Insulin and PCOS

• Understand the role that insulin plays in your body to understand how best to manage PCOS. According to dietitian Martha McKittrick, RD, out-of-control insulin levels play a role in PCOS. Insulin is a fat-storage hormone that is produced by your pancreas in response to elevated blood sugar within the body. As blood sugar is generally elevated by consumption of fast-digesting carbohydrates (with faster-digesting carbs causing a higher spike in blood sugar and insulin), managing your insulin levels with a glycemic index diet is the dietary key for women with PCOS.
  
  

GI Diet

• Follow a low-GI diet to best keep your insulin levels under control. The glycemic index is a table that ranks carbs by how significantly they affect blood sugar levels. To follow a low-GI diet, simply confine yourself to eating only carbs that have a nominal rating on the glycemic index. Generally speaking, the items with the lowest rating on the GI scale are vegetables, fruits and whole grains. For example, while broccoli has a paltry score of 10 on the GI scale, white rice has a score of 87. Thus, consume only low-GI fruits and veggies such as spinach, broccoli, apples, cherries, oranges, grapefruits, pears, lettuce, peas, onions and natural whole-wheat items. Pair these low-GI foods with plenty of lean protein (chicken, turkey, seafood and low-fat beef) and healthy fats (natural fats, like oils, nuts, seeds, and fat-containing fruits like coconuts) to round out your low-GI diet. To further keep insulin levels in check, consume five to six smaller meals throughout the day, as opposed to two or three larger meals. Ideally, you should be eating a balanced meal (containing protein, some fat and a low-GI carb) every two to three hours.