Episode 24 | PCOS Holistic Treatment: Addressing the Root Cause and Managing Symptoms
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Podcast Transcript
Episode 24: PCOS Holistic Treatment: Addressing the Root Cause and Managing Symptoms
[00:00:00] Amy: Welcome to the Holistic Health Show, where the worlds of science and spirituality converge to illuminate a path towards total well being. Join us as we embark on a journey to bridge the gap between Western medicine and complementary therapies. Offering you a roadmap to embrace a proactive, holistic approach to your health.
[00:00:21] Amy: It's time to empower yourself with choices that nurture your body, mind, and soul. Welcome to a world of infinite possibilities for your optimal health.
[00:00:33] Amy: Hello and welcome back. I'm so happy you could join us on the
[00:00:37] Amy: Holistic Health Show today. It's our first episode where we have multiple guests at one time. So I'm really interested to see how this conversation is going to flow and where it takes us. So let's get started. I want to just jump right in. We have Amanda and we have Shweta on the show today and I'm going to leave it to them.
[00:00:55] Amy: And we'll start with you, Amanda, to just jump right in, tell us who you are, what you do and what we're going to [00:01:00] talk about today. Hello, my name
[00:01:02] Amanda: is Amanda Lewis. I am the owner of vivacious women's wellness. I am a nurse practitioner and I have been treating women for 11 years now, but I treat women holistically.
[00:01:14] Amanda: So a little bit of the traditional, a little bit of the alternative, and I melt those two together. So I love talking about PCOS because it is one of the most common causes of infertility. And so many women don't realize that it is not just a a problem with your ovaries. It's a whole metabolic disorder.
[00:01:31] Amanda: So it really needs to be treated holistically. So that is why I wanted to come on here and talk about the other things that you should do besides taking a pill.
[00:01:40] Amy: Thank you for that, Amanda. All right, and Shweta, you're on the show today, and you're going to share with us some insights as being someone who lives with PCOS.
[00:01:50] Amy: So can you tell us a little bit about you and your experience?
[00:01:53] Shweta: Yeah, hi. Hi, everyone. I'm Shweta, and I actually have been diagnosed with PCOS, and this [00:02:00] probably happened when I was around 17,
[00:02:02] Amanda: 18 years old.
[00:02:03] Shweta: You know, just when a girl is just going through typical hormonal issues you know, Dealing with periods and weight gain.
[00:02:11] Shweta: And you're just so confused about everything. And you're just like, why is all of this happening? But I'm just trying to figure that out. Today I'll be talking about and sharing my experiences you guys, in terms of how that's been for me since, since then, it's been about, I'm 29 now. So it's. It's been 10 years.
[00:02:26] Shweta: So
[00:02:28] Amy: thank you. And thanks for being open and willing to share this. I know it's, you know, it's a personal story. It's a personal journey. So thank you for being willing to kind of share and I'm, I'm sure that many will, you know, hear your story and have that resonate with them and maybe they can learn and, you know, discover other supports that are out there.
[00:02:45] Amy: You know, with Amanda kind of guiding us on some of that and, and you as well in, in your personal experience, and I'd be keen. you know, to learn how your experience was getting support and, you know, so you would have been in [00:03:00] Thailand, I guess, when you were diagnosed. So how that journey was for you there and whether you had the medical support and how you're finding it now that you're living in Australia.
[00:03:09] Amy: So there's, you know, there's a broad spectrum here that we can really cover, which is exciting. And I, I just hope that you know, our listeners, anyone out there, if you know, you're kind of suffering in silence or you're not sure where to start, I hope that you take something from this. So, Amanda, I'd love to pop back over to you and, you know, how does one start?
[00:03:27] Amy: You mentioned just before we kind of popped on that some women are actually not diagnosed until later. So I'd imagine there's a lot of kind of suffering in anybody who's not getting treatment for that. It sounds like Shweta might have been, you know, I guess lucky in the sense that while yes, you do have PCOS, it sounds like you were young when...
[00:03:47] Amy: It came across you know, you were diagnosed medically. So, Amanda, if you could kind of educate us a little bit on what that looks like.
[00:03:54] Amanda: So I think that the reason it takes a little while to get diagnosed is that the symptoms can be attributed to [00:04:00] other things. Now, the classic symptom that PCOS when I start thinking PCOS in my head as someone who is your, your provider is that your periods are very irregular.
