“Pure carbohydrates set you up for a blood sugar spike and crash and this triggers your hunger hormones to go wild for the rest of the day and you’ll just be eating eating eating on this blood sugar roller costerâ€� In this episode, registered dietitian, nutritionist, and certified diabetes educator Lily Nichols discusses with PCOS Diva Podcast host Dr. Vinu about PCOS and gestational diabetes. Lily explains how eating protein is extremely beneficial to manage blood sugar in pregnancy. She explains what gestational diabetes is and how to manage it with having PCOS.   Tune in as they di ..read more

By Dr. Vinu Jyothi, MD, MPH and Dr. Senthil Samy, PhD   PCOS is a common condition that affects approximately 20% of women of childbearing age worldwide and is a condition that can make it difficult to get pregnant. PCOS is caused by the ovaries producing too much of the sex hormone testosterone—hyperandrogenism. Along with difficulties conceiving, PCOS is associated with various health problems such as diabetes and obesity. There are also familial links underlying PCOS – the risk of developing the condition is often increased for women who have close female relatives with PCOS. Strik ..read more

“It’s about getting to know our nervous system and recognizing those different states. And then having a range of tools that we can use that attune to where we’re at.“ Women with PCOS tend to have an upregulated nervous system. This means there is more nerve cell firing, making it harder for your body to relax after a stressful situation. It’s important to know the role of the vagas nerve and how it affects the way your body processes stress.   Amy has invited Jessica Maguire on the PCOS Diva Podcast. Jessica is a knowledgeable Trauma Informed Physiotherapist. Her specialty is teachi ..read more

Guest blog by Steph Davidson If you suffer from PCOS, increased stress or anxiety are often two of the many side effects. But these feelings certainly shouldn’t overwhelm you. Finding ways to decrease your anxiety levels and bring more mental and emotional calmness into your life is an important life skill that can bring many benefits to the body and mind. Meditation has been utilized for thousands of years as a simple yet highly effective way to curb anxious thoughts and help people cope with the pressures of everyday life. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to be a Buddhist, an ..read more

“I want everybody to understand that you can consume life, you can bring more life into your life, which that’s why eating raw foods is so important.“ Women with PCOS tend to be very insulin resistant, which is why exercise is so such an important piece to healing PCOS. Today we’ll be talking about how mindset can help your wellness goals with Bela Castro, she is the founder and head trainer of B-FIT where she helps women to glow from the inside out. Bela explains how to reveal your inner motivation and how that can help you succeed in your health and fitness goals. Listen in and learn: How ..read more

By   Vinu J Senthil, MD, CCDS, MPH Sober holidays can be a real challenge for women with PCOS. For women, consuming alcohol not only worsens their PCOS symptoms, but also increases their breast cancer risk by up to 9% (from just one drink a day) and they are more likely to suffer alcohol-related brain damage than men. We often may feel like lonely and isolating or feel pressure getting intoxicated when you have friends and family toasting with cocktails or wine. The risk of relapse during the holiday season is drastically higher than the rest of the year. Apart from social pres ..read more

“We all want that magic, just fix-it pill, but every single treatment, every pharmaceutical has side effects.” Dr. Felice Gersh is a ground-breaking thought leader in the field of PCOS. She is a multi award-winning physician with a dual board certification in OBGYN and Integrative Medicine. Dr. Gersh returns to the PCOS Diva podcast to discuss the pros and cons of a pharmaceutical drug called Semaglutide, also marketed under the name of Ozempic and Wegovy. I’ve heard many women with PCOS talking recently about Semaglutide as a new “magic pill” for PCOS symptoms and weight loss. And this pill ..read more

The 2022 PCOS Gift Guide is here! I put together my favorite PCOS-friendly products of the year. Be sure to put yourself on the wish list this holiday season. Share this list with the gift-givers in your life. A little hint goes a long way (at my house, at least). Here are a bakers dozen of my favorite things that help me stay on track with my PCOS Diva lifestyle   Lumen Most women with PCOS have insulin resistance. While continuous glucose monitors are great to use to see how food and lifestyle factors are impacting blood sugar, they only are active for 14 days at a time. This year I’ve ..read more

“The more energy we put into a positive emotion, the bigger it grows.” On today’s podcast, I talk with Monique Rhodes, she is a master at teaching you how to calm your mind and live a happier life. Mental wellness is so important for women with PCOS because such a large majority of us are suffering from anxiety, depression and mood-related disorders. Monique has worked with some of the most well known spiritual teachers of our time like Dalai Lama, Thich Naht Hahn, Ekhart Tolle and Pema Chödrön. She is on a mission to help people who think they can’t meditate, she created The 10 Minute M ..read more

By Amy Medling, founder of PCOS Diva For so many years hair growth (hirsutism) held me back. I had tried everything and nothing seemed to work until I was able to get laser hair removal. But I recently discovered a technique called sugaring and used a product called Sugar Sugar Wax. I wish I had found this sooner because it’s a great option for women that want to get rid of an overgrowth of hair from PCOS.  I had a wonderful conversation on my podcast with Salome Sallehy the founder and president of Sugar Sugar Wax. I learned the history, cultural traditions and the technique of how to u ..read more