What is PCOS?: Simplified.

I stumbled upon this infographic about what PCOS and I think it summarises everything beautifully. However, I feel I need to go into detail about each area so that we can get more of an understanding about what is going on in our bodies.

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome: The syndrome used to be called Polycystic Ovarian Disease, but the problem with that name is that this is not a Disease.

A syndrome is is defined as: a group of symptoms which consistently occur together, or a condition characterized by a set of associated symptoms.

This means that Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome is characterized by a varying number of symptoms that occur together. For example, hair loss, weight gain, hirsutism, acne, dark skin patches.

The causes are unknown at this point but most scientists believe that there are several factors, including genetics. They believe that a woman with PCOS most likely has a mother or a sister with PCOS as well. However, I urge you to look deeper within your family tree and try and pinpoint any genetic reasons as to why you may have PCOS. This is because in my case, my Mother and my maternal aunts and cousins do not have PCOS. So the answer lay in the fact that I inherited my hormonal genetic makeup from my father's side of the family.

As I have stated before in my other blog posts, the Hormone Insulin seems to be a major culprit when it comes to diagnosing and helping manage the symptoms of PCOS. A high amount of Insulin in the blood stream leads to a rise in Androgens (Male Hormones), which then causes an increase in the symptoms that are associated with Male hormones, namely: Acne, Facial Hair, Weight Gain and problems with Ovulation, which makes it harder for most women with PCOS to conceive.

Women living with PCOS unfortunately have to go through a lot on a day to day basis that other women do not know about and frankly, some women have got no clue how good they have it. A woman with PCOS, who tends to put on weight will always be told that her weight issues has more to do with the AMOUNT that she is eating or WHAT she is eating rather than using lifestyle modifications to help her understand and correct the UNDERLYING HORMONAL ISSUES, that drive her symptoms.

I have come across so many women with PCOS since I started this blog that have been through diets and spoke to nutritionists who promise them that they will lose the weight and cure their PCOS. Ladies, let's get something straight now. PCOS has no cure. Sure. there are a few rare cases where PCOS has been reversed in some women, but that all comes down to the type of PCOS you have.

Again, I need you to remember this. Weight loss may help with the SYMPTOMS associated with PCOS, however it will not fix the main issues that caused the weight gain in the first place. So lifestyle modification needs to be permanent. There is no such thing as Cheat Days with a PCOS lifestyle modification diet and workout routine. It is a commitment at the end of the day, and if other people can't understand that, that's OK. Just ignore them and send them over to my blog so that they can read up and get educated.

Please do read through the Infographic to get a quick understanding of What PCOS is as I feel that it encompasses everything I have blogged about so far. If you need more info, please don't hesitate to contact me or head over to my Facebook page.

Until then, be strong my PCOS Warriors.