Your Resource Guide to PCOS
A top list of PCOS resources curated by Well + Easy
Understanding PCOS
The key to managing any condition is knowledge. When you know better, you can do better. Let's get started with the foundation.
٭ What is PCOS?
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal disorder affecting 5% to 10% of women of reproductive age worldwide.
It’s a condition characterized by cysts on the ovaries, irregular periods, hormonal imbalance, and an increased risk of infertility. But despite its name, it’s one that is also closely tied to insulin resistance as it can develop in response to a substantial amount of weight gain.
٭ PCOS & Insulin Resistance
In otherwise healthy individuals, insulin rises briefly after eating, stimulating the body to take up glucose and convert it to energy.
When one has insulin resistance, though, the pancreas is creating more insulin to overcompensate for the rise in blood sugar levels. And as insulin levels continue to build, it can lead to inflammation, weight gain, and type 2 diabetes.
While the exact cause of PCOS is unknown, what is certain is that women with PCOS are intrinsicallyinsulin resistant.
In other words, insulin resistance isn’t a symptom but rather a key feature of PCOS.
For example, research shows that the skeletal muscle of overweight women with PCOS is deeply embedded with defects in glucose transport and insulin signaling.
Additionally, it’s the high insulin levels that harm ovulation and cause the ovaries to make excess testosterone.
The top rated teas for PCOS care
Hot herbal tea is one of the best ways to get direct access to nutrients that will clean out, prime, and support our internal system.
Why we selected these teas:
The selection of teas here showcase the key herbs for fertility and period care, which are Red Raspberry Leaf, Mint, and Nettle.
pinkStork
Fertility Tea
A natural fertility aid featuring whole-leaf tea. It's 100% organize and female herbalist formulated. Supports your natural fertility, conception, hormones, and cycle.
Namhya
Periods Care Tea
Ayurvedic based tea for: Regular Period flow. Prevention of muscle cramps and period inflammation. Harmonal balance, Acne Control, Immunity, Detox, Regulating Estrogen naturally.
Traditional Medicinal Healthy Cycle
Healthy Cycle supports female systems* by combining herbs to support healthy menstruation, purify blood, and to strengthen and tone the uterus.
Family planning
A collection of products and apps to help keep track of your cycle and ovulation period
☀️ Get insights about your body during the first steps of your family plan by identifying your fertile window-aka the time when you're most likely to conceive
Natalist Ovulation Test Kit Home Fertility Strips for Women - Clear & Accurate Result Tracker Helps Get Timing Right While Planning for Baby
☀️ Maximize your chance of pregnancy with accurate ovulation prediction. Identify the best time to conceive. Get pregnant faster.
Pregmate 50 Ovulation Test Strips Predictor Kit
☀️ includes an app. The Modern Fertility App is an ovulation and cycle tracker that makes it easier to predict the 2 days you’re most likely to get pregnant.
Modern Fertility Ovulation Kit | at-Home Test Helps You Identify Fertile Days, Predict Ovulation, and Get in Sync with Your Cycle
Women's health podcasts
Keep up to date with the latest in women's health and wellness from health professionals. The more equips we are with the information we need, the better we can make decisions for our health and over all lives.
🎧 listen
As a Woman
Dr. Natalie Crawford is a fertility physician at Fora Fertility in Austin, Texas who knows that trying to understand your body and your hormones can be exhausting and overwhelming in the world of medical misinformation and contradicting opinions.
🎧 listen
Fertility Friday
Helping health-conscious women discover the connection between their menstrual cycles and their overall health so they can ditch hormonal birth control forever. Our education system has failed to teach us about our fertility, so I’m here to empower you to take control of your fertility and your life.
We recommend getting started with the PCOS episodes!
🎧 listen
Feel Good Podcast
Own your true beauty and feel good. Feel Good Podcast is dedicated to empowering you to live your true beauty. We believe beauty is not only physical but built from the inside out where you are confident as yourself and connected to your uniqueness.
Well + Easy Living x Chronic Confidence for PCOS weight management
Jen Polk
Low GI Nutritionist
I teach women how to shift the way they approach food, and form lifelong habits that get them to their best healthy weight and sustain it. I studied holistic health at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition as well as Standford University's Food & Health course, and have worked with hundreds of women with diabetes, PCOS, and insulin resistance.
Well + Easy Living
Chronic Confidence 28 day program
Take control of PCOS by reversing insulin resistance, losing weight, and achieving overall health. I teach you everything you need to know about low glycemic living and give you the protocol for incorporating this non-restrictive ways of eating into your life so you can look and feel so much better.
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"This is so helpful, I can’t express enough how much easier it makes meal planning for us. The work you do is incredible, and is having a very big impact on us, so thank you!"
