in today's video we're going to be talking about taking metformin
for polycystic ovarian syndrome or pcos and the pros and the cons one in 10 women worldwide
suffer from pcos and it is the number one cause of infertility in women and aside from causing
infertility pcos can be difficult to live with for many other reasons it can make it difficult
to lose weight it can cause excess hair growth and it can also cause acne so how is pcos treated
metformin is a drug that is often prescribed to women with pcos and it can certainly be
effective at reducing symptoms but my issue is that women are not informed of the side effects
when they are prescribed metformin so in today's video i'm going to give you everything you need
to know about metformin for pcos how it works the side effects you can expect and how to reduce them
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
feel free to share and make sure to subscribe and make sure to follow me on instagram twitter
and facebook where i share new posts every single day so the topic of today is metformin for pcos
i briefly described what metformin was at the start of this video but we're going to go a
little bit deeper into what it is and why it works for pcos then we will get into the side effects
and we will finish off talking about what you can do to reduce these side effects and some
natural options to metformin that might be better suited for you what is metformin metformin is
the number one drug prescribed to people who have issues related to managing blood sugar
this includes pre-diabetes gestational diabetes type 2 diabetes and of course pcos
worldwide there are over 120 million people who are prescribed it metformin helps to keep blood
sugar more stable with less big swings up and down and it also helps to lower fasting blood sugar
and you might be thinking okay well i have pcos i don't have diabetes so why is metformin effective
and the reason that metformin is so effective for women with pcos is because the root cause of pcos
is the same as the root cause of pre-diabetes gestational diabetes and type 2 diabetes
and that is insulin resistance there are three main symptoms that define pcos irregular periods
high testosterone and ovarian cysts to be diagnosed with pcos you have to have
two out of three of these main symptoms and all three symptoms are caused by insulin resistance
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 you are also left with high testosterone levels as a result
metformin works to improve insulin sensitivity it allows your cells to take in more glucose
taking it out of your bloodstream and lowering your insulin and as a result the symptoms of
pcos improve but as great as metformin sounds it does come with side effects
some of them you can prevent or reduce but some of them you might be stuck with side effects
now among the most common side effects of metformin is digestive distress which includes gas
bloating and diarrhea about 25 of people who take metformin experience digestive distress metformin
interferes with the body's ability to absorb synthesize store and metabolize certain nutrients
this means your body can become depleted in them two of these nutrients are vitamin b9 and vitamin
b12 and when the body becomes depleted in these it can cause digestive distress
some of the ways to avoid these side effects include starting metformin at a lower dose taking
slow release instead of immediate release and of course supplementing vitamin b9 and vitamin b12
another common side effect of metformin is nausea and vomiting again 25 of people who take metformin
experience this side effect however taking metformin with food helps to prevent this
symptom another symptom you might experience is hair loss now this is actually the inverse of
one of the common symptoms of pcos which is excess hair growth women with pcos can sometimes
grow excess hair in places such as their face and this is because of their high testosterone levels
metformin can help to lower testosterone which can reduce this excess hair growth
but it also depletes vitamin b9 vitamin b9 is responsible for healthy cell growth
so when we become depleted in it we can start to lose excess hair from our head
and also develop bald spots now these side effects are pretty annoying but they are also pretty mild
compared to the ones we are about to talk about the first more serious side effect is anemia
anemia is when your blood doesn't have enough healthy red blood cells in this situation anemia
is caused by very low vitamin b12 and anemia leads to reduced oxygen flow to the body's organs
the consequences of anemia can be severe so it is really important to make sure you are getting
enough vitamin b12 in through your diet if you are having trouble getting enough into your diet
i recommend supplementing with something like beef liver beef liver is super high in vitamin
b12 and it's best to get b12 from whole foods because the synthetic form is not absorbed as well
it is also rich in vitamin b9 as well which can help with digestive distress and hair loss
but yes beef liver is gross i know it's not everyone's cup of tea but thankfully there
are a lot of great companies out there now who are making beef liver supplements you still get
all the benefits of beef liver without the taste i will link to some of my favorite brands in the
description box down below that are available worldwide or in certain countries and i do
have a few promo codes so i'll put those down there as well the second serious side effect is
lactic acidosis this one is very serious but also very rare but i also think it's worth mentioning
because if you have kidney problems or if you consume a lot of alcohol you are at a much greater
risk metformin causes lactic acid to build up in the bloodstream and if your body cannot clear it
properly that is when lactic acidosis happens if left untreated it can result in a coma or death
natural alternatives okay so now let's talk about natural alternatives there are two natural
supplements that have been shown to work in the same way as metformin improving the body's insulin
sensitivity in some studies these have been shown to be just as effective at treating pcos and
different types of diabetes as metformin and these two supplements are berberine and inositol both of
these are extracted from whole foods and available over the counter without a prescription but it is
important to note that they also come with side effects some people experience a lot of the same
digestive distress on berberine and dinosatal as they do on metformin i did a whole video a few
weeks ago comparing the three metformin berberine and dinosaur and going over the pros and the cons
and the side effects of each i will link that video above if you want to know more about that i
am by no means recommending one over the other i'm simply presenting the facts and you can discuss
with your doctor and come to your own conclusion about which one if any is best for you now the
other way to treat pcos naturally does not involve a supplement because there are ways to improve
insulin sensitivity through diet and lifestyle you can improve your insulin sensitivity by tweaking
the foods you eat and the exercises you do one study followed 11 women with pcos for six months
the study involved a change in diet and by the end all women who completed the study lost weight
lowered their free testosterone and their fasting insulin two of the women even got pregnant during
the study despite having previously struggled with infertility so what diet change did these women
make you might be asking they switched to a low carb ketogenic diet that was the only change they
made this is effective because it significantly reduces the amount of foods being consumed that
increase insulin the most which are foods rich in carbohydrates every time we eat carbs they
are broken down by the body into sugar or glucose these particles enter the bloodstream and insulin
is released to bring the sugar to our of course if our cells are resisting the actions of insulin
and not taking the sugar from our bloodstream then our bodies create more insulin in response
and you're left with high insulin levels the process for digesting protein and fat requires a
lot less insulin therefore if you focus your diet around protein and fat less insulin is needed and
then your cells become more sensitive to insulin again as a result which in turn improves your pcos
symptoms and can actually lead to a reversal now low carb diets are not the only approach
i actually have a whole video on pcos where i give you some more tips and strategies for improving
your insulin sensitivity i will link that video above if you want to check it out afterwards
even a modest reduction in carbs can be beneficial or even changing the order in which you eat your
food but yeah i won't get too much into that today you can check out that video if you want
to know more thank you so much for watching i really hope that you found this video helpful
let me know in the comment section down below what your experience with metformin for pcos was or is
did you experience any of the side effects that i spoke about today let me know down below and
also remember to give this video a thumbs up and click that subscribe button if you're not already
also feel free to share this video on facebook or with a friend or family member who you think
might find it helpful and if you did enjoy this video you might also enjoy my video
on how to reverse pcos which i spoke about earlier i will link it right 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 diet and
carnivore diet coaching programs you can find them here thanks guys i'll see you next time bye