PCOS

Beautiful skin despite PCOS

PCOS patient points at her skin

Skin is sometimes called “a mirror of the soul”. Sure enough most of us have experienced at some point that our skin tends to mirror inner stress and strain by becoming stressed and strained itself. In addition to that, our skin also responds to other aspects of our inner situation. Specifically, it reacts quickly to changes of our hormonal balance.

This has been known about pregnant women for a long time: many report that the appearance of their skin changes visibly during pregnancy. Something many people are less aware of, however, is the fact that our endocrine system can also have a direct impact on the complexion. For example it is very common for patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) to struggle with skin problems.

Get to the root of the problem

PCOS is a hormonal imbalance that affects almost 10% of all women of childbearing age. In PCOS, the female body produces an unusually large amount of male hormones, which leads to typical symptoms such as severe skin blemishes, facial hair growth, and irregular menstrual cycles. Since the cause of skin problems in PCOS comes from within, the skin should not only be treated externally with peelings, cleansing and creams. No, for a real change it is necessary to treat the cause.

Inositol instead of hormones

Fortunately, hormones are not always required for this. In PCOS, the hormone system and the metabolism interact closely with each other and it is possible to influence the hormonal imbalance via the metabolism using methods of nutritional medicine. Science in recent years has shown that one natural food component in particular can be helpful: inositol. This is a vitamin-like substance that is partly produced by the body itself and partly has to be taken up with food. We mainly ingest inositol from grains and legumes. There it occurs in the surface layers as a component of the so-called phytic acid. Unfortunately, most of us consume far too few whole grain products (which contain the valuable outer layers) and legumes, so that on average the supply is anything but optimal. In the body, inositol has many important functions in the metabolism and hormone system.

 

Inositol for PCOS

Research shows that inositol supplementation can naturally restore internal hormonal balance in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

The application has already been examined in many studies and classified as very safe and effective.

In 2017, researchers from the UK and Australia evaluated 10 randomized trials involving a total of 362 PCOS patients (Pundir et al, 2018). 257 of the study participants were treated with inositol, 179 with a placebo and 60 received the drug metformin. The latter is  normally used in type 2 diabetes to regulate blood sugar levels. It is actually not approved for use in PCOS. Nevertheless, it is often prescribed because experience has shown that it can lead to an improvement in symptoms. However, many women suffer from significant side effects.

The evaluation of the study data showed that the vitamin-like, natural, inositol was able to significantly improve PCOS symptoms in the study participants. Especially great: Inositol was even superior to the drug metformin in terms of its effect – and completely free from any side effects!

 

Hormonal balance = beautiful skin and hair

This makes inositol the drug of choice for all PCOS patients who suffer from skin problems and want to improve their complexion naturally from the inside out. After using inositols, many patients report that not only is their menstrual cycle becoming more regular again, but their skin and hair are also much more beautiful.

 

If you would like to try it for yourself, here is a product tip: Fertilovit F PCOS has been specifically developed for women with PCOS. Initially, it was intended to support fertility patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome.

However, due to the systemic mode of action, it is also ideal for all women who want a hormone-free, side-effect-free and natural improvement in their other PCOS symptoms.

 

References

Carlomagno G et al, Inositol safety: clinical evidences, Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci, August 2011

 

Costantino D et al, Metabolic and hormonal effects of myo-inositol in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a double-blind trial, Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci, März-April 2009

 

Lagana AS et al, Inositol in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Restoring Fertility through a Pathophysiology-Based Approach, Trends Endocrinol Metab, November 2018

 

Pourghasem S et al, The effectiveness of inositol and metformin on infertile polycystic ovary syndrome women with resistant to letrozole, Arch Gynecol Obstet, April 2019

 

Pundir J et al, Inositol treatment of anovulation in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a meta-analysis of randomised trials, BJOG, Februar 2018

 

About the author

Dr. rer. nat. Birgit Wogatzky

For many years now, biologist and nutritionist Dr Birgit Wogatzky, has been focusing on the special needs of fertility patients. For the readers of this blog, she sums up interesting novel information and developments from current research projects regarding lifestyle and nutrition of fertility patients.

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