Jennifer C.
The Low GI Diet for PCOS
Losing weight is one of the most effective ways you can regulate your menstrual cycle and improve your symptoms of PCOS, and a low glycemic diet can do just that.
A low GI diet requires that you use the glycemic index scale to keep your blood sugar levels in check. This means the majority of your diet should consist of foods that have a glycemic index of 55 or less, and a moderate amount should have a GI of 56 to 69.
A low GI diet for PCOS includes but is not limited to:
- Non-starchy vegetables such as cauliflower, spinach, and sweet potatoes
- Fruits such as berries, grapefruit, and apples
- Whole grains such as steel-cut oats, millet, and quinoa
- Lean Proteins such as eggs, salmon, and turkey
- Healthy fats such as olive oil, avocados, and nuts
For more inspiration for following a low glycemic diet, check out these free recipe collections. All dairy-free and gluten-free!
For more recipes and plans, become a member today!
The best supplements for treating PCOS naturally
Myo-Inositol & D-Chiro Inositol Blend
D-Chiro-inositol (DCI) is a chemical signal chain that tells our bodies how to dispose of sugar. Women with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) and those with insulin sensitivity have been observed to have low levels of DCI. Hence, many scientific studies have shown that DCI has a positive result in improving one’s metabolic health.
Ritual Prenatal Vitamins
TOP RECOMMENDED. We recommend a good multivitamin even if you're not currently thinking or trying. Essential for Women Prenatal Multivitamin is for thinking, trying, and when it's time. It’s formulated with key nutrients for before and during pregnancy, including Omega-3 DHA, Choline, and Folate. Plus it’s designed to be gentle on the stomach.
Ritual Synbiotic+
Maintain Good Growth The prebiotics are designed to target undesirable bacteria in the gut and support the growth of beneficial gut bacteria. Gut Barrier Health The postbiotic provides fuel to the cells that make up the gut lining and supports gut barrier function. Immune Support Probiotics help support immune health.
Self Care
Glow from the inside out, we've got you covered with the essentials for taking care of your mind, body, and spirit.
Bala Bangles | Adjustable Wearable Wrist & Ankle Weights
Easily enhance your workouts. Add comfortable resistance to your exercise routine with these weighted bangles. Whether worn on your wrists or ankles, they enhance just about any workout - yoga, pilates, running, aerobics, or just walking around the house!
PYM Health Mood Chews
PYM supplements are made with amino acids and adaptogens that target the body’s hormone levels to help manage stress and anxiety. The perfect little gummy for life's ups and downs.
Magnesi-Om by Moon Juice
Your body needs Magnesium to function—it’s responsible for over 300 processes! More than 50% of the U.S. is deficient, which can result in brain fog, headaches, low mood, and insomnia. Magnesi-Om is a high-dose Magnesium powder supplement that replenishes your body’s supply to help support relaxation, sleep, brain health, and regularity.
Recommended Reading
3 life-changing books that will help you gain back control and confidence in your body
These are the books that will change everything. Read them, learn the practices, and slowly incorporate new tools and ways of being and healing and taking care of yourself into your life. Here are the top 3 books we recommend:
WomanCode: Perfect Your Cycle, Amplify Your Fertility, Supercharge Your Sex Drive, and Become a Power Source
A book that gives you a beautiful and thorough overview of your body. Whether you are suffering from irregular periods, fertility issues, depression, or lack of sex drive, Alisa Vitti says that meds and anti-depressants aren’t the only solutions. Groundbreaking and informative, WomanCode educates women about hormone health in a way that’s relevant and easy to understand. And the five-step protocol can markedly improve health and overall quality of life.
The Hormone Cure: Reclaim Balance, Sleep and Sex Drive; Lose Weight; Feel Focused, Vital, and Energized Naturally
A three-tiered treatment strategy that includes: Supplements and targeted lifestyle changes that address underlying deficiencies, herbal therapies that restore balance and optimize your body’s natural function, and bioidentical hormones—most available without a prescription. Dr. Sara Gottfried, a Harvard-educated physician and nationally recognized, board-certified gynecologist, refuses to accept that being a woman means feeling overwhelmed or that popping pills is the new normal.
The Egg Quality Diet: A clinically proven 100-day fertility diet to balance hormones, reduce inflammation, improve egg quality & optimize your ability to get & stay pregnant
The Egg Quality Diet is the culmination of what Aimee Raupp has found, during her two decades of clinical practice, to be the most effective nutritional approach to optimizing fertility. This diet has been proven to work not in a randomized control trial (RCT) but in real life, on thousands of real women like you. Real women who have been told they have no good eggs left or are too old or they are in menopause.
