Can changing the gut microbiome affect PCOS?
What causes new hair growth?
All hair
follicles form before birth. Heredity and genetics, sex, hormonal
exposure, and biological age all factor in determining where hair will grow more
prominently.
If you have an unwanted hair problem, you are likely aware that increased androgenic activity causes new hair growth. We can expect increased hormonal activity
at puberty. With perimenopause, estrogenic and progesteronic activity
decreases absolutely, but androgenic activity can increase relatively.
Some of us are genetically predisposed to
grow more hair than others. Some of us had a medical treatment or an unresolved
condition that influenced new hair growth. Life is full of unpredictable
events, and some of them affect new hair growth.
Can diet affect hair growth?
Recently, I read that significant dietary
changes (i.e., fasting) can cause hair loss in some people. Unfortunately, this
hair loss was in the place where most of us want to keep it. I’m an advocate of and practice intermittent fasting, and I have more than enough hair on the top of my
head. So, I suspect this is a hormonal imbalance problem. Anyway, this got me thinking, “is it possible that diet can affect hair
growth?”
Being a fan and follower of Dr. Joseph Mercola, and his website at mercola.com, I’ve
learned a little about the microbiome, and that we should protect and cater to our
microbiome. The right food is necessary to support a gut microbiome in order to protect our entire body from autoimmune and metabolic diseases (Singh, 2017).
On a personal note, I have not been sick in a very long time. I attribute this to a better diet and a lower frequency of eating: it is a diet with less sugar or its substitutes, preservatives, pesticides, herbicides, and antibiotics, and with more whole food, and with more prebiotics and probiotics, and at a frequency of less than once per day.
On a personal note, I have not been sick in a very long time. I attribute this to a better diet and a lower frequency of eating: it is a diet with less sugar or its substitutes, preservatives, pesticides, herbicides, and antibiotics, and with more whole food, and with more prebiotics and probiotics, and at a frequency of less than once per day.
Studies have found a correlation between
the microbiome and hyperandrogenism. Specifically, women with the polycystic
ovarian syndrome (PCOS) have a gut microbiome with less diversity
(Torres, 2018). PCOS affects 10-15% of women of childbearing age and up to 20% among infertile women. Hyperandrogenism is a medical condition characterized by high
levels of androgens. PCOS is the most common cause of
hyperandrogenism in women (Peigné, 2013). Hyperandrogenism is the root cause of unwanted hair growth.
Can changing the microbiome
affect hyperandrogenism?
Recent research on mice suggests that changing the microbiome affects hyperandrogenism. Further, making changes to support the gut microbiome can restore protection from
hyperandrogenism! In this research, mice implanted with a nonsteroidal aromatase
inhibitor to induce PCOS later became protected after cohousing with placebo
mice. Merely through cohousing, the microbiome of the PCOS mice changed for the better to become like
the placebo mice (Torres, 2019; Thackray, 2019).
Microbiome, antibiotics, and diet
affect hyperandrogenism.
If a healthy gut microbiome protects from
hyperandrogenism, then, we should be mindful to take good care of our microbiome. I
don't want to be an alarmist, but we should also decide carefully about taking
antibiotics or ingesting anything that kills off our beneficial bacteria.
In breastfeeding children, antibiotics
reduce the long-term positive effects of breastfeeding attributed to the
microbiome (Korpela, 2016). Antibiotics taken in early childhood are correlated
to long-lasting complications of obesity, behavior, allergies, autoimmunity,
and other diseases (Neuman, 2018).
Other drugs, such as statins, PPIs, and NSAIDs also affect the microbiome (Caparrós-Martín, 2017; Imhann, 2016; Rogers,2016).
Other drugs, such as statins, PPIs, and NSAIDs also affect the microbiome (Caparrós-Martín, 2017; Imhann, 2016; Rogers,2016).
If we must take antibiotics or other drugs to kill one type of pathogenic organism,
then we must also make changes latter to help our gut microbiome rebuild a healthy community that will protect us naturally from other pathogenic bacteria, viruses, and fungi.
For those of us with a medical condition, like hyperandrogenism, we
need to be mindful to care for our microbiome with a proper diet.
A nutrient-dense diet includes plenty of
·
organic
greens, vegetables, and fruits,
·
healthy fats
(e.g., butter, lard, tallow), and
·
quality
proteins (e.g., wild fish, and pasture-raised beef, pork, chicken, and eggs).
To support the gut microbiome, add some
dietary fiber (prebiotics) and resistant starch. Organic greens, vegetables, and fruits have
some dietary fiber. Kimchi is fermented and spiced cabbage and contains both dietary fiber and probiotics (which are beneficial
bacterial). Other sources of probiotics include homemade yogurt and sauerkraut.
You can buy resistant starch (potato starch), or you can eat not-quite-ripe or green bananas, cold
baked-potatoes, beans and legumes, chilled cooked oats, and chilled cooked rice.
Food preservatives in processed foods are likely harmful to the gut microbiome (Irwin, 2017). Artificial sweeteners in processed foods cause a shift in microbiome species and increase pathogenic bacteria (dysbiosis) (Singh, 2017). Alcohol is another cause of dysbiosis, and treatment with prebiotics and probiotics have been found to normalize the microbiome and improve the alcohol-related pathogenesis symptoms (Engen, 2015). Although there's no supporting research at this time, the gut microbiome may be an unintended target of the residue of pesticides and herbicides used to grow our food.
In a nutshell, to support the gut microbiome,
In a nutshell, to support the gut microbiome,
- eat whole foods,
- eat organic if possible,
- avoid processed foods (including factory-made
bread and cereal),
- avoid sugar and its substitutes,
- reduce alcohol consumption, and
- treat your gut microbiome with dietary fiber and resistant starch.
Electrolysis permanently removes
unwanted hair.
As an electrologist, I am trained in the
removal of unwanted hair. As part of my training, as well as through personal
experience, I have developed a deeper understanding of the causes and other
aspects of sudden hair growth. Although I have some knowledge, I cannot make
medical diagnoses. What I can do is ask you questions, listen to you, share my
knowledge, and help you to prepare for your consultation with a physician or an
endocrinologist. At your first visit with me, I will ask you to complete a
health history survey, and we can use that as a starting point for a
conversation.
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References
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D, Wong K, Abrouk M, Farahnik B, Nakamura M, Zhu TH, Bhutani T, Liao W. Influence
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Med. 2017;15(1):73. Published 2017 Apr 8. doi:10.1186/s12967-017-1175-y
Peigné, M; Villers-Capelle, A; Robin, G;
Dewailly, D. Hyperandrogenism in women. Presse Médicale. 42 (11):
1487–99. November 2013. doi:10.1016/j.lpm.2013.07.016
Pedro J Torres, Martyna Siakowska, Beata
Banaszewska, Leszek Pawelczyk, Antoni J Duleba, Scott T Kelley, Varykina G Thackray. Gut
Microbial Diversity in Women With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Correlates With
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Pedro J Torres, Bryan S Ho, Pablo Arroyo,
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Healthy Gut Microbiome Protects Against Reproductive and Metabolic
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Engen PA, Green SJ, Voigt RM, Forsyth CB, Keshavarzian A. The Gastrointestinal Microbiome: Alcohol Effects on the Composition of Intestinal Microbiota. Alcohol Res. 2015;37(2):223–236.
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