Polycystic ovary syndrome is a hormonal disorder which can occur in any woman of reproductive age.
It causes the ovaries (organs that produce the ovum or egg) to be enlarged and surrounded by small cysts (fluid filled sac) at the outer edges.
Cause
The cause of PCOS isn’t exactly known but may be attributed to genetic (inherited) and environmental factors.
Early diagnosis and treatment as well as weight loss or management can go a long way in reducing long term results of this condition such as infertility, type 2 diabetes, heart diseases, miscarriages, depression, premature birth and uterine cancer.
Why exercise is important to PCOS patients?
Women with polycystic ovary syndrome find it difficult to loose weight because of hormonal imbalances and insulin resistance (body not responding to the effects of insulin).
So exercise and dieting go a long way to help shed some weight.
Recommended diets
- Low carb intake
- More fiber
- High protein foods
- Healthy fat (Avocado, Cheese, Whole eggs)
- Fatty fish (Sardine, Salmon)
- Chia seed
- Coconut and coconut oil
Recommended exercises
Exercises are known to reduce blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels (remember PCOS patients are at greater risk of having type 2 diabetes and heart diseases).
Cardio Activities
It helps boost fertility, mood as well as increase the body’s insulin sensitivity. It includes brisk or fast walking, swimming, cycling, skipping, stair climbing and jogging.
Strength training
This helps to also improve the body’s sensitivity to insulin. It increases the body’s metabolic rate as well as improve the body’s composition (more muscles, less fat). It includes squats, push ups, weight lifting, use of resistance bands and crunches.
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
This increases the body’s sensitivity to insulin, improves nervous system response, reduces waist circumference, body mass index as well as cardiovascular fitness.
It involves short and intense exercises with short intervals of rests. It’s comprised mostly of cardio exercises kettlebell swings, burpees, sprints, use of stationary bikes and squat to overhead press.
Core strengthening exercises
They help prepare the body for pregnancy by training the muscles of the pelvis, hips, lower back and abdomen. They include planks, crunch, bridge, bird dog, bicycle crunch, mountain climbing etc.
All these when combined definitely help improve chances of getting pregnant and reduce the chances of having chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes and heart diseases.
This lifestyle changes help weight reduction and maintenance of healthy body weight.
Consistency is key, always remember that.
#HealthyNaija
Pharm. Ucheoma Ezinne
Like!! I blog quite often and I genuinely thank you for your information. The article has truly peaked my interest.
A big thank you for your article.
Thanks so much for the blog post.
Good one! Interesting article over here. It’s pretty worth enough for me.
Very good article! We are linking to this particularly great content on our site. Keep up the great writing.
Wow…
I just recently came across this disorder…
It is an interesting read
Thank you for this informative post. I always knew our Dorothy also has a big brain 😍😍🤣🤣
Nice one.
Very informative. Thank you so much for the article