Insulin resistance

Following a Low Glycemic Index Diet for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

The next diet in our series (following posts on the ketogenic diet and the Mediterranean diet) is the low glycemic index diet. While the first two diets are fairly well-defined and well-known, what constitutes a low glycemic index diet is less clear and the concept is much less well known.

But this post will clear things up!

First, I’ll explain what the glycemic index and the glycemic load are. Then I’ll talk about several studies that vary in how they implement a low glycemic index diet. From there, we’ll be able to see what features of the diet are most effective at helping with PCOS symptoms.

Altering Caloric Timing to Manage PCOS

While we often think about fasting as a way to improve insulin sensitivity and manage PCOS, simply shifting the distribution of your caloric intake may yield benefits. For many women, the idea of fasting can be daunting and/or create feelings of restriction that may cause undo anxiety (this is the case for me!). So, I love that there is an easier way to achieve the hormonal benefits of fasting! The study that follows also considered lean women with PCOS, a subset of PCOS patients who are often ignored in the literature and who rarely receive nutrition or lifestyle counseling for the management of their PCOS. Finally, there’s something out there tested specifically on us!

PCOS & Insulin Resistance: Part II

When I first started using a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), my blood sugar control looked excellent for the first couple of weeks. Then one day, when I was competing in a K9 Nosework Trial with my dog, by blood sugar was soaring all day long. I assumed it was a stress response from the nerves I always feel when trialing. But the next day, my blood sugar was still spiking easily and staying high for an extended period of time.

Confused, I turned to Google. Realizing that I was in the phase when I usually start experiencing PMS, I googled “PMS insulin resistance,” and sure enough, it was a thing! (Note, this applies to women who are cycling natural, without hormonal birth control. There’s a whole literature exploring hormonal birth control and its impacts on insulin resistance, and that is a post for another day.)

PCOS & Insulin Resistance: Part I

It is estimated that about 75% of women with PCOS have some degree of insulin resistance (Moghetti and Tosi 2021). From my own experiences, I have a working hypothesis that this is an underestimate of the incidence, and that perhaps all women with PCOS have some degree of insulin resistance, during at least some portion of their cycle. I say this because for about 75% of my cycle, my blood work looks amazing. And indeed, whenever I’ve had blood drawn, it’s (not surprisingly) fallen in this larger portion of my cycle. Wearing a continuous glucose monitor for the duration of my cycle, however, tells a very different story.

Given my hypothesis that insulin resistance underpins pretty much every woman’s experience with PCOS, I’m devoting a few posts on different aspects of the problem (and there will surely be plenty more coming in the future).

This first post provides an overview of the basic problem of insulin resistance.