low glycemic load

20 Quick and Easy Ideas for PCOS-Friendly Snacks

If you have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), you likely have at least some degree of insulin resistance that is driving your PCOS symptoms. Nutrition and lifestyle changes can be highly effective at improving insulin sensitivity, which will also improve PCOS symptoms like acne, irregular periods, excessive facial and body hair, hair thinning, and weight gain.

Many of the snacks we've often been told are healthy (a piece of fruit, a granola bar, a handful of crackers, or low-fat yogurt with added sugars) are actually not that great for women with PCOS. All of them are "naked carbs," carbs eaten on their own, which will cause blood sugar spikes and worsen insulin resistance. They will also lead to blood sugar crashes a couple of hours later, and this low blood sugar will tell your brain to eat some more to bring your blood sugar levels back up. This blood sugar rollercoaster often leads to eating more food than you actually need.

So let's talk about what makes up a good snack!

The Great Potato Debate - Potatoes and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

When I first launched this Instagram account, a nutrition coach reached out to me for advice for her PCOS clients who were having a hard time losing weight. I told her that managing insulin resistance is usually the most important thing for PCOS.

And she responded, “So, you mean like eating sweet potatoes for carbs?”

Ehh…. It’s a little more nuanced than that.

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.