PCOS: The Cousin Of Diabetes?

PCOS: The Cousin of Diabetes?

Have you ever heard of polycystic ovary syndrome (or PCOS)?
If not, don’t worry, as many people haven’t. Yet it’s estimated that 5 to 10 percent of women in the U.S. (about 5 million!) have this syndrome, whose wide variety of symptoms often affect their reproductive health in ways that can be truly devastating, including infertility.
September is PCOS Awareness Month, which makes this a good opportunity to learn more about this endocrine system disorder and its link to diabetes. Here’s what you need to know.
So what is PCOS? How do I know if I have it?
PCOS is a condition that causes an imbalance of female sex hormones. It is the number-one cause of female infertility.
Why is this? Well, a woman’s ovaries have follicles, which are tiny, fluid-filled sacs that hold the eggs. When an egg is mature, the follicle releases the egg so it can travel to the uterus for fertilization. In women with PCOS, immature follicles bunch together to form large cysts or lumps. The eggs mature within the bunched follicles, but the follicles don’t break open to release them.
As a result, women with PCOS often don’t have menstrual periods or only have periods on occasion. Because the eggs are not released, most have trouble getting pregnant.
Though most commonly diagnosed in women of reproductive age, PCOS can be diagnosed in any phase of life—in girls as young as 8 to 9 years old, up through post-menopause.
Here are the most common signs and symptoms of PCOS:
Irregular or no menstrual cycles
Heavy or prolonged bleeding
Painful periods
Inability to get pregnant
High levels of and Continue reading

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6 Fruits to Eat That Prevent Type 2 Diabetes & One to Avoid – But There Is A Catch…

We are a long way away from the past misconception that any sugar is bad sugar when it comes to diabetes. While there are even groups of people who cure their diabetes by eating enormous quantities of fruits – such as RAW foodies and fruitarians – science has now found solid evidence that is easily adaptable into any diet. And if you love fruits – science has really good news for you.
Most fruits do not cause, but actually prevent type-2 diabetes.
There is, however, an exception. While fruit itself is associated with a lower risk for type-2 diabetes, fruit juice is associated with a higher risk of this disease. The main reason for this is that whole fruit contains fiber, while juice does not. And fiber stabilizes blood sugar levels.
These findings were brought to us by a 2013 study by Harvard scientists. They took information from a total of 187,382 participants from the Nurses’ Health Study collected in 1984-2009. They studied their fruit eating habits, while taking into consideration other diabetes risk factors and lifestyle differences. They also reviewed 56 total studies, and eventually concluded that:
“Greater consumption of specific whole fruits…is significantly associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, whereas greater consumption of fruit juice is associated with a higher risk.”
Here are 5 fruits that the Harvard researchers found to be especially good for prevention of diabetes:
Blueberries
: Blueberries were shown as the absolute number one fruit for diabetes prevention – the other fruits did not even come close in comparison. If you drink ju Continue reading

Diabetes Complications Trigger Stroke And Impotence – Medical Expert

A professor of medicine and consultant physician/endocrinologist at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Dr. Anthonia Ogbera, talks about diabetes mellitus and how to avoid it.
What is diabetes?
Diabetes mellitus is a disorder in which blood sugar (glucose) levels are abnormally high because the body does not produce enough insulin to meet its needs.
With a population of over 170 million people, Nigeria is the largest country in Africa and accounts for one sixth of Africa’s population. Diabetes mellitus is on the increase and assuming pandemic proportions. The latest estimates from IDF Diabetes Atlas indicate that 382 million people are living with diabetes mellitus worldwide and that by 2035, this figure will be doubled. The bad news is that much of this increase in numbers will be documented in the developing countries of the world like Nigeria.
Unfortunately, Nigeria, like most developing countries, is experiencing a rapid epidemiological transition with the burden of non-communicable diseases like diabetes mellitus and hypertension poised to overwhelm the healthcare system that is already overburdened by HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Guestimates indicate that currently, about 15 million Nigerians are living with diabetes mellitus as against two million in 1997. The epidemic has grown in parallel with the worldwide rise in obesity and it is fuelled by rapid urbanisation, nutrition transition, and increasingly sedentary lifestyles.
What are the types of diabetes?
There are two main types of this disease; they are type 1 diabetes mellitus which has its ons Continue reading

Hope of cure for arthritis, MS and diabetes as Stanford makes stem cell transplants safe

Hundreds of thousands of people could be cured of autoimmune diseases like arthritis, multiple sclerosis, diabetes and lupus after scientists discovered how to make stem cell transplants safe.
Autoimmune diseases trigger the body into attacking itself but transplants of bone marrow stem cells from healthy donors have been shown to reset the immune system and reverse fatal conditions.
However doctors have been reluctant to carry out the treatments as before the healthy cells can be given, the patient must be stripped of the malfunctioning immune system using radiotherapy or chemotherapy.
If and when this is accomplished, it will be a whole new era in disease treatment and regenerative medicineProf Irving Weissman, Stanford Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine
In 20 per cent of cases the patient dies from this stripping procedure and usually surgeons will not attempt a transplant unless there is no other hope.
But Stanford University has now shown it is possible to remove the defective immune system using a new technique which encourages the body to eat up the malfunctioning blood cells.
So far, researchers have proven it works in animals but are hopeful that it will also be effective in humans.
"If it works in humans like it did in mice, we would expect that the risk of death from blood stem cell transplant would drop from 20 per cent to effectively zero," Dr Judith Shizuru, professor of medicine at Stanford.
"The chemotherapy and radiation used for transplant damage DNA and can cause both immediate problems and long-term damage to many tissues in the bo Continue reading

PCOS and Diabetes, Heart Disease, Stroke...

Ever heard of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)? If you’re a woman who has had trouble getting pregnant, you might have. Just about everyone else? Probably not.
PCOS is the most common cause of female infertility, affecting 6% to 12% (as many as 5 million) of US women of reproductive age. But it’s a lot more than that. Women with PCOS are often insulin resistant, meaning they don’t respond effectively to insulin so their bodies keep making more. Excess insulin is thought to increase the level of androgens (male hormones that females also have) produced by the ovaries (egg-producing organs), which can stop eggs from being released (ovulation) and cause irregular periods, acne, thinning scalp hair, and excess hair growth on the face and body.
What’s more troubling, high insulin levels from PCOS can lead to serious health problems, especially for women who are obese:
Gestational diabetes (diabetes when pregnant)—which puts the pregnancy and baby at risk and can lead to type 2 diabetes later in life
Stroke—plaque (cholesterol and white blood cells) clogging blood vessels can lead to blood clots that in turn can cause a stroke
PCOS is also linked to depression and anxiety, though the connection is unclear.
What Causes PCOS?
The exact causes of PCOS aren’t known at this time, but both weight and family history—which are in turn related to insulin resistance—appear to play a part.
Weight…
Does being overweight cause PCOS? Does PCOS make you overweight? The relationship is complicated and not well understood. Being overweight is associated with PCOS, but many wom Continue reading