[00:04:11] Amanda: So when. Women start their cycles in the teenage years. They're often irregular. So that's not necessarily unusual. So if you see you have a teenager with unusual periods, you're like, yeah, you know that that's a thing. But it takes a little while for your hormones to regulate once they start. They go a little bit crazy.
[00:04:30] Amanda: And that also is what happens in menopause is your estrogen goes a little crazy again, which is why your periods get weird again. So you have this, you know, irregular cycle. And so it's a problem. Again, I mentioned earlier, it is a metabolic disorder and a disorder of the gynecological system. So your ovaries and everything else that's involved.
[00:04:49] Amanda: And when with PCOS, you have too much testosterone. And you start to have, like, hair on your chin you'll see it here, sometimes you'll even have, like, more [00:05:00] sideburns, I've had women with chest hair as well, and of course, you know, as a woman, that can be very that can make you very self conscious, but, you know, if you have family members that are hairy, you're like, well, maybe it's just that, so, again, that can be a little bit vague The weight gain, we can always attribute that to other things.
[00:05:17] Amanda: Oh, well, you know, I've been stressed out. I've been studying. I've been eating pizza late at night. Because a lot of women will get diagnosed in that the early 20s but some women don't really Just they just always put it off to other stuff until they're trying to have children. So like late 20s or early 30s Depression and anxiety again, that's kind of a vague symptom Swelling and water retention and then breast pain because your estrogen levels are too high Compared to your progesterone.
[00:05:47] Amanda: So there's a lot of hormone fluctuations here that happen and the symptoms are all kind of like oh, well You know, there's that there's that but when you put them together as a full picture you you think Okay, this woman may [00:06:00] have this situation, but sometimes you have to have a provider that is willing to zoom out and look, as opposed to, oh, you have acne, let's just give you this pill for that.
[00:06:09] Amanda: Or if you have you have weight gain, we'll just diet and exercise. Well, with PCOS, you have insulin resistance as a part of this, which makes it so much harder to lose weight. So it's, it's kind of a vicious cycle. So finding the right provider, finding someone who understands PCOS, who is very comfortable treating PCOS is going to be your first step because.
[00:06:33] Amanda: Honestly, not everybody is. And then what you're wanting to look at is you're going to get some blood work done and usually you're going to get a pelvic ultrasound. Now, if you have not had a pelvic ultrasound, that can be shocking to women because you're like, Oh, you're just going to do it on the outside, huh?
[00:06:49] Amanda: Oh no, honey. There's a wand that they usually put in your side, your vagina. And the reason is because those ovaries are difficult to see. Sometimes they'll be tucked behind the uterus. So you have to [00:07:00] have this like, Especially if you have, like, a woman who's a virgin, and she is you know, having having these really weird periods, about to get married, trying to figure out what's going on with her, you give her this wand with a condom on it, and all this goop.
[00:07:14] Amanda: I bet, you know, if you don't prepare someone for that, That can be awkward. So when you do a pelvic ultrasound, you're looking for a lot of irregular eggs, like irregular follicles around your ovaries, and it's called a string of pearls. It's one of those classic signs that you see with PCOS. Now, there are four three different things that you look for for a classic diagnosis of PCOS.
[00:07:40] Amanda: And it's going to be that string of pearls on the ultrasound. Women are having very irregular periods and they're not ovulating. And if you're not ovulating, that's why you can't get pregnant. So if you never release the egg. There's nothing to, for the sperm to almost a pollinate with, to inseminate, [00:08:00] to inseminate.
[00:08:01] Amanda: And then the other criteria is that high testosterone level. And you can look at that in the blood or you'll see it with a bunch of hair. So you have to have two of those three, either a string of pearls and the high testosterone, high testosterone, and you're not ovulating. So two of those three is what makes it a clear diagnosis of PCOS.
[00:08:21] Amanda: So that is like the diagnostic stuff. Shweta, can you tell me what was your experience when you were diagnosed? Did anyone, kind of, did you have to have the pelvic ultrasound? Did anybody warn you? Yeah, no,
[00:08:34] Shweta: luckily people did warn me. I had a, my mom was very clear. She definitely explained things comfortably for me.
