Читать книгу The Ultimate PCOS Handbook: Lose weight, boost fertility, clear skin and restore self-esteem - Theresa Cheung - Страница 20

Fertility studies indicate that both eating disorders and poor diets (e.g. diets high in fat, sugar and carbohydrate and low in nutrients) can and do affect the function of the ovaries. This is because a poor diet triggers the release of too much insulin, increasing the risk of an overproduction of testosterone and PCOS. And it’s been suggested¹⁸ that nearly two-thirds of women with bulimia may have PCOS.

So does a poor diet cause PCOS, or does PCOS trigger fad dieting because of the need to control weight gain, or even bingeing and purging due to sugar cravings set off by insulin resistance? The jury’s still out, though many women with PCOS believe the link is there.

‘I know science has yet to prove it, but I certainly believe my own PCOS was made a lot worse by my bingeing and starving cycle. As a teenager I was desperate not to be so dumpy and starved myself on stupid diets, but my spots, my weight and my irregular periods just got worse and worse.’

Emma, 32

Some researchers¹⁹ believe that when PCOS runs in families it isn’t because of a genetic reason; rather other factors common in families – typically a poor diet and lack of exercise leading to overproduction of insulin. Again, all this has yet to be proved conclusively, but what we do know for sure is that one of the best ways to manage PCOS is to clean up your act when it comes to diet and lifestyle. Part 2 will give you plenty of advice on how to do just that.

‘For centuries, experts in the studies of philosophy, science and medicine have pondered the question of how much of who we are is inherited and how much in due to environment. There is no medical issue that begs the answer for this question more than does PCOS.’²⁰