PCOS and High Blood Pressure

PCOS and High Blood Pressure

When your hormones are all out of sync, PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) could be the culprit. According to the Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Association, PCOS affects about 6 – 10% of women; unfortunately, most don’t even know that they have it.

When PCOS occurs, the follicle swells but the egg is never released causing a cyst to form. This occurrence is the result of an increase in testosterone levels in the body. Testosterone is usually considered more of a male hormone. However, women do produce this hormone in small amounts. It has been speculated that the inability of the body to process insulin (due to high levels in the blood) causes the increased production of testosterone from the ovary. Furthermore, other hormones such as FSH, LH, and estrogen do not cycle normally. Unfortunately, this phenomenon can cause women to struggle with a BMI (Body Mass Index) in the overweight and obesity categories.

What Are The Symptoms of PCOS?

• Hypertension
• Acne
• Inability to process insulin (Learn more about PCOS and insulin resistance.)
• Infertility
• Weight Gain
• Increase hair growth on the body
• Inconsistent and absent periods

According to WebMD, there is no cure for PCOS but the cornerstone of managing this condition is regular exercise, a healthy diet, and weight control. As with any health program, managing your weight also affects blood pressure and insulin levels and has positive implications for some major diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and some cancers.

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Why is my Blood Pressure High and how does that tie to PCOS?

High blood pressure (hypertension) is defined as a blood pressure that is consistently (more than 6 months) above 140/90. Systolic blood pressure is the top number. Diastolic blood pressure is the bottom number. The onset of hypertension (high blood pressure) is a serious health problem for several reasons. High blood pressure is a very common condition with wide-spread consequences and can remain asymptomatic (without signs or symptoms) or undiagnosed until relatively late in its course. Several studies have proven that Insulin Resistance and the resulting hyperinsulinemia (elevated insulin in the blood) cause elevations in blood pressure, because insulin causes hardening of the arteries (deposits of fatty substances like cholesterol, cellular waste products, calcium and other material build up in the inner lining of an artery) which directly affects the diameter of the inside of the vessel. Think of your vascular system as a complex, interlocking web of garden hoses. The smaller the size of the hose, the more pressure on all of the other hoses as less blood flows through per minute. The heart must pump harder to get blood to distant sites while facing the decreased diameter of vessels. This increases the pressure of the entire cardiovascular system causing elevated blood pressure. High blood pressure increases, the chances of life-threatening medical conditions. High blood pressure makes your heart work harder than normal, and as a result, both the heart and arteries are more prone to injury. Hypertension increases the risk of:

• heart attacks
• strokes
• kidney failure
• blindness
• congestive heart failure

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What steps can you take to reduce your blood pressure?

• Maintain a healthy weight. Lose excess weight and keep it off with a long-term program of exercise and healthier eating
• Side-step salt. Avoid using too much table salt, limit salty fast foods, and read labels to find low sodium foods in your grocery store.
• Watch what you eat. Choose a diet low in salt, cholesterol and animal fat; high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and low-fat milk products; with some nuts and seeds.
• Try coenzyme Q10. Taking 100 mg a day may have a significant impact on your blood pressure.
• Take minerals. Supplements of calcium (800 to 1,500 mg a day) and magnesium (350 to 500 mg a day) may be helpful.
• Boost heart health with garlic A 600 to 900 mg a day standardized garlic supplement can improve heart and blood vessel health, and also has a mild blood pressure–lowering effect.

As with conventional drugs, the use of natural substances sometimes controls blood pressure if taken consistently but does not lead to a cure for high blood pressure. Thus, someone whose blood pressure is successfully reduced by weight loss, avoidance of salt, and increased intake of fruits and vegetables would need to maintain these changes permanently in order to retain control of blood pressure. Remember, left untreated, hypertension significantly increases the risk of stroke and heart disease.

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Nutritional supplements that may be helpful

Although there are pharmaceuticals that can help lower blood pressure, there are currently no drugs that will completely reverse Insulin Resistance or PCOS; you must rely on a multi-faceted approach to improving these conditions.

• Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) - Both preliminary and double-blind trials have reported that supplementation with Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) leads to a significant decrease in blood pressure in people with hypertension. Much of this research has used 100 mg of CoQ10 per day for at least ten weeks.
• EPA/DHA - Omega-3 fatty acids - EPA and DHA, the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil, lower blood pressure, according to an analysis of 31 trials. The effect was dependent on the amount of omega-3 oil used, with the best results occurring in trials using unsustainably high levels: 15 grams per day - the amount often found in 50 grams of fish oil. Although results with lower intakes were not as impressive, trials using over 3 grams per day of omega-3 (as typically found in ten 1,000 mg pills of fish oil) also reported significant reductions in blood pressure.
• Magnesium -
  Some, but not all, trials show that magnesium supplements - typically 350–500 mg per day—lower blood pressure. Magnesium appears to be particularly effective in people who are taking potassium-depleting diuretics. Potassium-depleting diuretics also deplete magnesium. Therefore, the drop in blood pressure resulting from magnesium supplementation in people taking these drugs may result from overcoming a mild magnesium deficiency.
• Calcium - Calcium supplementation—typically 800–1,500 mg per day - may lower blood pressure. However, while an analysis of 42 trials reported that calcium supplementation led to an average drop in blood pressure that was statistically significant, the actual decrease was small (in medical terms, a drop of 1.4 systolic over 0.8 diastolic pressure). Results might have been improved had the analysis been limited to studies of people with hypertension, since calcium has almost no effect on the blood pressure of healthy people. In the analysis of 42 trials, effects were seen both with dietary calcium and with use of calcium supplements. A 12-week trial of 1,000 mg per day of calcium accompanied by blood pressure monitoring is a reasonable way to assess efficacy in a given person.
• Vitamin C - Five double-blind trials have found that vitamin C supplementation reduces blood pressure, but the reduction was statistically significant in only three of the five, and in most cases reductions were modest. Some doctors recommend that people with
  elevated blood pressure supplement with 1,000 mg vitamin C per day.
• Vitamin E - In a double-blind study of people with high blood pressure, 200 IU of vitamin E per day taken for 27 weeks was significantly more effective than a placebo at reducing both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.50 This study was done in Iran, and it is not clear whether the results would apply to individuals consuming a Western diet.
• Taurine - A deficiency of the amino acid taurine, is thought by some researchers to play an important role in elevating blood pressure in people with hypertension. Limited research has found that supplementation with taurine lowers blood pressure in animals and in people (at 6 grams per day), possibly by reducing levels of the hormone epinephrine (adrenaline).
• Garlic - Garlic has a mild blood pressure-lowering effect, according to an analysis of ten doubleblind trials. All of these trials administered garlic for at least four weeks, typically using 600–900 mg of garlic extract per day.
• Arginine - The amino acid arginine is needed by the body to make nitric oxide, a substance that allows blood vessels to dilate, thus leading to reduced blood pressure. Intravenous administration of arginine has reduced blood pressure in humans in some reports. In one controlled trial, people not responding to conventional medication for their hypertension were found to respond to a combination of conventional medication and oral arginine (2 grams taken three times per day.)
• Reishi Mushrooms - A double-blind trial reported that reishi mushrooms significantly lowered blood pressure in humans. The trial used a concentrated extract of reishi (25:1) in the amount of 55 mg three times per day for four weeks. It is unclear from the clinical report how long it takes for the blood pressure-lowering effects of reishi to be measured.

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Lifestyle changes that may be helpful

• Smoking is particularly injurious for people with hypertension. The combination of hypertension and smoking greatly increases the risk of heart disease-related sickness and death. All people with high blood pressure need to quit smoking.
• Consumption of more than about three alcoholic beverages per day appears to increase blood pressure. Whether one or two drinks per day meaningfully increases blood pressure remains unclear.
• Daily exercise can lower blood pressure significantly. A 12-week program of Chinese T’ai Chi was reported to be almost as effective as aerobic exercise in lowering blood pressure. Progressive resistance exercise (e.g., weight lifting) also appears to help reduce blood pressure. At the same time, blood pressure has been known to increase significantly during the act of lifting heavy weights; for this reason, people with sharply elevated blood pressure, especially those with cardiovascular disease, should approach heavy strenuous resistance exercise with caution. In general, people over 40 years of age should consult with their doctors before starting any exercise regimen.
• Most people with high blood pressure are overweight. Weight loss lowers blood pressure significantly in those who are both overweight and hypertensive. In fact, reducing body weight by as little as ten pounds can lead to a significant reduction in blood pressure. Weight loss appears to have a stronger blood pressure-lowering effect than dietary salt restriction.

