Oxidative stress– imbalance between antioxidants(how the body defends itself)and the creation of excessive amounts of reactive oxygen species (go on to cause inflammatory damage)
“Oxidative stress is now recognized to play a central role in the pathophysiology of many different disorders, including PCOS”
With significant oxidative stress in the body, and playing a role in propagating the pathology, you want some key antioxidants on your side to help slow that roll. A randomized controlled study was done looking at the effects of multi-nutrient therapy in the management of PCOS. The multi-nutrient therapy consisted of : Omega – 3 fatty acids, folic acid, Vitamin E, green tea extract catechin, glycyrrhizin and CoQ10. The control group received two capsules of only folic acid.
The main parameters evaluated were: AMH, total testosterone and androstenedione. LH, FSH, SHBG and estradiol were also looked at. After three months of treatment with the multi-nutrient therapy, there was a significant decrease in the LH:FSH ratio, testosterone and AMH in comparison to the control group only using folic acid.
This study was not controlling for the participants diet. I think its impressive that they saw a shift in some of their study parameters after three months with just focusing on antioxidants to reduce the oxidative stress component of the pathology. At the root of PCOS is insulin resistance that contributes to the oxidative stress in the body and results in changing the hormone profile in these women. Just imagine the results you could see if you were to hone in on combating the oxidative stress, but also addressing the insulin resistance!
PMID: 31101977
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