A Guide to PCOS Blood Sugar Balance

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a hormone condition that can affect women with the disorder in a lot of ways. PCOS symptoms include everything from painful periods and unwanted hair growth to weight gain and acne. Although the list of symptoms is LONG, PCOS can be reversed naturally using the right strategy!

To heal your PCOS, it’s best to get to the root of some of the problems. One of the best places to start is insulin resistance! Often, a Cyster’s body struggles to process glucose the way it’s supposed to, leading to high blood sugar levels and lots of negative side effects!

In this post, I’m going to break down the PCOS and insulin resistance connection and give you tools to balance blood sugar to live symptom-free with PCOS!

Having high blood sugar isn’t good for our bodies for a few reasons. First of all, you probably experience plenty of day-to-day side effects of high blood sugar if insulin resistance is your main PCOS type.

Things like weight gain, trouble losing weight, intense cravings, fatigue, excessive hair growth on the face/body, brain fog, lowered immune systems, mood swings, and headaches are all sights of high insulin levels!

Beyond that, insulin resistance increases your risk of developing long-term complications like type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular problems, and damage to your kidneys.

This is why it’s so important to keep blood sugar under control. Unfortunately, up to 80% of Cysters are insulin resistant!

So, every woman with PCOS should consider how they can increase insulin sensitivity to naturally relieve PCOS symptoms.

Does PCOS Affect Blood Sugar?

Yes! Insulin resistance is one of the 4 types of PCOS. This is when your body doesn’t correctly process glucose (which is the sugar found in many foods we eat.)

Instead of turning the sugar we consume into energy, our bodies instead become less sensitive to the action of insulin. Normally, insulin helps transport glucose from the bloodstream into cells, where it can be used for energy. With insulin resistance, cells do not respond efficiently to insulin, leading to reduced glucose uptake by cells.

Instead of being used for energy, the glucose remains in the bloodstream, causing high blood sugar levels (hyperglycemia). The excess glucose can also be converted into fat by the liver, contributing to weight gain and leading to the increased risk of further complications, including the potential to develop type 2 diabetes over time.

Though the connection between PCOS and high blood sugar isn’t completely understood, it seems Cysters are stuck in a cycle. Hormone imbalances like high cortisol levels (AKA stress hormones) send our bodies into fight-or-flight mode.

To protect itself, our bodies become more insulin resistant to pack on more fat. Then, the high blood glucose levels that follow prompt inflammation and other hormonal imbalances like elevated androgen levels, restarting the cycle.

The key to breaking free from high insulin levels is ending this cycle. Luckily, there are a lot of ways we can totally naturally increase insulin sensitivity, reduce your risk of long-term complications, and live symptom-free with PCOS! That is what I want to get into next:

How To Balance Blood Sugar With PCOS?

Eat a balanced diet with sufficient protein, fiber, and complex carbs.

Your diet has everything to do with your high blood sugar. You can actually help make your body more insulin sensitive by eating more nutrient-dense foods.

Protein, fiber, and complex carbs help with the digestion of carbs to prevent big blood sugar spikes and keep you feeling fuller longer. (Bye-bye cravings!)

Focus your balanced diet on protein, fruits, and vegetables and consider going gluten- and dairy-free to help with PCOS inflammation.

You can learn more here about my PCOS diet recommendations and on The Cysterhood app you’ll find hundreds of delicious PCOS-friendly meals that won’t make you feel like you’re on a diet at all! Like buffalo chicken pizza? How do Almond Joy pancakes sound? What about raspberry cheesecake? All this and more on the app!

Reduce sugar and refined carbs intake (find the right balance for you!)

What is glucose? SUGAR. So, it makes sense that in order to tame those blood sugar levels, eating less sugar is best! Sugar and refined carbs can spike your insulin levels and worsen insulin resistance, leading to inflammation, hormonal imbalances, cravings, weight gain, difficult weight loss, and more!

Limit your sugar intake, and when you do need sugar for something like a nutrient-rich smoothie or protein-packed dessert, opt for xylitol. (Yep, no blood sugar jumps with xylitol!)

Drink plenty of water.

We all know that water helps everything in our body run smoothly, but you might be surprised at just how beneficial water is for blood sugar balance! Staying hydrated has been shown to help directly with insulin sensitivity, help the kidneys filter out excess glucose, and help your digestive system correctly process nutrients (including sugar.) Water can even be an appetite suppressant, which can be super beneficial when trying to overcome cravings!

Get better quality sleep.

Poor sleep can actually make insulin resistance worse. When we don’t get enough rest, our stress hormone cortisol goes up. High cortisol signals to the body that we’re in a state of stress or danger, which makes us less sensitive to insulin. Instead of using sugar for energy, the body holds onto it, storing it as fat and leaving more glucose in the bloodstream.

Sleep deprivation also throws off other important hormones, especially the ones that control hunger and fullness. This can lead to stronger cravings and make it harder to manage your appetite.