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A complete system, including nutraceuticals (vitamins, herbs and minerals that are disease specific), a realistic exercise program, nutritional guidance and a support network that will help you change unhealthy lifestyle choices, is required to address the issues presented by PCOS and high blood pressure.

Buy premium, standardized supplements to promote heart health!

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These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

PCOS. What Is It?

Polycystic ovarian syndrome, or PCOS, is a condition that is seen with increasing frequency. PCOS affects about 6% of women and can occur at any age before menopause. It can often go undiagnosed for months, because its symptoms overlap with so many other women’s health concerns. It is also the most common cause of infertility among women in the US. It usually goes hand-in-hand with insulin resistance.

PCOS is often temporary. Who gets PCOS? It is seen in:

• girls going through puberty (when their ovaries are trying to set a regular menstrual pattern)
• women during the transition years of perimenopause

PCOS responds extremely well to a program of natural support that restores hormonal balance, especially with the dietary changes recommend for women with insulin resistance.

What is PCOS?

Understanding PCOS is easier if one tries to picture what goes on inside the ovaries every month.

Each month the ovaries begin to ripen a number of follicles. When we ovulate, the egg in the dominant follicle pops out and is captured in the fallopian tube on its way to the uterus. In PCOS, the egg is not released due to a series of changes that take place in the ovaries and in the normal hormonal pathways. There is no one reason for how these changes take place. There are lots of theories about PCOS being proposed, but the end result is the same: no ovulation and no resulting pregnancy or period.

What Are Polycystic Ovaries?

When ovaries become polycystic they create a lot of follicles. Some say they look like a pearl necklace on the ovaries. No one follicle becomes dominant and ovulation can’t occur. For the most part, these multiple ovarian cysts are not dangerous in themselves. However, they do bring with them uncomfortable side effects. Because a woman with PCOS doesn’t ovulate, her natural sequence of hormonal events gets interrupted, her levels of estrogen and androgens (testosterone and DHEA) remain high, and her body reacts with symptoms.

What are the symptoms of PCOS?

The most common symptoms of PCOS are:

• irregular or absent periods
• infertility
• increased hair growth
• unusual weight gain, even with dieting or increased exercise

Women with PCOS will often go for months without a period and then start bleeding heavily for days. This occurs when the uterine lining has gotten too thick and the body must naturally shed it. Because PCOS disrupts ovulation it can be very difficult to become pregnant.

Other signs of PCOS include:

• acne
• high blood pressure
• obesity
• abnormal facial and body hair growth (due to too much testosterone)

One of the less recognizable symptoms of PCOS is depression. While depression happens for many reasons, it is always a good idea to consider PCOS if you have other PCOS symptoms. In some cases antidepressants are prescribed which do not alleviate the underlying issues and therefore are not very helpful.

PCOS and insulin resistance

Another telltale symptom of PCOS is steady, significant weight gain - even with reduced caloric intake. Some women say they’re gaining weight no matter what they do. It’s not unusual for women with PCOS to say they’ve recently gained 60 or more pounds in less than a year, despite dieting all the time and exercise. This weight usually accumulates around their middle. Why do women with PCOS gain weight at such alarming rates? The research is showing that PCOS is strongly linked with insulin resistance.

Insulin resistance is a condition some people get by eating too many carbohydrates and leads to sustained high levels of insulin in the bloodstream. It is possible that this extra insulin hitches onto the receptors lining the ovary and stimulates cyst production. This is an issue that should be monitored because women with insulin resistance have a much higher risk of developing other serious health problems, like diabetes and heart disease. In fact, if you’re headed down the path to PCOS, what that means is that you’re now getting into the category of metabolic syndrome. This is a category you want to get out of as fast as you can, because with all the damaging inflammatory processes going on with this syndrome there is potential for serious problems down the road.

Another interesting consideration for some is that while many people think of PCOS as a condition that only affects women who are overweight. Though not often, from time to time thin women are afflicted with insulin resistance and PCOS.

