Chromium Picolinate and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
Attention woman suffering with Polycystic ovarian syndrome a.k.a: P.C.O.S.
Well let me first tell you I am not a Doctor, but I do suffer from P.C.O.S. I was diagnosed when I was seventeen years old. Which at the time the Doctors couldn’t tell me much about the condition. Although the term is becoming more familiar these days I still have to do most research about it on my own.Thousands of woman suffer from this and probably thousands more don’t even know they have it. The primary sign is an absent of your period or very irregular menstrual cycles. unfortunately your GYN usually tries to treat it with either birth control or synthetic progesterone. Those woman who can take birth control may see some relief of the symptoms only to have a new set of side effects from the pill. If your like me you might not even be a candidate for birth control. Then there is the synthetic progesterone which I have been treated with three times in the past. The problem with the progesterone that I have experienced is that it is only a temporary fix.
Before I get any further into the Chromium Picolinate part of this story let me first tell you a little more about Polycystic ovarian Syndrome. Maybe there are some woman reading this that don’t even know they have it.
You might have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (P.C.O.S.) if you have most or all of the following symptoms.
Acne (oily skin)
Unwanted facial and body hair
Loss of scalp hair
Ovarian problems, which would be irregular period, difficulty becoming pregnant and chronic pelvic pain.
Weight gain that is difficult to lose despite diet and exercise
An abnormal metabolism, diabetes would be a clear sign of this.
Skin tags especially around the neck and under arms
Sleep apnea
High Cholesterol and High blood pressure readings
Depression this is usually due to chemical and hormonal imbalances * Depression can be a symptom in a number of disorders.
Insulin resistance: This is a symptom that most doctors fail to treat in woman with P.C.O.S.
If you only have a few of these symptoms then you may only a minor case of P.C.O.S. or you might not even have it at all. Milder forms of P.C.O.S. due not impose as many risk factors as it does with those who suffer the full syndrome.
A common risk factor for woman with P.C.O.S. is heart disease. This is mainly due to the increased blood pressure and high cholesterol woman with this condition have. There is also increased risks in certain reproductive cancers. This is mostly due to the lack of progesterone and increased levels of estrogen.
I had been through a hand full of Doctors in the past decade and none of them really came up with ways to treat me for my P.C.O.S. besides synthetic progesterone which really didn’t help much. Some of the Doctors didn’t even seem to care that I had this condition and only focused on medicating my high blood pressure instead of controlling the cause of it.
This is partly to do with the lack of study on Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome in the United States (More studies have been done in India and in Europe). The other problem is that doctors these days are mostly being taught to push new medications instead of finding alternative ways to treat problems.
I was becoming tired of the routine and getting absolutely no where with my Doctors. I decided that it was time to take action myself and see if I could find a natural way to treat my condition.
As I was researching some natural remedies for P.C.O.S. I came across several articles about Chromium Picolinate to help treat P.C.O.S. Although the studies have not been done in large groups I was still willing to experiment on myself. In the studies they used doses between 1,000 mcg and 600 mcg in a period of two months. I decided to stay on the lower side and go with 600 mcg’s.
Why would a mineral like chromium help with a hormonal disease? well because this hormonal diseases interferes with your insulin as I listed before in the symptoms section. In fact a lot of Doctors are recommending chromium supplements to their patients with diabetes these days.
I mentioned Insulin Resistance before but did not list the common symptoms of it:
Dark patches of skin. These dark patches are usually noticed around your neck area.
High blood pressure ( that is why it is a symptom of P.C.O.S.)
Excess weight due to metabolic syndrome ( A woman with a waist of more then 35 inches probably is suffering from this).
Blood tests that reveal high triglyceride levels, low levels of HDL a.k.a. GOOD cholesterol , and high fasting glucose levels.
Personally I experienced hypoglycemic type symptoms. I would suddenly feel very nauseous and extremely tired ( that would also bring on the mood swings). Those where the times I would crave things extremely high in sugar. After I ate something high in sugar I would feel better in minutes. That’s how I knew that there was something wrong with my insulin levels.
So what is chromium and how does it help insulin levels? Chromium is a mineral and it can be found naturally in foods like: Brewers yeast, Calf liver, whole grains, some meats and some cheeses. However in the modern diet most of our foods are processed and most of the natural chromium is lost. the picolinate form of chromium is easier for your body to absorb.
Chromium aides your body by stimulating your insulin which in turn increases your fat and glucose metabolism. once your metabolism is increased so will your energy levels. It is your increased energy that helps you to become more active and start losing weight. Also the increased energy and better mood that you experience will help curb cravings making dieting easier then it was in the past. losing weight is a difficult thing for a woman with P.C.O.S. to do, but I have found that the chromium is a powerful aid in this battle. Once a woman with P.C.O.S. can lose weight a lot of the symptoms of the syndrome will decrease. Some might actually go away completely.
After about two months of taking Chromium Picolinate my periods have been coming like clock work. I have also lost ten pounds which happened in the first two weeks. I noticed a significant difference in my skin complexion with many compliments that I have been looking younger. I no longer have oily skin full of acne
The chromium Picolinate has also helped curb my cravings for carbs which was a major issue for me before. My husband has also commented on my mood as well. Which is my other major problem with P.C.O.S., Depression and mood swings. I have an increase in energy, I’m not saying that I want to go out and run a marathon, but I’m not as sluggish as I was before.
I’m not sure if Chromium is a cure for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, but I have found it to be a wonderful treatment for the symptoms associated with it.
Chromium Picolinate is working for me. It is quite possible that it can work for you too if you are a woman that suffers from this condition. You might want to talk to your Doctor first to make sure that you don’t have other conditions that could interfere with Chromium as a treatment.
On a side note: I have also found that taking a garlic supplement also worked wonders for my blood pressure. Garlic is a natural food that has properties that can lower cholesterol levels thus lowering blood pressure too.
