While it has long been thought that PCOS was caused by the ovaries producing an excess of male hormones, it wasn’t known why they produced this hormone imbalance. Now, recent studies have shown that PCOS, and the hormone problems that result from the condition, are often a result of Insulin Resistance (IR) and Glucose Intolerance (GI).
We now believe that many women with PCOS become resistant to the hormone insulin, which is normally responsible for carrying the sugar glucose into the cells. As the cells become more insulin resistant, sugar levels increase in the blood, eventually causing glucose intolerance, along with many of the problems we commonly see in adult-onset diabetes. In fact, PCOS may be a very early type of adult-onset diabetes. It is the excess insulin that is apparently responsible for directly stimulating the ovaries to produce an excess of male hormones, throwing the entire system out of balance.