P COS stands for polycystic ovarian syndrome and is a very complex disease including irregular menses, heavy vaginal bleeding, painful cramps, as well as a number of other issues which include weight gain, abnormal hair growth, and unsuspected cardiovascular diseases. But what is PCOS insulin resistance?
Lately, the research has been flourishing on the relationship between PCOS and insulin resistance, noting not only how it makes it difficult for a person to lose weight but also how it can prove dangerous in the long run, increasing cholesterol in the blood and predisposing women to all kinds of diseases they would otherwise not know of.
As the name depicts, this disease causes cysts full of water to develop on the ovaries of women. It may not happen to all women, but it affects 1 in 10 women which is a significant portion of the population. These cysts can then increase in size and sometimes even burst and cause a lot of other problems such as the release of harmful chemicals in the body requiring urgent medical attention. In some cases, the body is not able to make enough hormones to ovulate ie release the mature egg which further worsens the condition and the eggs do not mature fully or be released which leads to cyst production.
In addition, PCOS causes male hormones (testosterone) to increase in the body which would otherwise be present in a very small amount. These carry out numerous changes, some of which are increased body hair and resistance to utilize the glucose present in the blood which is called resistance to a hormone called insulin.
Insulin is a hormone released by the pancreas and is responsible for many vital functions in the body. Some of these include decreasing blood sugar (glucose) and packing it up to be used later in organs such as the liver, etc. These storage areas help when the body has to undergo stressful situations such as starvation etc.
The main function of insulin is to regulate the amount of glucose in the blood and store the glucose which is not needed for future needs. Glucose is used by the brain as a primary source of energy hence the actions of insulin are very important for a person to carry out their daily activities.
Most of the symptoms caused by PCOS are primarily due to the insulin resistance which occurs in the body. When insulin is not being utilized and is not having the desired effect on the body, the pancreas begins to produce more insulin which also causes no effect as the cells which are supposed to respond to insulin have simply grown resistant to it due to certain chemical changes.
High insulin levels cause more male hormones to be released in the blood leading to less than desirable symptoms of the disease which are the cause of stress for many women.
Some statistics of the above facts are also provided.
The good news is that the effects of insulin resistance can be managed if PCOS is detected in early cases ie prediabetic situations. Here are a few tips to help you with it;
So in short, does PCOS insulin resistance cause some hurdles in life? Yes, it absolutely does. But it’s nothing you can’t fight against with a healthy diet and some activity.
