Resources for healing PCOS Naturally

Ajani · 03-04-2003, 02:51 PM

This thread is a compilation of information. To find what you are looking for, simply check out the index in this post, and go down the page to the corresponding infomation. We will add to this directory as we get more information (often from you, our Cysters). Bear with us as we work together to keep this updated.

Sincerely, your alternative remedies mods

Resources

1) Herbal Healing For Women By Rosemary GladStar

2) Herbal Remedies For Women by Amanda McQuade

3) Natural Medicine for Women; "A Practical Guide to Good Health", by J & S Scott

4) The Complete Women's Herbal by Anne McIntyre

5) Infertility Solutions by Shana Albo

6) Natural Treatments for Diabetes by Kathi Head N.D.

7) Natural Medicine for Diabetes by Deborah R. Mitchell

8) Another reason to drink green tea

9) Yoga, The Path To Holistic Health

10) Yoga for Infertility

11) Vitex Links

12) Check the interactions between herbs and meds

13) PCOS, IR and Magnesium Deficiency

14) NPC - has it helped regulate you and/or with PMS (with a link to an active discussion thread)

scarlet · 03-05-2003, 07:25 PM

A general all-purpose woman’s herbal. It is the best women’s herbal book in print in my opinion. The book does not deal with PCOS specifically, but outlines treatments for many of the problems associated with PCOS such as acne, irregular cycles, amenorrhea and PMS. It also deals with common gynaecological problems such as cystitis and yeast infections. Herbal Healing for Women features a glossary of herbs packed with information on which herbs are suitable for which conditions.

Rosemary Gladstar has taught herbology throughout the world and the U.S. for over 20 years and so is very experienced in the field she is writing about. She is currently busy running Sage Mountain in East Barre, Vermont where she teaches, holds workshops and sells herbs.

scarlet · 03-05-2003, 07:27 PM

Another good book dealing with women’s health problems such as amenorrhea, infertility, PMS, etc. This book features a more detailed section on infertility than Gladstar's writings do.

However, there are certain problems with this book not present in Herbal Healing for Women. Firstly, the author lists various herbal recipes rather than simply stating what herbs are good for certain conditions. Also, the author is very anti red meat and embraces a high carb lifestyle. Therefore her nutrition suggestions tend to be quite biased.

Overall I find this book less comprehensive than Herbal Healing for Women, but still very good and well worth a read.

Amanda McQuade Crawford is a founding member of the American Herbalists Guild and the National College of Phytotherapy in New Mexico. She has studied and taught herbal therapy worldwide. She currently resides in Ojai, California.

scarlet · 03-08-2003, 03:57 PM

If you are looking for an alternative remedy book for women which contains more than just herbal information then this is the book for you. This book contains information about herbs, homeopathic remedies, exercises (yoga poses and breathing exercises) and diet and lifestyle all pertaining to specific symptoms, ailments and situations.

“Natural Medicine For Women” is a very well rounded book which covers everything from puberty to menopause with chapters on developing good health through diet and lifestyle and on natural therapies (including descriptions of herbs, homeopathics, and exercise routines), It also offers comprehensive advice on treating specific conditions and ailments and on what to keep stocked in your home medicine chest. Finally, the book features a nice resource section with suggestions for further reading and a supplier list.

This book and "Herbal Healing for Women" are my favorite women's health books.

For those of you with children Julian Scott has also written "Natural Medicine for Children" which I refer to often.

There are a number of very reasonable copies available right now on Half.com. The regular price is $12.95.

Review by Sherri AKA SoaperMom

scarlet · 03-08-2003, 04:06 PM

Rosemary Gladstar recommends always researching in at least 3 books. This is one of the books I check when I am looking into a women's condition. It is an expensive book ($25 new) but is very visually appealing showing pictures and descriptions of the plants used for women's health. It is packed full of information but it is a book where the table of contents and index are used often. "Herbal Healing for Women" is a book that you can read through almost from cover to cover whereas this one is more of a researching book.

She lists the herbs, essential oils, conditions, dietary suggestions (food sources of specific vitamins) a first aid section, some info on Bach Flower Remedies, herbs for beauty and for the home (these last ones are a small section) There is also a chart which I really like listing conditions on one side and treatments across the top. Then you just slide your finger along the appropriate row and see what you can take for the problem.

Overall -if you are starting out then go with Rosemary Gladstar's “Herbal Healing for Women” but if you already own that and want more this is a lovely book. Anne McIntyre also wrote “The Herbal for Mother and Child” which I refer to often.

There are used copies of this book at both half.com and amazon.com, better yet take a look at your local library to see what this book has to offer.

Review by sherri AKA SoaperMom

scarlet · 03-08-2003, 04:09 PM

This is a small book with basic information on reproduction (how it works, basal temps, cm), causes of infertility, environment and lifestyle (lists toxins to avoid, weight, stress, medications) and food and fertility (how certain foods affect your fertility). It also covers vitamins and minerals (recommendations and food sources of each), herbal and homeopathic treatments, flower essences, essential oils and stress relief (breathing exercises, massage, reflexology).

As I stated above it is a very basic book. I had been involved in alternatives for quite some time when I bought this book and for me there was nothing new. If you are starting out then this book might be of help to you but otherwise you would be better off to spend a similar amount on either "Natural Medicine for Women" or "Herbal Healing for Women".

The thing I really did like about this book was a little chart on the specific conditions, what herbs to use and when to use during the cycle (this is one of the few places I have seen info specific to PCOS).
Overall this is a good little book but overpriced.

List price is $12.95 (also many copies on half.com for a reasonable price).

