Healing PCOS. Amy Medling

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СКАЧАТЬ Praise for Healing PCOS

       About the Publisher

Foreword

      I met health coach and PCOS Diva Amy Medling online when she invited me to speak on a PCOS Diva podcast. I had heard wonderful things about her from my patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), who praised Amy’s inspiring website and coaching. I was delighted to finally meet Amy in person in Atlanta at the 2016 PCOS Challenge Conference. Amy is a serene and peaceful woman who radiates love and intelligence.

      According to the Androgen Excess and PCOS Society, PCOS affects 5 to 15 percent of women worldwide. PCOS is associated with multiple symptoms ranging from irregularly spaced menstrual periods to hair loss, weight gain, and elevated blood pressure. In spite of the wide array of symptoms, PCOS is commonly regarded as a reproductive disorder, and most women with it are prescribed the birth control pill. However, no birth control pill can prevent metabolic problems or the development of type 2 diabetes. Furthermore, the role of a healthy lifestyle cannot be underestimated. American medicine is not equipped to provide the support for a healthy lifestyle in the broadest sense with regard to nutrition, movement, and spiritual health.

      Derived from her own experience, Amy’s approach to PCOS stems from a health-based point of view rather than the disease-based paradigm of conventional medicine. Where conventional medical treatment is designed to pursue the enemy with a well-aimed bullet, Amy coaches about the fundamentals of self-care and the importance of eating well, moving regularly, and maintaining a positive mindset. This is not to say that medication can’t help PCOS, but without self-care the effect of medication is minimal.

      Healing PCOS is an informative and inspiring step-by-step guide to learning to cherish yourself. Before you jump into changes in diet and exercise, Amy asks you to be mindful, create goals, and change the way you talk to yourself. With love and acceptance, she reminds readers that powerful women are not victims.

       —Katherine D. Sherif, MD

      Director, Jefferson Women’s Primary Care;

      Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University

Foreword

      Amy Medling and I share the same mission: to help women with PCOS optimize their health and take control of their lives. If you are among them, we want you to feel strong, vibrant, joyful, and self-assured so that you can achieve your personal goals. I’m confident that reading Healing PCOS and following the plan Amy outlines in it will help set you on a path to health and healing.

      Like Amy, I also have PCOS and had to travel my own path of self-discovery to find my way to health and joy. I experienced many of the same letdowns she did and had to self-diagnose, despite seeing “world-class” doctors at a major university medical school. Now we both take an integrative and holistic approach to the treatment of PCOS.

      As a physician, board certified in both OB/GYN and Integrative Medicine, with a special expertise in PCOS, I order an array of tests to evaluate my patient’s inflammation, immune, and nutrient status; food allergies and sensitivities; gut microbiome; epigenetics; heavy metals and toxic load; and hormonal levels. But all the fancy tests in the world will have no real value for you if you do not address stress control, adequate and quality sleep, proper nutrition, and regular movement and fitness. In addition, embracing the concepts of living in the moment and having self-love is absolutely crucial for optimal health. The advice contained in Healing PCOS is the very foundation of care for women with PCOS, offering you the tools to take control of your health, your body, and your life.

      I wish I could see you a month from now, after you have completed Amy’s program. I know you will feel better, with renewed joy and optimism. All best wishes on your journey!

       —Felice L. Gersh, MD

      Board Certified in OB/GYN and Integrative Medicine;

      Medical Director, Integrative Medical Group of Irvine

PART ONE

       The PCOS Diva in You

1

       Discover Your PCOS Diva

       One evening about ten years ago, my husband and I were at a steak house for dinner. As I placed my order, I asked our server some questions about the loaded baked potato that came with my meal.

       “Does it come with butter?” I inquired.

       “No, it comes with margarine,” the waitress replied.

       “I can’t have margarine,” I told her. She made a note to substitute butter for the margarine.

       “Can I have a sweet potato instead of a white potato?” I continued.

       She said that would be fine and asked if I wanted cinnamon sugar.

       “No, thank you,” I said. “I’ll have straight cinnamon.”

       “No, we only have cinnamon sugar,” she replied.

       This back-and-forth went on for some time, as I tried to order an unadulterated sweet potato and broccoli with olive oil.

       As the waitress made her way to the kitchen, my then clearly irritated husband, Cliff, posed the question that launched PCOS Diva: “When did you become such a diva?”

       His question was certainly blunt, and it stung a little, but he was right: I was being a diva.

      In that moment, a light went on. What I wish I’d known throughout my journey with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) finally clicked—I deserve to be a PCOS Diva. I need to be a PCOS Diva.

       What Is a PCOS Diva?

      A PCOS Diva is a woman with hope. She has taken charge of her health and happiness and takes steps every day to enhance both. She chooses to thrive with PCOS and is empowered by the knowledge she gathers as she educates herself about PCOS. As a result of her regimen, she is able to give her best to herself and others and be an example of the power of self-care. She is capable of advocating for herself and surrounds herself with the supportive health-care team and community of friends and family she deserves. A PCOS Diva looks beyond the physical support required to manage symptoms and works to heal and enhance her whole person—mind, body, and spirit. A PCOS Diva is an inspiration.

      Becoming a PCOS Diva doesn’t happen overnight. The journey of healing is lifelong. Every day, a PCOS Diva listens to her body’s signals and adjusts her diet and lifestyle, so that she can work in partnership with her body instead of fighting СКАЧАТЬ