Why Your Hormones Are Causing Weight Gain, Baldness, and Fatigue: PCOS That All Women in Kerala Must Know

 

You eat healthy foods. You are not a lazy person. However, the extra fat refuses to drop, the hair continues to fall off, the skin remains prone to acne, and you continue to feel tired. You have been advised that this is caused by stress. You have also been informed that your lab results are okay.

What nobody told you is that the problem was never fully understood not by the medical system, not by the research that shaped it, and certainly not by the generic advice most women receive after a two-minute consultation and a normal ultrasound report.

For many years, polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, was known by its obvious sign, which were cysts that appeared on the ovaries. However, new research, such as articles that have appeared in The Lancet, indicates that there really should not be any focus placed on the ovaries because "the doctors were focusing only on the surface symptoms and ignoring the underlying problems, especially the problem of insulin resistance."

This matters enormously for the millions of women in Kerala and across India living with PCOS symptoms who have been treated for the wrong thing, in the wrong way, for years.

What’s Really Going On In Your Body

The True Culprit Here Is Insulin Resistance – Not Your Ovaries!

Insulin is the hormone that your body secretes in order to shift sugar from your bloodstream into the cells for energy use. There will be an increase in the amount of insulin secreted by your pancreas to achieve the same effect. But when the cells become unresponsive to insulin, a situation that results in.

The surplus insulin is accountable for nearly all the symptoms associated with PCOS. High insulin levels lead to increased production of androgens like testosterone from the ovaries. The androgens affect the regular process of ovulation, cause irregular menses, lead to breakouts on the lower part of the face, and are responsible for causing hair loss and excessive facial hair seen in most women who suffer from PCOS in Kerala. Increased insulin production causes excess fat to be stored especially in the abdominal area irrespective of dietary efforts made by the women.

This is the reason why many women suffering from PCOS find it hard to lose weight because the weight gain is due to a hormonal imbalance which needs to be corrected for weight loss to be possible.

Relation between Growth Hormones and Hormonal Imbalance

Insulin resistance doesn't affect just reproductive hormones. They affect all hormones. In an environment where there is an insulin resistance, growth hormones that are involved in metabolic processes, muscle growth, fat burning, and cell recovery cannot function effectively. When the signals generated by growth hormones cannot function effectively, the body is unable to build or maintain muscle tissues, burn fat or recover from physical and emotional stress.

That is precisely why PCOS cannot be considered a regeneration disorder alone; rather, it is a disorder of hormonal imbalance across the body, affecting different systems in the body and having effects on the way we feel energetic, metabolize food, feel emotions, etc. When insulin resistance and hormonal imbalance in the body are left unattended, the risks of suffering from conditions like diabetes, hypothyroidism, fatty liver, depression, among others, increase.

Symptoms That Should Never Be Ignored

● Unexpected weight gain especially around the belly even when you eat healthily

● Irregular periods, absent or very painful menstruation

● Loss of hair from your scalp and increased hair on your face, chin or chest

● Persistent acne in your chin area that cannot be treated

● Extreme fatigue that does not get better with rest or sleep

● Mood swings and anxiety that are disproportionate to what you are experiencing

● Problems conceiving and problems with ovulation

● Insulin resistance evident by darkened patches of skin under the armpits, neck or groin

● Sugar cravings that are uncontrollable

● Foggy thinking and inability to concentrate

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Factors Leading to an Increased Prevalence of PCOS in Women of Kerala

• Poorly balanced diet with high levels of refined carbs like white rice, snack foods and drinks leading to chronic increase in insulin

• Sedentary behavior characterized by prolonged sitting and lack of physical activity

• Chronic stress leading to high cortisol levels contributing to insulin resistance and preventing ovulation

• Poor sleep habits resulting in poor growth hormone secretion

• Genetic susceptibility coupled with triggers from current lifestyle practices

• Environment exposure to estrogen-mimicking substances found in plastics and cosmetics

Four Practical Lifestyle Modifications to the Problem of PCOS

1. Start Eating Your Meals on the Basis of Protein and Fibres

The only thing that a woman suffering from PCOS can do which will have the strongest effect on her condition is to alter her diet plan. At least 8 grammes of fibre and 20 to 25 grammes of protein must be included in your meals. Practical examples of such foods in the context of Kerala culture are eggs, pulses, paneer, fish, and yogurt.