[00:08:42] Shweta: It was obviously like very new for me, but the only reason I went for a checkup was because I had irregular periods and I was putting on weight. So that's why I was just like, what's happening? Like, you know, like I was just a bit worried. So we went to the doctor and yeah, she did all like the things you said, like the blood tests, the ultrasounds and, you know, [00:09:00] confirm that I do have like small follicles as well as you know, the, like high levels of testosterone.
[00:09:06] Shweta: So at that time, my periods were irregular, but now they're, because I'm, I'm controlling in terms of my diet lifestyle. They're, they're very regular. Like they come monthly, like it's on time. But I still do have the, the follicles
[00:09:18] Amanda: Mm-Hmm. .
[00:09:19] Shweta: So like, I just did a recent checkup as well. And, you know, and, and even like the testosterone levels are more on the higher end of things.
[00:09:26] Shweta: But again, it's not super high, I would say for me. Mm-Hmm. , it's more on the just. At the higher range of things like a normal, the
[00:09:35] Amanda: higher end of normal. Yeah,
[00:09:37] Shweta: it's just a little bit above the normal, just slightly still. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:09:45] Amanda: So, I guess, tell me you said your help your you've been able to control this with how you're eating How you're taking care of yourself and that is what I promote here But I will tell you I am going to be the minority.[00:10:00]
[00:10:00] Amanda: I practice in Louisiana and that's Southern U. S. and we, they're not about holistic, but I'm trying so hard to like fly the flag. You don't, you don't have to take a pill for everything. So it sounds like you're already there. So tell me the things that they taught you about how you can help take care of that?
[00:10:18] Shweta: So initially when I did get diagnosed, I did have good information. The doctor did suggest taking a pill or not, not a, not a birth control pill, but just more like, I think I forgot what the name was, but it was something to just help control the hormones.
[00:10:33] Shweta: I, I can't remember. It was such a long time ago. Like it was like when I was 18. So it wasn't metformin. I forgot what it was, but that's okay. You know, and then the doctor said that, you know, You know, you have to speak with a dietitian in order to like, you know, figure out what you need to be eating and stuff.
[00:10:50] Shweta: Good. And then I think I sort of just did my own research as well. And I really like looked into it and I was just like constantly day in and out, like just [00:11:00] researching and identifying, you know, what can I do? And then a lot of these like nutritionists who specify specialize in You know, PCOS and I wanted someone culturally who would be able to help from because I'm Indian.
[00:11:11] Shweta: So I wanted someone who would be able to help with you know, food habits there and like customize a diet plan where a number of these food habits, like a specific diet plans and specific options that I can eat from, like in terms of Indian food, like I'll be able to have that option. Yes. So I did my own research, spoke to a couple of nutritionists as well.
[00:11:30] Shweta: And, you know, they were basically, I think one of the key ones was to avoid gluten. So again, not avoid completely, but minimize your gluten in terms of gluten intake. And then second one was dairy. You know, so minimizing the amount of dairy that I'm having, and I, for me, luckily, I wasn't really a big fan of dairy, so it was okay.
[00:11:51] Shweta: I, I love almond milk. I love all of the other alternative milks, so it's totally fine. And then reducing sugar. That was probably the biggest one, like no junk food, no sugar, [00:12:00] no sweets. It's not, again, it's not like it's a complete no, but it's very, it should be very infrequent in terms of when you're having it and how much you're having it.
[00:12:09] Shweta: And then things like no alcohol, all of this obviously affects and we're just fine because I don't really drink much. So it's, it's that these things, I think the biggest adjustment for me was probably gluten. Cause I do love my carbs and my bread. bUt yeah, that, so that these were the main things for food.
[00:12:28] Shweta: And then again, when it came to working out, A lot of this, like I used to do a lot of these strenuous workouts, like kind of similar to like F45. So a lot of these HIIT workouts like the high intensity workouts and then CrossFit, things like that. So I found out that those are actually not good for you with PCUS because it elevates your cortisol levels, which in turn elevates your hormone levels.
[00:12:51] Shweta: So... I love that you
[00:12:52] Amanda: know this, yes!
