This episode is brought to you by Rupa Health, Cozy Earth, and BiOptimizers.
Polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, affects 5 to 10% of women in their childbearing years. Despite the many women struggling with the difficult symptoms of PCOS, we still know little about it. Those symptoms can include irregular or missing periods, excessive hair growth or hair loss, acne, and weight gain. Sadly, the average woman with PCOS sees four doctors before receiving a diagnosis. Today on The Doctor’s Farmacy, I’m excited to talk to Dr. Heather Huddleston to dig into the nuances and research around PCOS.
Dr. Huddleston is the founder of the UCSF Multi-disciplinary PCOS Clinic and Research Center. This clinic provides care via an integrated group of providers with expertise in reproductive endocrinology, dermatology, nutrition, and psychology. Through the associated research program, Dr. Huddleston oversees investigations aimed at advancing our understanding of how physical activity, depression, cognition, sleep, and metabolic health all contribute to the manifestations of PCOS. Dr. Huddleston is passionate about broadly improving the care of patients with PCOS and serves as a medical advisor to Allara Health, which is an all-in-one virtual care platform for people with PCOS.
This episode is brought to you by Rupa Health, Cozy Earth, and BiOptimizers.
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Here are more details from our interview (audio version / Apple Subscriber version):
- Why PCOS often falls through the cracks in our siloed medical system (6:04 / 3:12)
- Symptoms of PCOS (7:34 / 4:50)
- Do we know the causes of PCOS? (9:18 / 6:26)
- Diet, nutrition, gut health, and PCOS (14:00 / 10:21)
- How inflammation affects and exacerbates PCOS (17:15 / 14:22)
- The five areas Dr. Huddleston addresses with PCOS patients (22:54 / 18:20)
- Therapies for and approaches to treating PCOS (25:29 / 20:45)
- Supplements for treating PCOS (30:37 / 26:19)
- How exercise and quality sleep can benefit PCOS patients (33:23 / 28:52)
- Measuring insulin levels and diagnosing insulin resistance (43:03 / 38:35)
Learn more about Dr. Huddleston here. Learn more about Allara at allarahealth.com.
