PCOS Diva Podcast

Did you know that only .0.1% of the National Institute of Health budget goes to PCOS research despite being the #1 hormone syndrome in women?

Two major events are happening in the world of PCOS!  Sasha Ottey, founder of PCOS Challenge, a leading patient support and advocacy group visited the podcast to share the news.

First, House Resolution 495 is making its way through Congress. This bill advocates for national PCOS awareness and to make September officially national PCOS Awareness month. Make your voice heard! Listen in to find out easy ways to get in touch with your representative or go to PCOSChallenge.org/resolution or pcoschallenge.org/prioritize-pcos for more information.

Second, PCOS Challenge is holding its annual Symposium and BOLT 5K walk on September 15 & 16. This is one of my favorite events of the year. It is an uplifting weekend as women from around the country gather to share information and support. To learn more, visit PCOSweekend.org or PCOS5k.org.

“Think of PCOS symptoms like the rays of the sun. They’re all peripheral to that one pivotal central situation, which is your hormone imbalance.”  -Dr. Margarita Ochoa-Maya, MD

Dr. Margarita Ochoa-Maya, MD is a functional endocrinologist, author, PCOS Diva, and personal friend of mine. She joins the podcast to explain why a functional integrative approach to PCOS can be the most effective treatment. If you are looking for a way to treat PCOS which considers your type of PCOS and aims to treat the cause instead of only individual symptoms, listen in as we discuss:

“I start with a diet plan, an exercise plan, a mood plan, a sleep plan, and then we also use supplements to further supplement our food and nutrition, and then we come to the use of prescriptions.” -Dr. Margarita Ochoa-Maya, MD

Inflammation is at the heart of many of your PCOS symptoms regardless of your body weight. Diet and lifestyle can play an important role in either increasing or decreasing inflammation. Today’s podcast guest, well-known registered dietician Martha McKittrick, shares her approach to help you tame the flames of inflammation with your diet and lifestyle choices.

She offers practical and specific nutrition and lifestyle tips to decrease inflammation as well as info about what tests you should request for inflammation indicators and what you should consider when exercising.

You will want to take notes on this one. Grab a pen.

Listen as we discuss:

Women with PCOS typically have low progesterone. Symptoms include absent, irregular or very heavy or long periods. Unfortunately, it also increases the risk of miscarriage. Whether you are TTC or not, it is important to get your progesterone balanced. Dr. Poppy joins the podcast today to explain why women with PCOS have low progesterone and what we can do about it. Listen in to this important conversation as we discuss:

For me, it’s not about being on the perfect diet; it’s about tuning in to your body and figuring out what your body needs at this time and what’s not serving it. – Dr. Izabella Wentz

Women with PCOS are three times more likely to have Hashimoto’s Disease, a condition in which your immune system attacks your thyroid and the most common cause of hypothyroidism. In fact, there is quite a lot of overlap between Hashimoto’s and PCOS (fatigue, weight challenges, changes in brain function, depression, feeling unmotivated, anxiety, panic attacks, constipation, hair loss). Dr. Izabella Wentz has developed an effective protocol that may be helpful to women with PCOS whether they have Hashimoto’s or not. Listen in as we discuss:

“Every body is a good body, and we have to honor this body that we have. No one ever got anywhere, no one ever got happy, hating it into change. Embrace the body that you have and make it the best body it can be.” – Dr. Brooke

Women with PCOS are prone to adrenal fatigue and hormone shifts, making exercise a tricky, though very necessary, thing. I asked Dr. Brooke, a well-known expert on metabolic nutrition, fat loss resistance and fitness to help us navigate the delicate balance between our hormones and exercise. During our conversation, we discuss what your symptoms are trying to tell you about your work-out and how you can best tailor your exercise to your ever-changing hormones (whether due to menopause, PCOS, thyroid issues, or stress).

Just like we’re not a victim of our trauma, we’re not a victim of our genetics. We’re not a victim of our circumstances; we actually have the power if we put attention and consider ourselves important enough to heal.” -Dr. Keesha Ewers

Low libido is a common concern for women, maybe especially those with PCOS. Why? Dr. Keesha Ewers has researched the topic extensively and developed a theory of 5 root causes. Women with PCOS will almost certainly relate to many of them including “fighting with your body” and feeling it has betrayed you, but it goes much further. As Dr. Keesha says, “What’s in your head goes to your bed.” Listen in as we discuss:

“Food is medicine, and specific foods are medicine for specific people.” – Dr. Margrit Mikulis

As you might expect, I am very careful about the foods I choose. I am living proof that food is medicine. Eliminating inflammatory foods like gluten and dairy made all the difference in healing my PCOS. Inflammation is at the root of many of our PCOS symptoms, and eliminating common irritants can, in some cases, yield almost immediate relief. This summer, I took a food sensitivity test that examined my reaction to 132 foods. The results were surprising, and when I acted upon them, I felt even better! My naturopath, Dr. Margrit Mikulis, understands the link between PCOS, inflammation and diet. Listen as she explains:

“One of the first things about maintaining a sustainable approach towards dealing with PCOS is acknowledging and addressing these inner symptoms and feelings. How can we help the woman feel better about herself and who she is and accept certain realities about her body type and then work toward a healthy lifestyle and see if anything changes, but not think, ‘I have to starve myself skinny.’ That’s not how it works with PCOS.” – Carol Lourie

This summer I met a kindred spirit. Carol Lourie is a functional medicine practitioner, naturopath, acupuncturist and homeopath with over 30 years of experience in helping women with PCOS recover using an integrative approach. She and I agree that a combination of a healthy lifestyle and the correct supplements is the way to attend to the PCOS imbalance from the inside out. Listen as we discuss:

“The unexpected solution to self-healing is really about self-awareness and intuition, listening to our body’s messages and our body’s wisdom.” – Dr. Mariza

Like many of us, Dr. Mariza Snyder ignored the signs of impending health issues until she literally could no longer get out of bed. She has long since overcome her family lineage of hormone issues and her own lifestyle choices and is truly thriving! Now, Dr. Mariza is a best-selling author, functional medicine doctor, and essential oils expert…among other things. In her practice, she helps women dealing with things like stress, exhaustion, mood issues, weight gain, hormone conditions, headaches, and more bring balance back to their lives. Her path to healing is inspirational, and her advice will get you on the path to healing right away. Listen as we discuss the unexpected solutions to self-healing and:

Self-care rituals that invigorate and balance the mind, body and spirit