Join us today to learn more about the relationship between PCOS and stress, along with actionable tips on what to do about it!

Key Points From This Episode:

• Introducing today’s topic: Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and Stress.
• An overview of PCOS, its symptoms, risks, and the percentage of women affected by it.
• The relationship between obesity and PCOS.
• How abdominal fat distribution affects certain health markers.
• The increasing evidence that stress plays an important role in PCOS manifestation.
• The hormones that are integral to maintaining homeostasis and how they are affected by stress.
• Learn about the stress response and how it is regulated by two neuroendocrine axes.
• How stress hormone levels differ in women with PCOS, compared to those without PCOS.
• A reminder that further research needs to be done to fully understand the impact that stress has on PCOS patients.
• Advice on what to do to manage stress.
• How meditation can improve stress management, productivity, and sleep.
• An overview of how to implement a daily meditation practice.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Dr. Minni Malhotra Email

Anchor Wellness Center

The Institute of Functional Medicine

We age in a variety of ways, but as a society, we tend to focus mostly on how we age on the outside, rather than on the inside. For instance, we might use an array of skin products to treat our aging skin, but give little thought to the impact prescription medications have on how rapidly our organs age. Today on the Crushing PCOS podcast we dig into PCOS and aging. Tuning in you’ll learn the role that menopause and aging play in PCOS, and why consistent lifestyle changes should be the first method you use to treat PCOS. To discover the many lifestyle factors that influence symptoms of PCOS, and how they change as you age, make sure you tune in today!

Key Points From This Episode:

• Introducing today’s topic: Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and Aging.
• An overview of the risks and co-morbidities associated with PCOS.
• Why the signs and symptoms of PCOS improve with age.
• The research that still needs to be done regarding PCOS treatment and medication.
• Why lifestyle modifications should be the first method used to manage PCOS.
• The impact that exercise has on managing PCOS.
• Why low carb diets can help women with PCOS.
• An overview of why high-quality sleep decreases cardiovascular risk, insulin resistance, cardiovascular risk, and weight gain.
• Why lifestyle management isn’t prescribed more often by conventional physicians.
• Why lifestyle changes need to be accompanied by accountability and knowledgeable oversight.
• Learn about Dr. Minni Malhotra's COPE method.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Dr. Minni Malhotra Email

Anchor Wellness Center

The Institute of Functional Medicine

Welcome to a new episode of Crushing PCOS, where we discuss integrative and natural approaches to solving all your PCOS issues. Today, we are discussing eating disorders and PCOS. We discuss why eating disorders appear to be higher in people with PCOS than in the general population, the most common types of eating disorders associated with PCOS, and the link between needing to exercise and diet and PCOS. Dr. Minni gives us advice on healthy ways to change our lifestyle, from how to manage our diets in a healthy way to keeping food journals, seeking out therapy, trying to improve our sleep, and much more! Plus, we learn about the COPE methodology and are comforted with kind words about how to be gentle with ourselves on this journey. We hope you will join us. 

Key Points From This Episode:

• A welcome to the episode!
• Opening the dialogue about eating disorders in PCOS.
• The high prevalence of eating disorders in people with PCOS.
• Discussing Bulimia Nervosa, binge eating disorder, and night eating disorder.
• The link between PCOS and eating disorders.
• Why PCOS sufferers are advised to diet and lose weight.
• Common approaches to losing weight.
• Insulin resistance within PCOS sufferers.
• Advice on what to do, relating to your diet, to manage PCOS.
• Challenges of PCOS and eating disorders.
• The risk of eating disorders for PCOS sufferers.
• Coping with your eating disorder and using COPE methodology and behavior changes.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Gretchen Kubacky

The PCOS Mood Cure

Dr. Minni Malhotra Email

Anchor Wellness Center

The Institute of Functional Medicine

Hormone imbalance is a common complaint amongst women; especially during menopause, menstruation, and most commonly, among women with PCOS. In today’s episode of Crushing PCOS, we discuss how you can balance your hormones naturally. Tuning in you’ll hear what the symptoms of imbalanced hormones are, why a healthy lifestyle is essential to balance your hormones, and what your daily diet should include. We also discuss the benefits of exercise, mindfulness, and sleep before breaking down the five key nutrients that should be included in your daily diet to balance your hormones. Finally, we look into how hormone replacement therapy can help fluctuating hormones and why enhanced mind mastery is essential to a healthy lifestyle. Join us to crush your PCOS today!

Key Points From This Episode:

• When women are most likely to experience hormone issues and fluctuations.
• Symptoms of imbalanced hormones.
• Why a healthy lifestyle and diet are essential to have balanced hormones. 
• A breakdown of what your daily diet should include. 
• The hormonal benefits of exercise.
• The importance of mindfulness.
• Why sleep is essential to balance your hormones.
• Five key nutrients that need to be incorporated into your life to help balance your hormones. 
• One: magnesium. 
• Two: vitamin B. 
• Three: probiotics. 
• Four: liver-enhancing nutrients. 
• Five: vitamin D.
• How hormone replacement therapy can help balance your hormones. 
• The importance of enhanced mind mastery. 

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Dr. Minni Malhotra Email

Anchor Wellness Center

The Institute of Functional Medicine