by Katie Caldesi

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) involves reproductive, metabolic, and hormonal disorders and affects around 1 in 10 women. It can manifest in weight gain, an irregular menstrual cycle, acne, facial hair and infertility.

PCOS can also be associated with an increased risk of further health problems such as type 2 diabetes.

The NHS website quotes the following:

“The exact cause of PCOS is unknown, but it often runs in families.

It’s related to abnormal hormone levels in the body, including high levels of insulin.

Insulin is a hormone that controls sugar levels in the body.

Many women with PCOS are resistant to the action of insulin in their body and produce higher levels of insulin to overcome this.

This contributes to the increased production and activity of hormones like testosterone.

Being overweight or obese also increases the amount of insulin your body produces.”

However, on the NHS site there is no mention of a keto or low-carb diet and PCOS which is a shame and anecdotally many people seem to have found it helpful. They do mention weight-loss and following a “balanced” diet which will no doubt refer to the Eatwell Plate which in my opinion is anything but balanced.

As following a keto or low-carb diet is designed to lower insulin levels you would think that this would be helpful for women with PCOS. High insulin levels can cause the ovaries to produce “male” hormones levels. I will leave the rest to you to draw your own conclusions but do see these reports and if anyone has more information that would be helpful for people with PCOS do let me know.

For further information please see the following links to this published report https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6899277/