Acupuncture and natural therapy for PCOS
PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) is a female endocrine disorder where too much androgen hormone (testosterone) is being made in relations to estrogen. It affects up to 10% of all women. It is thought that improper insulin regulation is a common cause and shows up in girls as young as nine years old through post menopausal women. PCOS is one of the main causes of infertility, but PCOS is a symptom of an underlying endocrine imbalance not the reason for the infertility.
Nutrition counseling, herbology and acupuncture work together synergistically to restore balance to a woman’s hormones and in many cases resolve PCOS entirely. What you eat is certainly the most important aspect as sugar is one of the major contributors to developing hormonal imbalances. The reason is that sugar decreases a protein called Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG). SHBG clears excess estrogen from the body. PCOS is an estrogen dominant disorder. Another possible link to the development in PCOS was found in the heavy consumption of beef treated with both natural and synthetic hormones. For that reason alone organic grass fed and better still grass finished beef well worth the price.
Common symptoms of PCOS include:
- Irregular or no menstrual periods (for women of reproductive age)
- Weight gain
- High blood sugar levels
- Acne
- Excess hair growth on the face and body
- Thinning scalp hair
- Accumulation of unruptured follicles on the periphery of the ovaries (mislabeled as cysts, often called polycystic ovaries)
It’s not necessary to have all of these symptoms to have PCOS. In fact it is not necessary to have “polycystic ovaries” to have PCOS. PCOS manifests itself differently in each woman.
We believe that Chinese Medicine is the best medicine on the planet to deal with PCOS and any hormonal imbalances. Using acupuncture, herbs and nutrition we can restore natural hormonal levels sometimes as quickly as within a few cycles.
There have been a couple of recent studies which show what has been known clinically for 2000 years.
- Acupuncture and exercise relieve PCOS symptoms. In a 6 week study from 2009 the once a week acupuncture group had fewer menstrual irregularities and a significant drop in testosterone.
- Acupuncture relieves PCOS better than exercise alone – In this similar study to the one above the acupuncture group had more menstrual regulation and a higher drop in testosterone than the exercise group.
In addition these studies only used acupuncture and exercise. There was no dietary intervention or herbal medicine used as treatment. Once we add in these modalities the success rate and healing time improves dramatically.
So if you have been diagnosed with PCOS consider using acupuncture as a treatment modality.