Research has proven that PCOS, or polycystic ovary syndrome, is linked to insulin resistance.
It is believed that insulin resistance in people with PCOS is caused by the underlying problems contributing to polycystic ovary syndrome.
In this blog post, we are going to examine the factors that link PCOS and insulin resistance.
First, PCOS occurs when a woman does not produce the proper amount of sex hormones.
The problem lies in their ovaries, specifically in a type of cell called theca cells, which produce testosterone which then gets converted into estrogen.
Unfortunately, for women with polycystic ovary syndrome, theca cells produce excessive testosterone. Which for a woman, can induce insulin resistance. As a result, insulin resistance increases the amount of LDL (bad cholesterol) that a woman produces. This increases her risk of developing a fatty liver and gaining weight, particularly in her belly.
Insulin resistance is when your cells no longer allow insulin to lock in. Insulin’s job is to escort glucose into your cells to be converted into energy. Also, water, amino acids, and fatty acids are allowed into your cells when insulin locks into its receptor sites.
Insulin resistance means very little nourishment can get into your cells. This leads to cellular malnutrition and dehydration.
Yet, insulin resistance is a protective measure. In the sense that when there is too much insulin and sugar floating around, tissues that cannot grow, like heart cells, become resistant to insulin. These cells have no way to store the extra glucose, and they can only use it for energy. As a result, they become insulin resistant. However, your adipose (fat cells) do not become insulin resistant. So the extra sugar, which your liver converts into triglycerides, gets stored in your fat cells.
If you live in a harsh environment and don’t have enough food, you have to be able to store that extra body fat and live off it for the winter. If hibernating like a bear, insulin resistance is a survival adaptation. But in today’s modern society, with food available to the majority of us all year long, insulin resistance is considered a disease and not an adaptation.
Insulin resistance is much more common in someone with PCOS. And in fact, it’s one of the hallmarks of polycystic ovary syndrome.
It’s crucial that insulin resistance is addressed to help reverse the hormonal imbalance that someone with PCOS is experiencing. It is not easy living with PCOS and insulin resistance. Thankfully, there are many ways to deal with both conditions, which you can read about in my articles, How to Treat Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Naturally and How to Treat Insulin Resistance Naturally.
If you have any questions about polycystic ovary syndrome or insulin resistance, I invite you to join me in our Hormone Support Group, which you can get access to through my free Hormone Reboot Training.
0 Comments