in today's video we are going to be discussing pcos and genetics pcos stands for polycystic
ovarian syndrome and is very common in women around the world with up to 1 in every 10 women
being diagnosed to be diagnosed with pcos you have to have two out of three main symptoms irregular
periods a hormonal imbalance with high male hormones such as testosterone and ovarian cysts
and pcos isn't a benign condition it comes with a wide range of side effects and is the number
one cause of infertility in women other symptoms of pcos include excess hair growth on the stomach
and face specifically acne skin tags weight gain and difficulty losing weight but what causes pcos
is it a genetic condition that is unavoidable it seems that pcos is becoming more common every year
with women being diagnosed younger and younger so in today's video we are going to be talking
about pcos and genetics and whether there are lifestyle changes you can make to reduce your risk
hey guys welcome back to my channel if you're new here my name is kait i'm a health coach and i post
videos on a high fat nutrient-dense way of eating if you like this video please give it a thumbs up
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facebook where i show new posts every single day today's video is sponsored by self decode
a genetics testing and analysis company that gives you personalized health recommendations based on
your genes head to health coach kait.com forward slash self decode to learn more as mentioned at
the start of this video pcos stands for polycystic ovarian syndrome at least 20 percent of women with
pcos have a mother or sister who is also affected but there isn't a clear pattern
of inheritance there are however several genes that are associated with it and we're going to
talk about those specific genes in the video today but right off the bat i just want to say there is
a huge lifestyle component to pcos as well so even if you do carry the genes that we talk about today
that doesn't mean you will develop pcos for certain just that your chances of developing
it are increased so in today's video we're going to talk about the role that genetics plays in pcos
and which genes specifically how pcos is connected to insulin resistance
and lifestyle changes you can make to decrease your risk genetics and pcos as
previously mentioned it is relatively common for women who have pcos to have other family
members who are affected but the pattern of inheritance is unclear pcos also affects women
of color more frequently and not only that but it affects them more severely as well
women of color with pcos have a higher rate of infertility so there is definitely a genetic link
some of the genes associated with pcos include cyp11a ins fshr and other genes which i will put
up on the screen now possessing these genes can increase your chances of developing pcos
but how can you know if you carry these genes that is where today's sponsor self-decode comes in
self-decode can help you to figure out if you have any of the genes that are linked to pcos
softicode is a genetics testing and analysis company that gives you personalized health
recommendations based on your genes we all have a different set of genes and understanding our
genetic predispositions can help you to understand whether your diet and lifestyle choices are
working for or against you and softa code makes understanding and applying this information easy
soft code makes it easy to identify if you carry any of the genes associated with pcos and other
conditions and diseases as well these are the genes i carry that have been associated with pcos
and they have just launched version 2.0 which includes new dna wellness reports including
insomnia chronic pain anxiety and more these wellness reports provide an overview of the
condition and evidence-based recommendations based on your dna if you already have a dna test that
you've done with another company you can upload your file to the self-decode website and if not
you can order a dna kit from them directly and they ship anywhere in the world self-decode also
has an online lab shop where you can order tests such as fasting blood sugar and fasting insulin
straight to your door currently the lab tests are only available in the united states but the
dna tests are available worldwide and as an added bonus software code members save 50 off lab tests
and one thing i really want to highlight that i'm often asked about when i talk about software code
is that they will never share or sell your data with third-party companies unlike other
dna companies out there if you want to check out soft decode and find out what your genes
can tell you about your health you can head to healthcoachgate.com forward slash softicode and
i will also put the link in the description box down below thank you again to self-decode for
sponsoring this video lifestyle and pcos now as i already mentioned even though you might carry
some of the genes associated with pcos that does not mean you will definitely develop it
i showed you my genetics report with the genes associated with pcos and i carry quite a few
of them and yet i do not have pcos several years ago when i was suffering with amenorrhea my doctor
thought that it might be pcos so i went through all the testing and i didn't have any of the other
symptoms anyways the point i'm trying to get at is that we have the power to turn certain genes
on and off through our lifestyle choices this concept is known as epigenetics epigenetics is
the study of how behavior and environment affect the way our genes work epigenetic changes alter
the physical structure of our dna one example to illustrate this is with smoking at certain parts
of the ahr gene smokers have less dna methylation than non-smokers but smokers see an increase in
methylation when they quit conditions associated with decreases in machine activity include
lung cancer and breast cancer and this explains why it's not all doom and gloom you have a lot of
control over your health based on the choices you make every day now switching gears a little bit
we're going to talk about the connection between pcos and insulin resistance multiple studies have
found that there is a significant link between insulin resistance and pcos and this is also
shown by how effective metformin is at reducing pcos symptoms metformin is a drug that improves
insulin sensitivity and studies have shown that 90 of women with pcos see improvements to their
symptoms when prescribed this drug now there's a lot of debate over whether pcos causes insulin
resistance or whether insulin resistance causes pcos but i think that a very strong case can be
made for the latter in his book why we get sick dr ben bickman talks about how insulin resistance
leads to pcos insulin is a hormone in our body whose responsibility is managing blood sugar
every time we eat blood sugar rises and as a result the pancreas pumps out insulin
but insulin resistance occurs when our insulin levels are elevated for long periods of time
and our cells stop responding to insulin in the way that they should they stop accepting insulin
and this leaves us with elevated levels and this ties in with pcos because high insulin levels
also known as hyperinsulinemia is what causes the symptoms that define pcos
every month just before ovulation there should be a big spike in the hormone estrogen
all estrogen is made from testosterone but high insulin levels block the ovaries from
converting it and the spike in estrogen doesn't happen so you do not ovulate and the eggs remain
in the ovaries and become cysts and you will be left with high testosterone levels as a result
and those are the three main symptoms of pcos that we spoke about earlier
irregular periods high testosterone and ovarian cysts so basically the biggest tip i can give you
for preventing controlling and even reversing pcos is to manage your blood sugar and keep it stable
you can do this in several ways starting your day with a breakfast rich in protein and healthy fat
reducing processed foods and focusing on whole foods avoiding naked carbs and instead
pairing carbs with protein and fat taking a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar before eating
and going for a walk after eating these are a few ways you can control your blood sugar
and in turn reduce the amount of insulin that is needed this will help to prevent hyperinsulinemia
addressing your insulin resistance and preventing and improving pcos anyways guys that's all i have
for you today let me know in the comment section down below if you or a family
member has pcos and if there are any lifestyle changes you made that you saw improvements with
remember to give this video a thumbs up share it with a friend and check out today's sponsor self
decode to find out what your genes can tell you about your health i will put the link to check
them out in the description box down below and if you guys did enjoy this video you might also enjoy
my video that has some more tips on reversing pcos you can check it out here if you want to
catch up on my most recent upload you can find it here and if you want to check out my keto
and carnivore diet coaching programs you can find those here thanks guys i'll see you next time bye