[00:12:54] Shweta: So I've done my research. But so then they were like, yeah, you can't be doing any of this. You need to be doing more [00:13:00] slow weighted workouts. They need to be paced at a balanced level. So that your hormones are, you know, at the same level throughout, you're not like going crazy with your workouts, doing things like yoga Pilates you know, slow weighted weight training, you know, things like swimming things that just keep you like your cortisol levels in check.
[00:13:18] Shweta: So I started doing that. And I. Before this, I was not losing any weight. Like even one kilo off the scale was not even moving. The minute I started You've been
[00:13:28] Amanda: doing all of those high intensity workouts,
[00:13:29] Shweta: right? Nope. None of it. Like, I was, it's one
[00:13:33] Amanda: kilo. What I, what I'd say is it's like, you've got a key to a lock and it looks like it's going to fit, but it doesn't.
[00:13:43] Amanda: And it's when you finally change and do the right exercise for your body, all of a sudden the key fits and you start losing weight. Yeah.
[00:13:51] Shweta: I mean, even in this situation, it was like the, the first week that I started doing this, I lost about a kilo and I was like, [00:14:00] wow, this is insane. Like in, you know, I was like, yeah.
[00:14:02] Shweta: And then in that first month I lost four kilos, like literally a kilo each week. Wow. And I was like, what? You know? So that was like a mind, like that was very, very shocking for me. And I only started implementing all of this. I would say four years ago, four, five years, five years ago, I really started getting very serious into it five years ago, just because before that, I was like, Oh, you know, my periods are coming on time.
[00:14:27] Shweta: Like, they're not too bad. Like, it's okay. The only reason, the only thing was, I was just not losing weight. So that, that was what I wanted to do. But yeah. Yeah, I started doing it five years ago and I was getting really serious into it. And that's when I started to do my own research and I lost weight, but I, and I think now it's well, cause I have some knowledge in the space and I can follow specific diets as well.
[00:14:47] Shweta: I, I, I, it's, it's more about being consistent because again, you know, you want to have some junk, you want to have some sugar and it's hard to be consistent with that. So that's something I, I, even now [00:15:00] I'm generally like, sometimes I'll struggle with it, but I'll be like, Oh, you know, like I need to be more consistent, but the minute I am consistent, you know, things like, I, I just, it's really fast.
[00:15:09] Shweta: Yeah, but it's just more like, you know, just enjoy a little bit too.
[00:15:14] Amanda: I call it the 80, 20 rule. So 80 percent of the time do the right thing. And then 20 percent of the time you can enjoy yourself without having to worry about it. So, so many people, like they'll go on these diets and then they'll. Like, Oh my God, I have to have cake and they'll eat like six pieces.
[00:15:30] Amanda: Whereas if you're doing the 80, 20, you know, you can have that piece of cake and you don't even feel like you have to finish it if you don't like, if you can, if you take a bite and you're like, Oh, that wasn't worth the calories. You don't have to finish it. So if, but if it was worth it, enjoy every bite.
[00:15:45] Amanda: So that's when you're doing the 80, 20, it's so nice because you can indulge without feeling guilty.
[00:15:53] Shweta: Yeah, no, I completely agree. And I think I'm trying to adopt that approach as well. But yeah, [00:16:00] it's, it's just about balancing things.
[00:16:03] Amy: I'm really curious. Go ahead. Yeah,
[00:16:06] Amy: that's all right. When you do it, you were doing your own research in that.
[00:16:10] Amy: Was it difficult to find the right information or, you know, because sometimes you can look things up. I presume you were, you know. on the internet. And I know in myself, when I'm looking up things, there's a lot of contradictory information about different things out there. It can be hard to know what's, you know, a reputable source sometimes.
[00:16:27] Amy: So, and sometimes there's just not, the information isn't out there. It's not well known yet. You know, like when I was diagnosed with celiac disease, it was really hard for me to find good information that, you know, was accurate and healthy and, you know, I wasn't doing more damage to myself. So how did you find that whole process?
[00:16:46] Amy: Was the information available to you in a, in an easy kind of readily
[00:16:50] Amanda: way? Yeah,
[00:16:51] Shweta: I would say like five, six years ago information on PCOS was not that big and not that easily available to find. And [00:17:00] I was living in Thailand at that time. So again, it was not that big even there, like I, the doctors knew about it, but it was not an area where they specialized in or had that much information in.