On the bright side, women with insulin resistance and PCOS respond very well to:

• modifications in their diet
• adding nutritional support in the form of soy and other functional foods
• multivitamins, minerals (Do you have a way to tell if the supplement (vitamin) that you’re using is being absorbed & assimilated?)
  
• omega-3’s
• Inositol may be important for PCOS women for at least three reasons:
  1. It may aid insulin action and thus reduce insulin resistance.
  2. It may help to relieve depression, which is common in polycystic ovary syndrome.
  3. It helps your liver to metabolize fat.
• beginning an exercise program.

What is the treatment for polycystic ovarian syndrome?

Traditionally, doctors have overlooked PCOS unless it is diagnosed relative to infertility or irregular bleeding. If diagnosed, it was and often still is commonly treated with birth control pills. The Pill lessens the symptoms of PCOS by short-circuiting ovulation and giving the ovaries a rest. This is always an option for women looking to avoid pregnancy. Testosterone levels will go down on the Pill, and it is good for regulating cycles but it won’t address the basic issue of insulin resistance. Some doctors are now prescribing a diabetes drug called metformin (Glucophage), for blood sugar control, but if a woman with PCOS doesn’t change some of her lifestyle choices - such as following a low glycemic-load diet - her ovaries become polycystic again when she goes off either type of pill.

An inclusive treatment of PCOS with a combination approach helps women reduce their polycystic ovaries through:

1. nutritional supplements:
   
   • Multivitamin/Mineral
   • Essential Fatty Acids
   • Calcium/Magnesium
   In combination, these supplements work together to support both a healthy metabolism and hormonal balance in perimenopausal and menopausal women.
2. Inositol may be important for PCOS women for at least three reasons:
   1. It may aid insulin action and thus reduce insulin resistance.
   2. It may help to relieve depression, which is common in polycystic ovary syndrome.
   It helps your liver to metabolize fat.
3. gentle endocrine support
   Look for a formulas that addresses the ten most common symptoms of hormonal imbalance experienced women and uses the latest research on phytotherapy (herbal medicine) to promote hormonal balance providing natural, gentle and holistic relief for the three key hormones that fluctuate during menopause: estrogen, testosterone and progesterone.
   • Black Cohosh, Soy Isoflavones and Flaxseed, and a phytoestrogen blend of dong quai, red clover and licorice form a powerful and synergistic isoflavone complex which diminishes symptoms associated with estrogen deficiency like hot flashes and night sweats.
   • Flavonoid Blend from botanicals that have been used by traditional cultures to treat symptoms like irritability, anxiety, and insomnia. Recent studies show that the flavonoids in these herbs may mimic the actions of progesterone.
   • Ashwagandha is an Ayurvedic herb known as an adaptogen with aphrodisiac and mood-stabilizing properties. Recent studies suggest it activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, increasing the production of androgens.
4. enriched nutrition
5. regular exercise

Here's a good site for more information about PCOS and natural approaches to treating PCOS.

Are Today’s Kids The Sickest Generation?

Are today’s children becoming the sickest generation? Looking at the statistics on children’s health, across the board, paints an alarming picture…

• ADHD – up a whopping 400% over the last 25 years.
• Bi-Polar Disorder – 40-fold increase among children over the last decade.
• Allergies – 40% of children now have allergies.
• Asthma – up 160% in children under the age of 5 since 1980.
• Autism – dramatic gains since the 1980’s with estimates now of 1 in 150 children in America today having an autism spectrum disorder.
• Sleep Disorders - 25% of children have sleep disorders, which is also a precursor linked to obesity, asthma and allergies. Researchers have found that every additional hour per night a third-grader spends sleeping reduces the child's chances of being obese in sixth grade by 40 percent. If there was a magic number for the third-graders, it was nine hours, 45 minutes of sleep.

Jean Weiss of MSN Health and Fitness reports on the state of children's health:

“More kids are getting diagnosed with bipolar, ADHD, allergies, and asthma in this decade than in previous decades. Some attribute this increase to improved diagnosing, others to over-diagnosing. Still others view the sick-kid trend as the proverbial canary in the coalmine: More children are getting sick because they are fragile and affected by an increasingly industrialized world.

“I do think we are in the midst of an epidemic of these child disorders,” says Dr. Kenneth Bock, co-founder of the Rhinebeck Health Center and author of Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, Allergies (Ballantine Books, 2007). “I don’t believe it is all due to better diagnosis.”