Review by Sherri AKA SoaperMom

scarlet · 03-10-2003, 08:48 PM

Whether you already have diabetes, have a family risk or are insulin dependent, this book will give you suggestions on preventing and treating type 2 diabetes with the help of herbs, vitamins and minerals. Kathi Head discusses both the positive and negative findings of these treatments and information given for the treatment of specific diabetes complications.

Retail price is $9.99

Review by Sherri AKA SoaperMom

scarlet · 03-10-2003, 08:49 PM

This book is not as visually drawing to me as the other one but it is chock full of information similar to the above book. It also contains information over and above the other book on treatments like massage, homeopathy, accupressure, reflexology, meditation and yoga.

It is well worth the price (retail $5.99)

Review by Sherri AKA SoaperMom

Ajani · 04-25-2003, 05:32 PM

(Thankyou to Katja15 for originally posting this)

TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) -- Japanese scientists have discovered a new vitamin that plays an important role in fertility in mice and may have a similar function in humans, the research leader said on Thursday.

A research team led by Takafumi Kato confirmed that pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ), a substance discovered in 1979, can be categorized as a vitamin.

Mice deprived of PQQ suffer reduced fertility and roughened fur, the Tokyo-based Institute of Physical and Chemical Research said in an announcement. Vitamins that have an important effect on mice usually act in the same way in humans, Kato said.

"There are many possible factors behind the drop in fertility," Kato said. "We need more research to find out exactly what is happening to these mice and what would be the effect on humans."

PQQ is the first new vitamin to be discovered since 1948, the institute said. Vitamins are defined as organic substances needed in small quantities for health and growth. They must be obtained from food as they cannot be produced by the body.

The best source of PQQ discovered so far is "natto," a pungent Japanese dish of fermented soybeans. Other foods rich in the substance include parsley, green tea, green peppers, kiwi fruit and papaya.

PQQ is not generally included in multi-vitamin tablets available on the market, the release said.

There are 13 other types of vitamin already known, and PQQ is believed to belong to the vitamin B group, the institute said.

Ajani · 04-30-2003, 07:01 PM

This is from Lucie_NC. It is her review of a yoga book that offers help for female reproductive issues.

Quote:

I'm a pretty avid practitioner of yoga, it has really helped me tremendously. Anyway, when I was struggling with huge cysts earlier this year, my yoga teacher gave me this book. I've since bought copies for my parents and my sister - it is a book of yoga therapy, which has sequences of poses for many ailments.

It's got a few for women's health, including menstrual difficulties. I've also been doing the infertility sequence, which is supposed to help overall any problems in the reproductive organs. I don't know if it helped, but my cysts went away!

I really felt like the poses that are supposed to be especially good for the ovaries (like ustrasana, camel's pose) really REALLY helped - I could feel it stretching my lower abdomen gently right where I'd had pain from the cyst. Also, shoulder stand is supposed to be great for the ovaries, and I like that one anyway, so I've been doing it every day for a while now.

The book is beautiful, with tons of color photos, and a lot of the poses it show in 360 degrees with really explicit instructions, so it's great in explaining technique.

Yoga, The Path To Holistic Health on Amazon.com

Anyway, just thought I would pass this on to those of you interested in yoga.

Ajani · 05-10-2003, 12:32 PM

From Kat Carney...

Quote:

Unlike other forms of yoga which can heat the body to the point of a deeply cleansing sweat, fertility yoga focuses on maintaining and pooling the yin (chi/ feminine energy) in the area of the reproductive organs which are housed in the 2nd chakra or seat of creation. If you are experiencing creative blocks, are trying to have a baby, or simply want to access and build your feminine energy, this video is for you.

Yoga For Fertility on Amazon.com

Ajani · 07-15-2003, 12:03 AM

Check out this thread for great links to information on Vitex/Chasteberry.

Ajani · 08-14-2003, 01:44 PM

Want to know about interactions between your herbs, or between your herbs and your meds? This link has some answers.

Ajani · 11-11-2003, 10:43 AM

This thread contains a discussion about magnesium deficiency, PCOS and Insulin Resistance and how they may all be linked.

Ajani · 03-30-2005, 05:45 PM

Originally posted by Kat Carney in this thread.

Licorice reduces serum testosterone in healthy women.

Armanini D, Mattarello MJ, Fiore C, Bonanni G, Scaroni C, Sartorato P, Palermo M.

Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences-Endocrinology, University of Padua, Via Ospedale 105, 35100 Padua, Italy. decio.armanini@unipd.it

Licorice has been considered a medicinal plant for thousands of years. The most common side effect is hypokalemic hypertension, which is secondary to a block of 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 at the level of the kidney, leading to an enhanced mineralocorticoid effect of cortisol. We have investigated the effect of licorice on androgen metabolism in nine healthy women 22-26 years old, in the luteal phase of the cycle. They were given 3.5 g of a commercial preparation of licorice (containing 7.6% W.W. of glycyrrhizic acid) daily for two cycles. They were not on any other treatment. Plasma renin activity, serum adrenal and gonadal androgens, aldosterone, and cortisol were measured by radioimmunoassay. Total serum testosterone decreased from 27.8+/-8.2 to 19.0+/-9.4 in the first month and to 17.5+/-6.4 ng/dL in the second month of therapy (p<0.05). It returned to pre-treatment levels after discontinuation. Androstenedione, 17OH-progesterone, and LH levels did not change significantly during treatment. Plasma renin activity and aldosterone were depressed during therapy, while blood pressure and cortisol remained unchanged.

CONCLUSIONS: Licorice can reduce serum testosterone probably due to the block of 17-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and 17-20 lyase.

Licorice could be considered an adjuvant therapy of hirsutism and polycystic ovary syndrome.

PMID: 15579328 [PubMed - in process]