[00:17:11] Shweta: So that's why I turn to the doctors more in India just because it is a common issue in India amongst Indian women. So when I was doing my own research, I actually did find one specific nutritionist who had PCOS herself and she was based in America and... I think I really liked the way that she organized everything.
[00:17:30] Shweta: She organized like specific meal plans for each day, workouts for each day, like what you need to be doing. And she even, it was more holistic. So it was not just only working out, but she suggested things like meditation you know, just calming your hormones and doing that. So it was very, very holistic.
[00:17:47] Shweta: So to find that took me time because everyone would just always, like, I didn't find any information. It was just more like general information like you just need to lose weight. You just need to eat clean But for me, it's like what do I need to eat? [00:18:00] When do I need to eat it? What workouts do I need to do like I wanted to know specifics like, you know Just what do I need to do on a daily basis?
[00:18:08] Shweta: But you needed a plan Yeah, this nutritionist she gave like a schedule like a timetable like Monday you eat this for breakfast lunch dinner snacks and then this is what your workout is and then for meditation you do this and then So on, it was very, very organized. And I was like, look, this is what I need.
[00:18:24] Shweta: I just want to follow something and I just want to go with it and see the results that worked for me.
[00:18:32] Amanda: I love that. So here I have different resources. So, if I'm diagnosing someone with, I set them up with a dietitian and her name is Daphne, and it's the unconventional dietitian and she has, like, a mini book that she's written and she loves working with women.
[00:18:52] Amanda: Love to have them work out with someone. So we'll either, I have some personal trainers that I recommend. There's different [00:19:00] gyms. I'm always preaching yoga, Pilates, meditation. So I have different apps that I can give them like free 30 day trials. So we always talk about how that cortisol response has to come down and the way that I tell them to eat is usually glucose goddess.
[00:19:18] Amanda: I don't know if y'all are familiar with her. She is absolutely amazing. I wear a glucose monitor all the time so I can check mine because when I started my health journey, I've lost 75 pounds. I was insulin resistant. I was almost, I was already on blood pressure medicine and I did not want to be diabetic.
[00:19:38] Amanda: I have a family history of it. And I knew that if I was going to fight, I had to fight hard against genetics and my own self. So. I I did a whole life change and so the Glucose Goddess her book is amazing. She's, there's several podcasts. You're eating so you don't spike your blood sugar and [00:20:00] have it drop really quickly.
[00:20:01] Amanda: So she's, she's, Preaching your whole grains, your proteins, eating your vegetables, staying away from too much fruit and then she she just, her whole life story is really interesting for her, eating this way finally healed her of what they had been calling mental illness forever, but it was just brain fog because her sugar was just going up and down so much.
[00:20:24] Amanda: So She has a cookbook that I sometimes recommend, but I also, we talk a lot about inflammatory foods. And so if people want more of a strict thing, I tell them either Mediterranean diet or Galveston diet, because those are going to be focused on your proteins, healthy grains, vegetables, and. It's just so much better for your body.
[00:20:45] Amanda: When you eat that way, you feel so much better. So I love that you had mentioned the cortisol. I also have my clients we use berberine as a supplement or inositol or myoinositol is another word. So these supplements, berberine [00:21:00] specifically helps with blood sugar control and then inositol helps with insulin resistance.
[00:21:05] Amanda: So those are two. And then of course, I mean, I think everyone in the world has heard about ozempic, wagobe, semaglutide. So these are peptides and peptides are amazing and they have helped with weight loss. They have changed the obesity game, but it's not just a weight loss. It also is helps to decrease inflammation.
[00:21:25] Amanda: Yeah, inflammation. So chronic inflammation is going to be the cause of diabetes and heart disease and all of these other things that kill us in the end. So if we can get a hold of that, we can prevent people from getting there. So, chasteberry is another supplement that I like. It is progesterone support.
[00:21:45] Amanda: So remember with your hormones, your testosterone is high and then your estrogen can also be high as well. So the reason you have breast pain and the reason you have some of the symptoms is because your estrogen is too high in relation to your progesterone, [00:22:00] which balances it. So when you take the chasteberry, it kind of brings that progesterone level up to balance the estrogen.
[00:22:05] Amanda: So you don't have some of the other symptoms as bad. Some people will do progesterone just on days 12 to 26. to help with a lot of the symptoms and try to help you ovulate. Because again, when people start looking to get pregnant, you you have to make sure that you're ovulating. If you don't release the egg, you won't get there.
