Happy New Year! May it be a year of better health & wellness for all 🙂

Here’s a look at some recent PCOS & women’s health-related news stories.

PCOS Studies

Salty, sour taste perception reduced in PCOS (via Healio)

I found this study potentially quite interesting–I love hearing about all the random but harmless quirks that may happen in the body as a result of PCOS. Everyone’s experience is different, of course, but if further studies can build on this one, this may be just one of those weird things to keep in mind if you get diagnosed with PCOS.

While admittedly a small study, it indicates that ability to taste both sour and salty flavors is reduced in women with PCOS, likely due to the high level of androgens (ie testosterone) associated with the condition. This doesn’t seem to apply to sweet and bitter tastes though. I also learned through this that there are taste differences between men and women too!

My immediate thought when reading this was that it may explain why those of us with PCOS (at least speaking for myself) crave salty foods and tend to add more salt to our foods (pro tip on this–use Italian seasonings to add more flavor without more sodium!). But as it also notes, it is strange that the taste for sweetness didn’t seem to be abnormal, since all of us with PCOS know the struggle with cravings for sweet foods and carbs. And as the study suggests, it may also affect what foods we like or don’t like, but that will probably take many more years of studies to more fully determine. And excessive androgens apparently don’t explain all of the differences, so future studies will have to discover additional factors–or it could be that these taste issues could just be part of the condition itself!

Ketogenic Diet Shows Promise as Nonpharmacologic Treatment for PCOS (via AJMC)

This is a study exploring whether the rather famous keto diet works for people with PCOS, the first of its kind. The study concludes that the calorie restriction in the keto diet can be helpful, along with medications, for those with PCOS. Since people with PCOS are at a higher risk for even more serious conditions like diabetes, particularly due to struggles with weight, certain diet and lifestyle changes can be extremely helpful in reducing these risks.

The diet involves higher fat intake, reduced carbs, and focuses on getting enough protein. Through this small study, results showed decrease in weight/BMI and related factors, reduced cholesterol and insulin, and improvement in hormonal issues (ie high testosterone, LH, FSH, etc). Perhaps most importantly, the diet helped restore and/or regulate menstrual cycles in the women, several of whom became pregnant soon after.

These results are interesting and certainly promising for those looking for a different kind of diet to help their PCOS, but as the authors themselves admit, more studies definitely need to be done. I’m a bit unsure myself about whether keto is the “best” diet for PCOS, since from the little I’ve heard about it, it does seem that it’s very restrictive on any kind of carbs at all, when I think it’s important to still incorporate some (in a healthy balance between “good” and “bad” of course) along with fats and protein. But everyone is different, and diet is just one of many factors in living a healthy life with PCOS.

PCOS and Race

Higher Incidence of Metabolic Syndrome in Black Women With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Longitudinal Study (via DocWire News)

This study delves into how Black women are more likely to experience metabolic syndrome (a cluster of conditions that increase risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes) along with PCOS. Before this study it was generally known that women have a higher risk of this syndrome regardless of race/ethnicity, but most data was from White/European women, so data from other groups was needed.

What was common to everyone tested was that increased BMI and testosterone levels increased rates of metabolic syndrome. But overall, the data was clear that metabolic syndrome was present at a higher rate in Black women than White women.

More research on this is needed, but I do wonder whether the higher incidence of metabolic syndrome in Black women is due to genetic factors, environmental/social factors, or some combination of both. I think research into the effect of PCOS of women of different ethnicities/races and genetic studies is just as important as some of the other kinds of studies, because women of different ethnic backgrounds deserve to know how exactly the condition may affect them.

What PCOS/women’s health news are you reading lately? Add yours below!

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Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional and do not claim to offer medical advice in these posts. These are meant to be informational only. Please consult further with your doctor for specific advice and treatment plans.

Image by Thought Catalog on Unsplash