Avoid consuming any foods high in carbohydrates, such as white bread, upma, or even sweet beverages, on an empty stomach. This leads to sudden insulin surges which create a hormonal climate for the whole day. Eating foods rich in proteins and fiber will make sure your blood glucose level stays normal for four to five hours.

2. Don’t Consume Sugar or Refined Carbs When Your Stomach Is Empty

An empty stomach means your body’s insulin level is at its baseline. Consuming any sugar or refined carbs at this time leads to the highest possible spike in insulin. Compared to eating the food after a well-balanced meal, this will be significantly higher. If you need to have some sweets, do so after having a full meal including protein and fiber.

3. Utilize Your Kitchen Friends Every Day

There are three ingredients commonly found in Keralite kitchen gardens which have been scientifically proven to increase the body’s ability to absorb insulin.

• Uluva (Fenugreek): Drinking soaked fenugreek seeds first thing in the morning can prevent the digestion of carbohydrates, resulting in low insulin peaks.

● Cinnamon: Half a teaspoon per day has been found to improve muscle cell responsiveness to insulin, making the body require less production of insulin from the pancreas.

● Black Pepper Turmeric: Curcumin from turmeric is known to reduce systemic inflammation, a factor that causes insulin resistance, and black pepper helps improve the absorption of curcumin in the body by up to 2000 percent.

4. Have Four to Five Hours Between Each Meal and Walk After Meals

Eating throughout the day, whether it be snacking or healthy snacks, means that insulin levels will always be high, which denies your pancreas some respite and your body a chance to burn fat. Having a break of four to five hours between each meal allows your insulin levels to drop, which is crucial for recovery from PCOS.

It has been proven that walking just ten minutes after every meal can lower blood sugar by as much as 30 percent. Not only is this technique free of charge and does not require any special equipment but it also targets the main cause of PCOS.

PCOS: A Problem Facing Many Young Women in Kerala

Not anymore! The problem of PCOS is no longer restricted only to women above thirty. An alarming number of young women in Kerala, aged between 18 and 25, are being identified with the condition, while even more go undetected as their signs are attributed to stress or other hormonal reasons.

Hormonal imbalance cannot be resolved by itself. Ignoring the issue of insulin resistance will only see one’s symptoms get worse with time and increased chances of suffering severe health problems.

When to See a Doctor

● Periods that are consistently irregular, very painful, or absent for more than three months

● Unexplained weight gain that is not responding to dietary changes

● Hair loss that is visibly worsening

● Symptoms of depression, extreme fatigue, or anxiety alongside physical symptoms

● Difficulty conceiving after trying for more than six months

● Any combination of three or more of the symptoms listed in this article

This is not an end to your life and these symptoms are not all in your head. PCOS is very much a real and treatable hormonal/physiological problem, and in order to treat it effectively you must first understand what causes the imbalance within your body.

The changes in lifestyle recommended earlier are not some alternative medication; these are proven techniques to tackle the physiological problem of insulin resistance, which leads to the hormonal imbalance causing PCOS. If accompanied by the proper medical guidance of experts on this issue, these may even help improve your condition.

In case you are a woman of Kerala who is suffering from PCOS symptoms, hormonal imbalance, irregular menstruation, or unwanted weight gain, the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology at Amala Institute of Medical Sciences, Thrissur can offer you expert evaluation, hormone analysis, and specific therapy to tackle the real cause of your problem.

Amala Institute of Medical Sciences, Thrissur, Kerala — 680555 Tel: 0487-2304000 | Appointment Booking: 0487-2304170