[00:22:24] Amanda: Alcohol is very inflammatory to your system, so I always preach no alcohol. Because again, inflammation, cortisol goes up, relates to glucose. And then the other thing that for stress reduction, I'm sure that you know about this with Indian medicine, but ashwagandha, the adaptogenic herbs, those are going to be instrumental in helping you lower your cortisol levels, getting your stress down.
[00:22:50] Amanda: So your body can handle the stress that it does have coming in, I don't know if you know about this. I'm assuming you probably do. But saw palmetto and spearmint tea, [00:23:00] like a green, those are good as well. And just remember that You have to treat the whole person. You can't just treat one aspect of this because it's connected.
[00:23:11] Amanda: It's it's an endocrine, you know, glucose problem. It's a it's a weight issue. I mean, there's, there's depression, anxiety. So. Not everybody likes SSRIs, and I understand, and when I say SSRI, I mean like Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor for Anxiety Depression, Postpartum Depression, but they also can be anti inflammatory, and if you have one, someone that is severely depressed, it's going to be very difficult for them to want to get up, eat right, eat right.
[00:23:41] Amanda: and exercise. So sometimes you need a little something to help you get started. And that doesn't mean it's a lifetime thing, but it may just be what you need for the moment. So just make sure if you suspect that you have PCOS, find someone that will listen to you and advocate for yourself, okay? [00:24:00] PCOS it, there's a website that I was looking up earlier just to, it's called PCOSAA.
[00:24:07] Amanda: org. I think that's advocacy associate. I'm sorry. P. C. O. S. It's called awareness association. So they do have a lot of good information there. And you are going to find that find a nutritionist that you like, look up somebody on tick tock. See who you can follow. There is a man. Who when his wife was diagnosed with, they together developed a whole way for her to eat and created a cookbook.
[00:24:36] Amanda: Do you know what I'm talking about? Yeah. Have you heard of that?
[00:24:40] Shweta: I think she's one of the dietitians that I follow on Instagram, but I forgot her handle, but I think her name is Talene. So it's a husband, wife, couple, and they basically just make a number of reels and tick talks and they do podcasts and they talk about PCOS and working out.
[00:24:55] Shweta: And her husband's a personal trainer, I believe. So he also curated [00:25:00] workouts. And they've, they've, they've made like a program and stuff for women out there to purchase them. Follow up.
[00:25:07] Amanda: So again, a lot of this, you can help fix yourself. If you suspect that you have it, it's always nice to go ahead and have a diagnosis, but a lot of this is going to be on you.
[00:25:18] Amanda: There's not a magic pill that's going to fix this. You were, you just have a few more challenges and you've got to figure out a different key to unlock the, you know, everything for your body. I think that's all I've got. Shweta, did you have any questions for me or? Anything that you want to talk about?
[00:25:37] Amanda: Maybe, maybe just more like,
[00:25:38] Shweta: It would be sort of nice to hear your journey as well to an extent. Oh, sure. Just share, in terms of like sharing with other people, like, because I think one of the key... Things is each woman has different symptoms. So for me, my symptoms will probably different. Like for example, I don't have insulin resistance but I do know some women out there might have it.
[00:25:57] Shweta: So what's the, maybe not just your journey, but what's like [00:26:00] sort of what's the experience women who do have insulin resistance and you know, how can they sort of like work with that and treat that?
[00:26:08] Amanda: So, I like to kind of explain, first of all, what is insulin resistance? When you eat anything your body can only it takes it, it breaks it down, and it breaks down glucose into I can't remember right now, but basically it breaks it down into other molecules, and it stores it in different areas for use later.
[00:26:27] Amanda: Okay, so these are traditionally, this is used for energy, so if you have so much, I think it, I can't remember the exact numbers right now, but if you have like 200 spaces in your liver, they store it there first, okay? Then your muscles, because you're using your muscles all the time, they need to have readily available energy, so it'll store some of the glucose in your muscles, okay?
[00:26:51] Amanda: And then if There's still all these extra loads of glucose. They store it in this central abdomen area, which, you know, it's the hardest to always lose. It's the [00:27:00] very last part. Well, when we store enough there, we get that little gut thing that also emits hormones, so it becomes its own organ. So that's why it's even harder to get rid of.
