Is Metformin your only option for PCOS? Presented by the co-author of the Natural Diet Solution for PCOS and Infertility. Is the Drug Metformin a Double-edged Sword? This video tells you about the benefits of Metformin, its risks and side effects and alternatives to taking Metformin. Metformin is use to help control blood glucose levels in people with diabetes. It is used for the same purpose in PCOS. The goal of Metformin is to help control your blood sugar and increase your sensitivity to insulin. PCOS is a complex imbalance of inter-related hormones. Women with PCOS have various symptoms including ovarian cysts, lack of monthly cycle, infertility, acne, excessive body and facial hair and thinning of in scalp hair.
Some women are lean but a majority are overweight. These women find it nearly impossible to loose weight. Insulin resistance is considered a primary cause of these troubling symptoms. Insulin resistance is a condition where excessive amounts of insulin are required in order to get blood sugar moving in the cells. Metformin is prescribed to help you reduce insulin resistance and get your blood sugar and insulin levels down to normal. By helping you to reduce glucose and insulin levels, Metformin can provide an array of possible benefits. Women with PCOS often take Metformin in order to restore their cycles so that they can become pregnant while others seek to lose weight. The reduction of insulin may help reduce testosterone a male hormone. Testosterone is a trigger for acne, excessive facial and body hair and for thinning scalp hair. These possible benefits are the reason why Metformin is so commonly prescribed for PCOS. As with any drug, Metformin has risks and side effects. Malaise, 10% to 25% of women who take Metformin just don’t feel well. They experience malaise fatigue and occasional achingness. Intestinal disturbance, about 1/3 of women experience gastro intestinal disturbances including nausea, occasional vomiting and loose, more frequent bowel movements or diarrhea. Vitamin B12 malabsorption, 10% to 30% of people taking Metformin have reduced vitamin B12 levels. Metformin impairs your ability to absorb B12. Over the long term, Vitamin B12 insufficiency is a significant health risk, including anemia. B12 is essential for the growth and function of every cell in your body. Elevated homocysteine, people who take Metformin tend to have higher homocysteine levels. Homocysteine is an amino acid in the blood. A normal amount is okay, but in an elevated level, it is associated with heart disease, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, cognitive impairment, cervical cancer and the risk of early miscarriage. B12 along with other B vitamins breaks down homocysteine into less harmful substances. So when Metformin reduces absorption of vitamin B12, you loose one of the nutrients needed to control homocysteine. Bile problems, bile is secreted into the intestines to help reabsorb fats. Metformin impairs normal bile metabolism, leaving too much of it remaining in the intestines. Excessive bile in the intestines causes intestinal inflammation.
Is Metformin your only option? Is there a way to avoid or minimize its side effects? Fortunately there are three simple things you can do to get better health results and possibly reduce your dependence on Metformin. First of all, you can improve your diet and increase your exercise. According to recently published results from the Diabetes Prevention Program, exercise and diet changes are more effective than Metformin in preventing diabetes. A number of medical studies have shown that a better diet combined with more exercise is an effective way to reduce insulin resistance. So why depend entirely on Metformin to reduce your insulin resistance. Why not add diet and exercise to your heart-rebuilding program. Some nutritional supplements have benefits similar to Metformin. These nutrients have an excellent safety record and are valuable compliment to regular exercise and healthy diet. As a first step we suggest you take a B complex vitamin or multivitamin in mineral formula to reduce some of the side effects of Metformin. Other supplements can compliment Metformin by helping to normalize blood sugar and hormones such as insulin. Consult with a health professional. There are several reasons why a more holistic approach should be considered. A healthy diet and lifestyle is more effective than Metformin alone. A holistic approach builds your health whereas Metformin does not and a holistic approach does not have side effects like Metformin does. You maybe wondering what foods you should eat in order to get health benefits similar to what Metformin offers. You can find the answers you need in the National Diet Solution to PCOS and Infertility. This book has a specialized diet and exercise program to help you reduce symptoms of PCOS in a healthy way.
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