PCOS or Polycystic Ovary Syndrome is a common condition that affects many women. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 10-13 per cent of women of reproductive age are affected, while around 70 per cent globally remain unaware that they may have the condition due to subtle, overlooked symptoms. Further, PCOS is the precursor to several long-term health complications, from insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, to infertility or other metabolic issues if left unmanaged for long. One of the most common concerns is how to reverse PCOS.
French biochemist and New York Times bestselling author Jessie Inchausp addressed this doubt in an Instagram post, dated February 22, where she explained the link between insulin, glucose spikes and PCOS symptoms. It is not really complicated; you simply need to focus on managing glucose spikes to help regulate insulin levels.
What is PCOS?
Jessie reminded that PCOS is actually an umbrella. Commonly, people mistake it for a single disease. It is actually a collection of symptoms like missed irregular periods, no ovulation, acne, hair loss on the head of a female body, and high testosterone.
“Now, in 70 per cent of the cases of pcos, the female also has high insulin levels, whatever her body weight, this can be the case,” she noted. This also challenges the common misconception that insulin resistance happens to those who are overweight. It depicts that metabolic issues like insulin imbalance can exist even in leaner women with PCOS.
“High insulin levels produce more testosterone, and high testosterone is often the cause of PCOS symptoms,” she added. This highlights a hormonal chain, which is higher insulin causes increased androgen production, which worsens PCOS-related symptoms.
Reducing glucose spikes is the hack
The biochemist further explained that since high testosterone is believed to drive many PCOS symptoms, the focus should be on how to fix the insulin imbalance.
“So if you want to get testosterone levels down to try to get rid of PCOS symptoms, you gotta get insulin levels down, and to do that you need to get glucose spikes down,” she noted.
And when testosterone also drops, PCOS symptoms also disappear. “I would argue that if you don’t have the symptoms, you don’t have PCOS anymore,” the biochemist noted.
You can monitor the glucose spikes in several ways, whether by dietary hacks like pairing protein or fibre with carbs, or avoiding sugary foods on an empty stomach or walking for a while after eating heavy meals. They all help in a better insulin response. :
Note to readers: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.