[00:27:11] Amanda: Okay. So when you're talking about insulin resistance. You're basically saying, I've had enough glucose, I've taken in too much glucose for my body to handle, and it's storing it in all of these other areas, and all the storage places are running out. So your pancreas produces insulin, which helps to balance this out.
[00:27:30] Amanda: Well, your pancreas can only do this for so long before you start to just have sugar, just sugar in your blood everywhere, because there's no other place to store it. So, it is your warning. that you're going to get diabetes if you don't take care of this, okay? So when your annual blood work is done, you need to make sure you're getting a fasting insulin level if you suspect that you may have a blood sugar problem or if you have a family history, okay?
[00:27:58] Amanda: Once your blood sugar starts [00:28:00] going up, you've already had insulin resistance. That's already a problem, okay? So when you When you take these different when you eat differently, you're not eating and eating so much glucose. You don't have to hide it and store it in places. Your body can go ahead and when you're exercising and working out, can use the glucose that you already have stored there.
[00:28:24] Amanda: Then when it uses all of that, it can go get it from the extra places you've been tucking it. Okay. So the extra places in your muscles, the extra places in your abdomen. So when you have a fatty liver that's because you've also been eating too much stuff and they don't have any other place to store it.
[00:28:39] Amanda: So the fat gets stored in your liver. Like, It tries to store it in different places. Your body tries to achieve homeostasis and tries to keep everything going. But if we keep eating just junk, you, you're not giving your body what it needs. So, for me, that was a huge revelation. And I read about [00:29:00] that when I was Learn about the glucose goddess and why, because I had insulin resistance and why I had it and how to fix it.
[00:29:08] Amanda: So you have to eat better, you have to drink your water, and you have to move your body. And when I first started, I could barely finish a workout with my trainer. And I just had a session with her last week and she said, you just flew through that. And I said, I know, I barely got winded. I said, it felt amazing.
[00:29:27] Amanda: I feel so strong. Because I I hadn't seen her in a while, but I kept doing my yoga and my Pilates and all of my things to keep up. She actually does weights with me, but for when I work with her, she always pushes me harder than I would push myself as well. So that's why I have a trainer. So for me, seeing and feeling so much more energy.
[00:29:51] Amanda: My, I think that my insulin level when I started was. Like when I first started was like 98. It was really bad. So you [00:30:00] want it to be less than 16. And I think my last one was 14. So it's so nice to like fit in regular size clothes again, but it's also nice to see that the work that I'm putting in. Is literally, I am adding years to my life by taking control.
[00:30:17] Amanda: So do I, I mean, I am in the South of the United States. I still drink sweet tea. Okay. But I might eat a salad when I drink it. Okay. I still will have dessert, but I follow the 80 20. I'm going to eat great most of the time. And then I'll indulge a little bit and I won't feel guilty at all. So my journey has been it's been up and down.
[00:30:37] Amanda: I mean, you have good weeks and you have bad weeks, but as long as you're good outweighs your bad. And every time you get knocked down, you say, oh, man, that hurt. And you get up and you start again. So to me, success is.
[00:30:50] Shweta: You just choose, you have to choose you, you have to choose, you
[00:30:54] Amanda: know, extending your life every single time because I've gotten knocked down a lot.[00:31:00]
[00:31:01] Amanda: It doesn't matter. The only choice I have is to get up. I'm not going to quit. So that's and so with my stuff, like I said, I changed the way I ate. I changed the way I worked out. I started working out again cause I had stopped completely. And then, the other the other medication that's helped me so much is Manjaro, Terzapatide, those peptides.
[00:31:21] Amanda: I had never understood what they meant by satiety before. Like, I'm, I don't need to finish eating my whole plate. For me, this medication not only helps with appetite suppression, it turned off this thing in my brain that said, it's like it was a scarcity mindset where if I didn't eat all of this, I would never be able to eat again.
[00:31:44] Amanda: And when that turned on, I'm able to eat without overeating. I'm able to choose. I have, I make better choices because I'm in my right mind, not my craving mind, you know, that everybody has that hangry moment where you let your [00:32:00] blood sugar get too low, and you're going to eat anything in sight. So it allows me to eat more from my rational mind.
