#328: PCOS and Fertility: Navigating the Path to Pregnancy with Zermina Akbary, a Registered Nurse, Nutritionist, and Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner.
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Episode Summary:
Could managing PCOS be more about understanding your body’s unique metabolic needs than just a reproductive issue?
In this episode, Zermina Akbary shares her journey with PCOS, thyroid cancer, and infertility, emphasizing a holistic approach to health. She discusses the importance of identifying individual root causes like inflammation, blood sugar imbalances, and stress. By focusing on lifestyle changes, personalized nutrition, and functional testing, Zermina provides a roadmap for women looking to manage PCOS effectively. This conversation is essential for anyone seeking to understand PCOS beyond the conventional methods and find a more integrative path to fertility.
Zermina Akbary
Zermina Akbary, a Registered Nurse, Nutritionist, and Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner with over a decade of experience, specializes in revitalizing energy, enhancing fertility, and alleviating hormone-related symptoms through lifestyle medicine and tailored nutrition plans. Her journey into women’s health began amidst her own health struggles, including battles with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), Hashimotos, and thyroid cancer, as she sought to start a family. Opting for functional medicine over conventional approaches, she delved deep into uncovering and addressing the root causes of her conditions. Zermina’s practice focuses on hormones, gut health, and fertility, employing comprehensive lab testing to identify underlying issues and guiding patients towards holistic wellness through personalized lifestyle interventions. Driven by her own experiences, she is impassioned about empowering women to reclaim control over their health and reproductive journey, advocating for a connection to oneself, nature, and community as essential pillars of well-being.
Notable Quotes in the Episode:
" Polycystic ovarian syndrome, PCOS and it's thought to be more of a reproductive issue because a lot of women are now getting diagnosed with it when they're going through fertility treatments. And that's when I get diagnosed and it's thought to be more of a reproductive issue, but I really think it's more of a metabolic issue."
"You and I can both have PCOS, but my root cause is going to be very different from yours. Therefore, treatment's going to be very different."
"Fertility is a sign of health. And so we really need to focus on the overall health of the patient before we get into the fertility aspect of it."
"PCOS is really just a diagnosis of exclusion. We want to make sure that you don't have any other diagnosis because there could be other diagnoses that you do have that may not necessarily fit within that PCOS."
"What I see a lot in practice is that women... go to their OBGYN or PCP and say, well, you have PCOS, you just need to lose the weight and then things are going to get better. And you just need to eat less and exercise more. And that's probably one of the worst things you can tell someone with PCOS."
Episode Discussion:
Tune in to Zermina Akbary’s interview where she talks about:
redefining PCOS as a metabolic issue affecting the whole body, not just a reproductive disorder, and why this perspective matters.
the importance of identifying individual root causes for effective PCOS management.
the role of lifestyle changes in managing PCOS symptoms and enhancing fertility naturally.
how functional medicine tests provide deeper insights into hormonal health and guide personalized treatments.
and more.
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Related Episodes:
#59: PCOS and Weightloss with Tallene and Sirak
#75: Getting Pregnant With PCOS with Clare Goodwin
#93: Thriving with PCOS with Amy Medling
#109: How Functional Medicine Can Heal PCOS with Jillian Greaves
#111: Cutting Edge Science Around PCOS Research with Sarah Heywood
#114: Top Nutrition Tips From a PCOS Nutritionist with Sam Abbott
#131: Supplements for PCOS with Angela Grassi
