Root Cause of PCOD

Ayurveda is a holistic medical science. One thing that makes Ayurveda stand out from all other conventional medical practices is its ability to treat the root cause of the problem while others are simply trying to treat the symptoms.

By now, we have already made it amply clear that PCOS/ PCOD is primarily a lifestyle disorder. A few generations back, PCOS was an unheard phenomenon in Indian women. Can you guess the reason why?

Dependence on the following things in the life of an Indian woman/ girl was negligible a few generations back:

• Packaged food
• Increased consumption of adulterated milk and milk products
• Late-night work/ night-life dependency
• Sedentary lifestyle
• Junk food
• Excess meat consumption
• Excess sugar dependency
• Excessive stress

However, things have changed dramatically in the past few decades. Fast-paced urbanization has led to unrestricted access to packaged, highly processed, and junk food.

These days more and more women are engaged in the active workforce. But that also requires them to work late at night, disrupting their sleep cycles.

Adopting poor eating habits and including certain unhealthy things in the diet also increases PCOS risk. PCOS/ PCOD, A disease unknown to the Indian society a few decades back, now affects 6 out of 10 girls/women. Some girls as young as 12 years can get PCOS.

Ama: The PCOS Toxin

Ama is the metabolic waste or toxin that forms due to improper or poor digestion. If you have a diet or lifestyle that leads to the formation of Ama, you are at a higher risk of PCOS.

Poor digestion leads to the formation of Ama. It is a sticky tar-like substance that can reach the cells and block their receptors. When Ama increases, it blocks the ovary channels. This, in turn, leads to stunted egg growth and ovulation problems. Therefore, the body fails to release the eggs periodically.

As a result, you might face period irregularities and conception problems. Period irregularities in 80-90% of women are due to this.

The undeveloped eggs in your ovaries keep piling up in the form of cysts.

You can see that even improper food digestion can lead to so many complications. However, contrary to what people think, only unhealthy food is not responsible for poor digestion. An unhealthy lifestyle also leads to poor digestion and Ama formation.

There are two main reasons behind the formation of Ama and PCOS:

• Unhealthy Lifestyle
• Unhealthy Diet

1 Unhealthy Lifestyle

An unhealthy lifestyle is a very broad term. People generally treat a sedentary lifestyle, lack of routine, and stress as the primary lifestyle issues. However, that’s not even scratching the surface. Many severe lifestyle disorders easily get ignored. Hence, the problem never really goes away.

Given below are some unhealthy lifestyle mistakes to avoid that can lead to the formation of Ama and PCOS.

Over Snacking/ Munching

Eating all the time has become a norm. In the name of snacks, people don’t realize that they consume a lot of refined flour, salt, sugar, artificial colors, preservatives, chemical flavors, unhealthy oils, and many more chemicals. Packaged snacks are highly processed and full of preservatives to increase their shelf life. Processed foods are loaded with unhealthy chemicals. It makes them difficult to digest. Indigestion will ultimately lead to the formation of Ama and result in problems. Over snacking will also lead to the formation of Ama.

Frequent Eating

If you have a habit of eating after very short intervals, it might lead to indigestion. Your gut needs a certain amount of time to digest any food. You must maintain a few hours of gap between your meals to allow efficient digestion and not make your stomach a dumping ground.

Irregular Meals

Irregular eating usually leads to acidity. Your gut releases the gastric juices on regular meal timings. When you eat at irregular timings, your food doesn’t get the gastric juices in the required quantity for digesting the food. It will lead to indigestion.

Sedentary Lifestyle

An active lifestyle helps us burn optimum calories to maintain energy balance. It also helps us provide the required exercise to the muscles and joints. Physical activity also speeds up the digestion process. If you lead a sedentary lifestyle, your body might take much longer to digest the food.

Late-night Work

The body has its clock. It is the most active after sunrise and the least active after sunset. Many women these days have to undertake late-night work shifts and stay awake late due to parties and their social media engagements. This is the time best utilized for sleep. Late night work can lead to interference in their circadian rhythm and indigestion.

Excessive Stress

Stress has become synonymous with the modern lifestyle. Stress can impact the quality of digestive juices secreted for digestion. It also reduces the quantity. Hampers the proper time when it needs to be secreted. Excessive stress will give rise to higher Ama production in the body.

You must make suitable lifestyle changes to avoid the formation of Ama in your body.

2 Unhealthy Diet

Eliminate Processed Food

This is the first and most important thing required to avoid the formation of Ama. You must stop the consumption of processed foods. They contain a lot of preservatives, chemicals, and emulsifiers to increase the shelf life. They are very unhealthy and harmful. They must be avoided at all costs. You must stop eating packaged food completely.

Avoid Refined Flours

Refined flours are harmful to the digestion process. They have high glycemic value, which can lead to Insulin resistance. They stick in the digestive tracks and are hard to eliminate. You should avoid refined flours and eat whole grain flours with husk providing the fiber required to keep the digestive process smooth.

Restrict Salt and Sugar

Excessive salt and sugar put an unwanted burden on your insulin and water management system. Excessive consumption of sugar-based products will keep your blood sugar levels high, giving way to insulin resistance. You should avoid consuming them in high quantities.

Limit Deep-fried and Bakery Foods

Deep-fried foods are high in trans fats and are toxic to your digestive system. Bakery foods are high in sugar and refined flour. If you want to have a healthy digestive system and prevent Ama formation, you should avoid both.

Increase Fibre intake

High fibre in your food is a boon to your digestive system. It helps in cleaning your gut and your intestines. It can scrub off the toughest food material deposited in your intestines, causing infections. Dietary fibre is also a food for healthy gut bacteria. Therefore, to avoid indigestion, you must increase the consumption of whole grains, nuts, salads, and fruits in your diet.

Avoid Milk and Milk Products

You must avoid milk and milk products. These days most of the milk is highly adulterated at the source. The cattle are usually given oxytocin and prolactin injections to boost milk production. These hormones percolate into the milk and affect your hormonal balance. Hence, avoid and even milk products like oxytocin and prolactin

Why does PCOS/ PCOD Persist?

PCOS/ PCOD remains a persistent problem because most women ignore the root causes of the problem and rely only on symptomatic treatment.

If you want complete freedom from PCOS/ PCOD, along with your treatment, you must also ensure that you are not making these mistakes, causing the problem in the first place. Also, you must include certain Herbs to remove current Ama & need to follow Healthy Diet & Lifestyle to prevent the new formation of Ama.

Healthy lifestyle + Healthy Diet + Ayurvedic Herbs = PCOS cure