The Root Causes And Treatment For PCOS with Dr. Heather Huddleston

Listen to this episode from The Dr. Hyman Show on Spotify. 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. Rupa Health is a place where Functional Medicine practitioners can access more than 2,000 specialty lab tests from over 20 labs like DUTCH, Vibrant America, Genova, and Great Plains. You can check out a free, live demo with a Q&A or create an account at RupaHealth.com. Cozy Earth makes the most comfortable, temperature-regulating, and nontoxic sheets on the market. Right now, get 40% off your Cozy Earth sheets. Just head over to cozyearth.com and use code MARK40. Magnesium Breakthrough really stands out from the other magnesium supplements out there. BiOptimizers is offering my community 10% off, so just head over to magbreakthrough.com/hyman and use code Hyman10. 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.