Bock suggests that children predisposed to these medical conditions are more likely to manifest them after cumulative exposure to pollutants such as heavy metals, chemicals, pesticides, flame retardants, and chemicals from plastic additives to name a few. “All those kinds of things together are increasing the toxic load on children,” he says.

The simplest thing parents can do for their child is decrease their exposure to toxins, Bock says, whether it means eating pesticide-free food or avoiding heavy metals and harmful pollutants found in myriad products such as toys, computers, and clothing. “This is a recent phenomenon over the last 20 years,” says Brock. “We are living in a chemical soup, and it’s the kids that are the most susceptible.”

What Can You Do?

Five Supplements to Improve Children’s Health

In the next posting we’ll talk about removing toxins in the home that can make a big difference in your children’s health. Right now, there are five supplements that can go a long way in improving your children’s overall health, especially for children that are suffering from the issues highlighted earlier.

1) A high quality multivitamin/mineral: Find a comprehensive children’s multivitamin and multi-mineral on the market that is also tooth friendly! (Find out how to tell if your vitamin supplement is a quality vitamin.) Beware vitamin supplements that contain artificial sweeteners or excessive sweeteners both of which may exacerbate existing childhood conditions. These multivitamins provides the essential vitamins and minerals children need to build healthy bodies, without any artificial flavors, sweeteners, colors or preservatives.

2) Chewable Calcium/Magnesium: While calcium is vital in building strong bones, it also supports cell membranes and aids the nervous system, especially in impulse transmission, which could improve a child’s behavior.

Magnesium also has a calming effect on the nervous system, helping to maintain normal muscle and nerve function, and is involved in energy metabolism and protein synthesis. Children diagnosed with ADD and ADHD have responded positively to supplementation from calcium, magnesium and other crucial minerals needed to build healthy bones.

This chewable calcium/magnesium supplement comes in a tasty berry flavor and provides 1000 mg of elemental calcium, plus magnesium, Vitamin D and other critical nutrients.

3) Healthy protein snacks or soy protein: Eating small portions of protein throughout the day can help even out a child’s energy. Healthy protein based shakes are a perennial favorite and a great tasting, easy snack that packs extra nutrition into any meal or snack for kids. For those who want to avoid a milk protein product, soy protein delivers a tasty and healthy source of protein and provides critical nutrients to build good health that can easily mix into a fruit smoothie or in a child’s favorite juice.

• For more information on a great tasting, easy to mix, healthy protein shake click here.
• For more information on an energizing soy protein to mix into your favorite beverage click here.

4) B-Complex: The B vitamins (also called “The Happy Vitamins”) have been linked to improved neural activity and are very helpful in reducing stress, mental confusion, irritability, mood changes, and insomnia. Look for a B-Complex that offers a complete B-Complex at the levels found in nature. (Learn about the 8 B vitamins.) This B-complex has a patented folic-acid coating for best absorption of this critical nutrient. Getting a good healthy dose of B-Complex is important today as stress and sugar depletes B-vitamins in the body. Click here for more information on B-Complex online.

5) Omega-3 fatty acids: Here’s a healthy fat that you want your child to have: Omega-3 fatty acids. Studies have found that children with learning disorders, including attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders, often have an essential fatty acid deficiency.

The right kinds of fat are needed to help the brain fire information efficiently from synapse to synapse. Essential Fatty Acids help brain cells receive the messages sent between synapses, thus eliminating the chatter and preventing the sending neuron from scooping up its own message.

Click here to find a pharmaceutical-grade Omega-3 supplement providing a full spectrum of seven natural omega 3 fatty acids including EPA, DHA, ALA to support healthy heart, vision, brain and joint function.

The above five supplements provide a good foundation for your children to enjoy better health, better learning, better sleeping, better energy and better brain function. Click here for more overall information on children’s health products.

Note for Sleep Issues: For sleep problems, a serving of chewable calcium/magnesium and an additional B-Complex to children before bed can promote restful sleep. And you may consider adding a gentle, natural sleep herbal supplement for more difficult sleep cases. If a child has trouble waking up in the morning, a protein shake right before bed can help balance their blood sugar levels for an easy morning wake up.