Health and Me

PCOS And Yoga: How Early Intervention May Help Manage Hormones, Insulin And Inflammation

Woman Practising Yoga For Wellness

Polycystic ovary syndrome has long been explained through hormonal imbalance alone. But Dr. Rima Dada, Professor at the Laboratory for Molecular Reproduction and Genetics, Department of Anatomy, AIIMS Delhi, says that's incomplete. "Not only has hormonal imbalance been seen, but recent studies have shown there are many other factors, like mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, sleep irregularities, which further compound the problem for hormonal imbalance," she said. "And in all these, we have seen that yoga had a lot of effect at every angle."

<h2>Catching it early changes everything</h2>

Dr. Dada draws a sharp line between early and late intervention. "If very late patients come, like suppose they come at 30-35, they are different, they are not adolescent. Then we have to give them insulin sensitizing drugs, anti-androgenic drugs. Testosterone has increased, we will manage infertility," she said. "But if we get hold of yoga beforehand, we can tackle all the problems."

Her recommended practice includes Surya Namaskar and simple asanas like the butterfly pose and Viparita Karani, along with Bhramari and a focus on pranayama. "It has been seen that there is a lot of balance in hormonal levels, and menstrual regularity comes," she said. "Testosterone levels, the number of main hormones, their number also normalizes."

<strong>Also Read:</strong> <a href="https://www.healthandme.com/nutrition/pcos-and-nutrition-why-eating-healthy-is-about-balance-not-cutting-foods-article-156276265" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">PCOS and Nutrition: Why Eating Healthy Is About Balance, Not Cutting Foods</a>

Dr. Dada points to two mechanisms. "It normalizes the function of the defects of the fetus," she said, and separately, yoga raises sex hormone-binding globulin, or SHBG, which has an inverse relationship with inflammation. "As the inflammation increases, the amount of steroid hormone-binding globulin decreases. Yoga has a very important role in reducing inflammation. And as the inflammation decreases, the levels of steroid hormone-binding globulin increase, due to which the amount of free testosterone in the circulating blood decreases." That drop, she said, is what reduces "the severity of acne, hair fall, unwanted hair on the face and other places." She added that FSH and LH levels normalize over time as well.

She also connects yoga to cellular-level repair. "There is oxidative stress, mitochondrial damage, which disturbs ovarian function and oocyte function, which is also normalized," she said. "There is a lot of improvement in ovarian function."

On metabolism, Dr. Dada said regular yoga lowers insulin levels in women with PCOS who often carry excess weight and insulin resistance. "The function of the insulin receptor in the downstream genes improves," she said, which helps regulate both carbohydrate and lipid levels. A 12-week metabolomic study by her team, she said, found that metabolite levels began normalizing with regular practice.

Her most recent finding looks at gut bacteria. "There are many bacteria in the gut microbiome which are associated with increased diabetes and testosterone levels. The number of harmful bacteria in the gut microbiome decreases. And the number of beneficial bacteria which reduce inflammation and oxidative stress increases," she said. She also linked yoga to higher melatonin and antioxidant levels and a better-regulated sleep-wake cycle, which she said "improves our hormonal and immune function."

"Yoga acts on multiple levels," Dr. Dada said. "We can regulate insulin levels. We can regulate sleep and stress. We can reduce inflammation. We can regulate hormones." She went further, suggesting yoga belongs in school curricula altogether. "If we put it in the school curriculum, then maybe this problem will never arise." She pointed to academic stress in children as part of the reason.

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Polycystic ovary syndrome has long been explained through hormonal imbalance alone. But Dr. Rima Dada, Professor at the Laboratory for Molecular Reproduction and Genetics, Department of Anatomy, AIIMS Delhi, says that's incomplete. "Not only has hormonal imbalance been seen, but recent studies have shown there are many other factors, like mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, sleep irregularities, which further compound the problem for hormonal imbalance," she said. "And in all these, we have seen that yoga had a lot of effect at every angle."Catching it early changes everythingDr. Dada draws a sharp line between early and late intervention. "If very late patients come, like suppose they come at 30-35, they are different, they are not adolescent. Then we have to give them insulin sensitizing drugs, anti-androgenic drugs. Testosterone has increased, we will manage infertility," she said. "But if we get hold of yoga beforehand, we can tackle all the problems."Her recommended practice includes Surya Namaskar and simple asanas like the butterfly pose and Viparita Karani, along with Bhramari and a focus on pranayama. "It has been seen that there is a lot of balance in hormonal levels, and menstrual regularity comes," she said. "Testosterone levels, the number of main hormones, their number also normalizes."Also Read: PCOS and Nutrition: Why Eating Healthy Is About Balance, Not Cutting FoodsThe science behind itDr. Dada points to two mechanisms. "It normalizes the function of the defects of the fetus," she said, and separately, yoga raises sex hormone-binding globulin, or SHBG, which has an inverse relationship with inflammation. "As the inflammation increases, the amount of steroid hormone-binding globulin decreases. Yoga has a very important role in reducing inflammation. And as the inflammation decreases, the levels of steroid hormone-binding globulin increase, due to which the amount of free testosterone in the circulating blood decreases." That drop, she said, is what reduces "the severity of acne, hair fall, unwanted hair on the face and other places." She added that FSH and LH levels normalize over time as well.She also connects yoga to cellular-level repair. "There is oxidative stress, mitochondrial damage, which disturbs ovarian function and oocyte function, which is also normalized," she said. "There is a lot of improvement in ovarian function."Insulin, gut bacteria and sleepOn metabolism, Dr. Dada said regular yoga lowers insulin levels in women with PCOS who often carry excess weight and insulin resistance. "The function of the insulin receptor in the downstream genes improves," she said, which helps regulate both carbohydrate and lipid levels. A 12-week metabolomic study by her team, she said, found that metabolite levels began normalizing with regular practice.Her most recent finding looks at gut bacteria. "There are many bacteria in the gut microbiome which are associated with increased diabetes and testosterone levels. The number of harmful bacteria in the gut microbiome decreases. And the number of beneficial bacteria which reduce inflammation and oxidative stress increases," she said. She also linked yoga to higher melatonin and antioxidant levels and a better-regulated sleep-wake cycle, which she said "improves our hormonal and immune function."Her bigger ask"Yoga acts on multiple levels," Dr. Dada said. "We can regulate insulin levels. We can regulate sleep and stress. We can reduce inflammation. We can regulate hormones." She went further, suggesting yoga belongs in school curricula altogether. "If we put it in the school curriculum, then maybe this problem will never arise." She pointed to academic stress in children as part of the reason.