[00:32:07] Amanda: So I hope that kind of explained me. Yeah, awesome.
[00:32:11] Shweta: Thank you so much for sharing that. It's so good to hear and just understand how it works for everyone else. Because for me, my, my journey was definitely very different just in terms of what I need to be managing in terms of like my blood levels and checking all of that.
[00:32:23] Shweta: But yeah,
[00:32:24] Amanda: thanks for sharing that. Yeah. Of course.
[00:32:26] Amy: Thank you. Thank you both for sharing. It's, it's, it's going to be great for anyone listening. And I think, I think it was you and I, Amanda, on a, an earlier episode together when we were chatting, had discussed, you know, just the lack of education. And sometimes it's kind of taboo to talk about these sorts of things.
[00:32:43] Amy: You know, and it absolutely shouldn't be, and we should be having the conversations and make, you know, helping people feel more comfortable and having, you know, sharing a safe space. Thank you. And to, so that people can hear the different stories, because like Shweta said, she doesn't have some of the symptoms that you've had, [00:33:00] and so she might not feel like she fit, you know, fits in this box.
[00:33:03] Amy: And then, so why would she, how would she come, you know, get the diagnosis that she needs or seek help if the education isn't there and the people aren't having the conversation. So. You know, when you two come on and publicly share, it's like I said, it's, it's a personal journey and it can, it can help so many others when you do.
[00:33:22] Amy: So I really thank you both for offering us that space today. And I'd like to offer everyone who's listening, you know, the opportunity. If. If you suspect that you or a loved one has PCOS or, you know, you have questions that you might not feel comfortable, absolutely reach out, you know, we'll, we'll share Amanda's information.
[00:33:44] Amy: And any questions that you might have, if you're, if you're happy to message me or you can, you know, just comment on if you're watching this on YouTube and you want to just make the comment there, I can definitely feed that. through. So we just, you know,
[00:33:56] Amanda: offer
[00:33:56] Amy: everyone who's listening a space to feel welcome and [00:34:00] safe that you can ask some questions.
[00:34:02] Amy: And if you have anybody that you know you care about or you think might benefit, absolutely share this video with them and, you know, flick through the resources that will share belonging to Amanda. eVen if it's just to ask a question I'm sure I think Amanda, you mentioned earlier again, you'd be happy to answer those.
[00:34:20] Amy: So yes, we want everyone to feel like, you know, if you have a question, just ask it. aBsolutely.
[00:34:26] Amanda: Someone else has the question and is too scared.
[00:34:28] Amy: Absolutely. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. And we want to start the conversation. It, you know, we want to talk about women's health and sexual health and period health and.
[00:34:37] Amy: Yeah. It is very overwhelming as a woman to be having a, you know, menstruating or, or, you know, starting puberty, that in itself is overwhelming when everything is normal. So when you have these, you know, atypical symptoms or pain It's, it can be a lot, and you don't know what's normal, and you know, yes, everyone gets [00:35:00] cramps, and you get your headaches, and you get your, you know, your mood swings, and, and things, but it doesn't have to be extreme and debilitating, and there is help.
[00:35:09] Amy: Yes,
[00:35:09] Shweta: yes.
[00:35:10] Amanda: All right. Well, thank you all so much for having me and good luck with everything. It was very nice to meet you virtually.
[00:35:18] Shweta: Yeah, thank you for having me as well. It was so nice to meet you. Thank you for all your knowledge in the space. I definitely learned and took away some more information on PCS.
[00:35:25] Amanda: Okay. Great. Thank you.
[00:35:28] Amy: And thank you, everyone. I'm so grateful to have this space to be able to connect people, you know, Shweta from Thailand, now living in Australia, Amanda in the States. I'm just, you know, I'm so grateful to be able to make these connections and help everybody move forward in a positive way.
[00:35:43] Amy: So again, if you enjoyed the show, like and subscribe, share it with a friend. I'd love to hear your questions. feel free to do that by emailing me or commenting directly on the episode. Until next time, everyone be well and stay holistic.
[00:35:59] Amy: [00:36:00] Thanks for joining me on the Holistic Health Show. If you enjoyed the episode, subscribe now and get ready to embark on an incredible journey toward holistic wellness. Until next time, be well and stay holistic.
Get in touch with Amanda: https://linktr.ee/vivaciousww
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