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You asked for it! lol!

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PCOS is a syndrome of symptoms in women. It indicates a pre-diabetic state.

Here’s a good profile of the creation of T2 diabetes in women:

- The woman’s fat cells are less sensitive to insulin. this causes an increase of insulin production which, at this point, still manages to control blood sugar.
- The excess insulin causes a disruption of the hormones produced by the ovaries. Mainly, an increase in testosterone and FSH (Follicle-stimulating hormone: The hormone that stimulates an egg to mature on the ovary.) It causes a decrease in LH (Luteinizing Hormone: The hormone that actually causes the egg follicle to rupture and release the egg)
- the increase in FSH and the decrease in LH causes ovarian cysts and can cause a disruption of the menstrual cycle. This is a leading cause of infertility in women under 40 in this country.
- The increase of testosterone can cause: weight gain, acne, increase in belly fat, female-pattern baldness, facial/chest hair.
- Eventually, her fat cells are so insensitive, that no amount on insulin will get a response and she becomes a true diabetic.

(I can spot a woman with PCOS a mile away. Once a person is familiar with the symptoms, it’s obvious.)

Most women experience some or all of these things long before their T2 diabetes develops enough to actually give them true diabetes (which is defined as elevated blood glucose)

Syndrom -X or metabolic syndrome is now recognized as the classic pre-diabetic state. The symptoms aren’t quite as obvious in men because they’re used to having testosterone.

- increase in belly fat
- skin tags
- fatigue
- high blood pressure
- high triglycerides
- difficulty losing weight
- heart palpitations
- PCOS (in women)
- memory problems
- depression
- acne

Of course, a person can have all of these symptoms or just a few.

The cure?

A full year with almost NO sugar carbs. (Undigestable fiber is fine, of course)

When I was twenty-nine, I did the low-carb Atkins Induction diet for six full months at the suggestion of my dr when I was first diagnosed with PCOS. I had a complete reversal of all of my symptoms and did great - until I followed the suggestion of my new doctor to gradually increase my carbs until i was eating ‘normally’. (I still hate that man for that.)

After 4 years, I was right back where I started. I went back to the low carb diet, then got lazy and gradually went back to my old ways again.

Then I hit a wall.

Turned out that I had food intolerances and I was eating tons of the very foods that I couldn’t tolerate when I was eating low-carb.

I discovered MF after a full year of low-carbing without a positive result. (I lost 25 pounds in that year, but I never felt well - again, it was the food intolerances, not the diet itself)

And that was the ticket. I’m now eating MF shakes (just like taking my vitamins) and a meat-based diet. No more problems.

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Soy is NOT a good thing for a pre-menopausal woman, especially one with PCOS.

Soy has phyto-estrogens. These chemicals mimic estrogen in a big way.

But here’s the problem: Phyto-estrogens are not a perfect replacement for our own natural estrogen.

If you already have your own estrogen, the flood of soy phyto-estrogens will cause your body to shut down it’s natural estrogen production.

OK, now picture this:

You have a room with a thousand locks. All of the locks are slightly different, but your estrogen ‘key’ will unlock every one. Once estrogen does it’s job, that lock will behave a certain way and keep you a girl.

The SPE key comes in and replaces the estrogen key. It’s close enough to unlock 4/5 of the locks, but not precise enough to get all of them.

At first, things seem fine. There are thousands of locks and, at first glance, it looks like they’re all opening without a problem with the SPE key.

But after a few weeks or months, you start to notice that things aren’t exactly right. You’re PCOS symptoms are actually getting worse!

That’s because women have a natural amount of testosterone. If the lock isn’t opened with estrogen, testosterone will open it instead. And you will get symptoms of testosterone dominance which is what you had with PCOS. (For me and a few other women I’ve known, this soy-induced testosterone dominance was actually much worse and more dramatic than PCOS itself. With that, we actually had an increase in aggression and a sex-drive off the charts along with a LOT of hair-loss)

So why is it OK for menopausal women to use soy?

Because they have *very* little natural estrogen and NONE of their locks are opening. Adding the SPE can help them tremendously, even though it’s not perfect. It’s still better than nothing and it opens many more locks than the synthetic garbage.

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Hormones have a very delicate balance and they can be thrown off by many things. Be careful that when you fix one problem, you don’t create another.