One of the best ways to support insulin sensitivity is to aim for 7 to 9 hours of good-quality sleep each night. Some simple ways to improve your sleep include:

Reducing blue light exposure in the evening
Getting outside for natural light during the day
Sticking to a consistent bedtime and wake-up time
Cutting back on caffeine after the early afternoon
Creating a calming wind-down routine before bed

Here’s more on how to sleep better with PCOS.

Do slow-weighted workouts and other low-impact exercises.

Exercise is key for increasing insulin sensitivity and balancing blood sugars! This is because moving your body that much increases your body’s need for glucose, which stimulates the cells to respond properly to sugar instead of absorbing it!

Plus, exercise can reduce inflammation, which has an indirect effect on insulin resistance.

I recommend slow-weighted workouts and other low-impact exercises, because they’ll allow you to get the physical activity you need without prompting your body to release more adrenaline and cortisol.

Adding more of those hormones to the mix could worsen hormonal imbalance and, in turn, worsen your insulin resistance too. (I did kickboxing for years and still couldn’t get a handle on my weight. When I learned this, I switched to yoga and lost 15 lbs right away!)

If you’re not sure what exercise is best, download The Cysterhood app. There, I’ve got hours of workout plans that’ll help you stay active and reach your PCOS-healing goals!

Reduce stress levels.

Stress isn’t just a way you feel, it’s actually a chemical process in the body! When you’re stressed, your endocrine system releases stress hormones (cortisol) that make you feel wired, anxious, and overwhelmed!

Like I mentioned earlier, high cortisol levels increase insulin resistance so your body can store more fat while it hangs out in crisis-mode. That can then lead to more hormonal imbalances and inflammation, which cycle back to worsening insulin resistance.

So, to improve insulin sensitivity and alleviate PCOS symptoms, reducing stress is essential!

You can do this in whatever way works best for you, but I definitely recommend regular meditation, daily exercise, spending time in nature, engaging in your hobbies, establishing a routine, and cutting caffeine.

Take the right supplements.

Nutrient deficiencies are common even with the best diet. However, when our bodies actually have all the vitamins and minerals it needs to carry out all the chemical processes optimally, we can feel our best! Women with PCOS often have specific deficiencies that worsen our symptoms and can make insulin resistance worse. Here are the ones that can help balance those blood glucose levels:

Berberine

Berberine is a natural supplement that’s amazing for increasing insulin sensitivity! Why? It helps your body use insulin more effectively, which can lead to more stable blood sugar levels, less stubborn weight gain, and even improvements in hormone balance. What’s really exciting is that berberine can also act as a GLP-1 booster, which means it can help curb cravings and support appetite control! It’s the perfect supplement for managing blood sugar levels, insulin resistance, and other metabolic syndrome.

Ovasitol

Ovasitol is my second most recommended supplement for insulin resistance, because it is the most researched supplement for women with PCOS. It is a combination of myo-inositol and d-chiro-inositol in a 40:1 ratio that can help with SO many PCOS symptoms including cravings, weight gain, irregular periods, and infertility. It can improve insulin signaling and regulation, enhance the activity of insulin receptors, and reduce inflammation. All of this can boost insulin sensitivity and blood sugar balance by promoting the uptake of glucose from the bloodstream!

Chromium

Chromium plays a big part in insulin function! It boosts insulin signally to help ensure your body processes glucose as energy rather than absorbs it. This, of course, helps insulin sensitivity and can improve blood sugar levels!

Omega-3

Omega-3 fatty acids help with blood sugar balance in two ways! First of all, it helps reduce inflammation, which has an indirect (but powerful) effect on insulin resistance. Second, omega-3 helps improve the functioning of insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. This boost in functioning ensures that insulin is released efficiently for proper blood sugar balance.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D has a really similar effect on insulin as omega-3! It makes sure the insulin-producing and insulin-releasing cells in the pancreas do its job. Insulin sensitivity has been shown to improve in people taking vitamin D supplements because of this!

Balancing your blood sugar is key to managing PCOS symptoms!

There are lots of natural ways to live symptom-free with PCOS! One of the best places to start on your PCOS healing journey is regulating blood sugar and improving insulin sensitivity. Try these lifestyle changes and talk to your doctor about beginning supplements to reduce insulin resistance and reverse your PCOS!

Not sure where to get your supplements? Understandable! The supplement aisle can be totally overwhelming. Luckily, my supplement line Ovafit is specifically designed for PCOS and includes blood sugar-balancing vitamins like Ovasitol; Berberine Advanced; and chromium, omega-3, and vitamin D in the Metabolism Plus bundle. These supplements are high-quality, NSF-certified, and PCOS-diet friendly. You can feel confident that you’re taking the right supplement for your unique body when choosing Ovafit! Talk to your doctor about starting supplements and let’s ditch those PCOS symptoms!