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How You Can Change Your Diet to Improve PCOS

Polycystic ovarian syndrome, more commonly known as PCOS, affects almost 5 million women in the United States alone. And sadly, many of these women are left undiagnosed. Today, we’re going to discuss the signs of PCOS and dietary changes you can make to lessen your symptoms.

Signs of PCOS
Weight gain or obesity
Typically, women with PCOS are overweight or even obese. And often times they hold their weight around the waistline.
Excessive body hair
It’s not abnormal for women to have body hair. What is more important is to pay attention to the location, as well as the color and thickness of it. Women with PCOS tend to have thick, coarse body hair on their face (typically the upper lip and jaw line), chest and back.
Oily and acne prone skin
Due to the increased hormone levels, women with PCOS often times have oily and acne prone skin.
Irregular menstrual cycles and infertility
PCOS is a result of increased hormones, typically the predominantly male hormone testosterone. One of the early signs of PCOS is missed or irregular periods. PCOS can also cause ovarian cysts and infertility if left untreated.
In order to help improve your PCOS it’s important to get to the root of the cause. Changing your diet can be a huge factor.
Avoid inflammatory foods
Foods that cause inflammation, namely wheat and dairy, can wreck havoc on anyone’s body, let alone those with PCOS. Try including anti-inflammatory foods, such as turmeric, blueberries, ginger and beets.
Be sure you’re getting enough iodine
Iodine is a naturally occuring trace mineral in the human body. It is essential for creating thyroid hormones. Iodine can also help prevent or reduce ovarian cysts, which are common with PCOS. To be sure you’re getting enough iodine you can try adding seaweeds to your diet. If that’s not up your alley, try eating some navy beans or taking a liquid iodine supplement.
Remove all processed food and refined sugars
Women with PCOS are predisposed to developing diabetes. Therefore, it is important to keep your blood sugar levels in check. Most boxed or processed foods are high in sugar. Try sticking to healthy, home cooked meals instead of those found in a box.
To learn more about how dangerous refined sugar is and how supplementation can help improve your diet and nutrition pick up the Women’s Mind Body Wellness Summit. Chiropractor Jennifer Shell discusses all you need to know about nutrition. The WMBW Summit contains 6 interviews from top female health professionals plus three bonus videos from MyHealthSpin Founder Lori-Ann Rickard, as well as two bonus workout videos. Use promo code “BEWELL” to recieve 50% off!
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4 Ways to Lessen the Impact of Atrial Fibrillation

Did you know that over 6 million people suffer from atrial fibrillation in the United States alone? Atrial fibrillation, or A-fib, is an irregular, sometimes rapid, heart beat. Due to this A-fib can cause poor blood flow, lack of energy, fatigue, shortness of breath and heart palpation. Today, we’re going to discuss things you can do to strengthen your heart and improve A-fib.

Eat heart smart
Oily foods, such as fish, walnuts and avocados are full of heart healthy omega 3s. Also, blueberries and raspberries are high in antioxidants, which are heart smart.

Avoid excess salt
If you’re using regular table salt you want to be sure to avoid it in high quantities. Too much salt can cause high cholesterol and impact A-fib. If you like salt, try switching to pink Himalayan salt. It’s delicious and is full of trace minerals.

Hit the pavement
You don’t need to run to get the cardiovascular benefits of exercise. Brisk walking and weight lifting (even if the weights are light) can still get your heart pumping and help to strengthen it. Aim for at least 30 minutes of activity at least five days a week.

Avoid caffeine
Unfortunately that morning cup of joe could be worsening your atrial fibrillation. Caffeine increases your heart rate which can trigger A-fib.

To learn more about the benefits of reducing sugar intake and how supplements can help improve your diet and nutrition, pick up the Women’s Mind Body Wellness Summit. Cardiologist Joan Crawford discusses everything you need to know about heart health.The Summit contains 6 interviews from top female health professionals plus three bonus videos from MyHealthSpin Founder Lori-Ann Rickard, as well as two bonus workout videos. Use promo code “BEWELL” to recieve 50% off!

 

 

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How is Hurricane Harvey Impacting Healthcare?

Hurricane Harvey has caused extreme flooding in Houston, Texas – the nation’s fourth largest city – and it is wreaking havoc on healthcare and patients alike.

What is it like for people trying to get healthcare there now? It’s tough all around. Here are some of the conditions Houston and other flood-damaged areas are dealing with.

Physicians have waded miles to get to their clinics and to hospitals.

Patients in need of regular treatments, such as kidney-dialysis, have had trouble getting treatment because roads are not drive-able and ambulances are often unable to reach patients.

Hospitals and clinics have been worried about their patients, physicians and staff.

CHI St. Luke’s Health – The Vintage Hospital had to evacuate patients by boat last week, and other hospital evacuations were expected.

Patients who were discharged from hospitals often had trouble getting home or had nowhere to go because many homes were flooded.

Most outpatient procedures and elective surgeries were canceled, and hospitals had to deal with the issue of replenishing supplies.

2,500 hospital workers at Texas Children’s Hospital stayed at the hospital, sleeping on cots, to be able to provide patient care. Texas Children’s also had to deal with leaks and burst pipes.

The flooding continues to cause issues, and the damage will take a long time to repair, just as it did in New Orleans and other areas affected by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Katrina left many citizens without access to health care, and changed the health system dramatically.

One year after Katrina, the New Orleans metropolitan area had fewer than half of the hospital beds it had before the storm, and only about one-quarter of the physicians had returned. In addition, there were significantly fewer nursing homes one year after the storm.

Other effects included patients losing health insurance because of lost jobs and hospitals losing federal funding. The loss of funding affected poorer residents who rely on it for health care, as well as hospital staff members who were laid off.

Things had improved by 2015 – 10 years after the storm – according to research findings.

But it is evident that these things take time. Health systems affected by Harvey may have a long road ahead of them to return to full services for their communities.