PCOS

Roughly one in five Indian women of reproductive age has PCOS. Most of them have been told to lose weight and sent home.

Underneath PCOS, for the majority, sits insulin resistance. And insulin resistance responds to the quality of your carbohydrate, not only the quantity. That is a lever you can pull three times a day without a diet plan.

What actually moves the needle

• Lower glycaemic index, measurably. In a randomised controlled trial of women with PCOS and anovulation, 24.6% of cycles were ovulatory on a low GI diet versus 7.4% on a normal GI diet. Same calories, different carbohydrate.
• Insulin sensitivity improves. A meta analysis of randomised trials found low GI diets reduced HOMA-IR, fasting insulin, total cholesterol and LDL in women with PCOS.
• Protein and fibre together. Both flatten the post meal insulin response, and both help with the appetite dysregulation that makes PCOS weight management so exhausting.

Millets average a glycaemic index around 52.7 against 74.2 for refined wheat. Your atta is the highest frequency carbohydrate decision you make.

Recommended for you

Six flours from our range, chosen for this concern and ranked by how much difference they make.

Pure Besan

The lowest GI flour we make, and high in protein. Blended at 25% it pulls your everyday roti down.

From Rs. 76.19

High Protein Moong Flour

Legume protein plus fibre. Moong chilla is one of the better PCOS breakfasts you can make in ten minutes.

From Rs. 189.52

Jowar Atta

Low GI, gluten free, and easy to live on. The most sustainable full swap off refined wheat.

From Rs. 113.33

High Protein Atta, 23g

Protein alongside carbohydrate blunts the insulin spike. Same roti, more protein, no extra decisions.

From Rs. 141.90

High Protein Barley Flour

Beta glucan has an authorised claim for reducing the post meal glucose rise, and PCOS often travels with unfavourable lipids.

From Rs. 113.33

Ragi Atta

Low GI, high fibre and high calcium, which matters because PCOS and low calcium status often overlap.

From Rs. 56.19

How to actually do this, this week

• Do not skip breakfast. It is the meal most often skipped and the one where a low GI, high protein swap does the most work.
• Protein at every meal, not just dinner. Aim for a visible source on the plate each time.
• Blend rather than overhaul. A 70:30 atta to besan blend is a change you will still be making in six months.
• Give it three cycles. Dietary effects on ovulation in the trials showed up over months, not weeks.

Where this comes from

• Kazemi M, et al. Effects of dietary glycemic index and glycemic load on cardiometabolic and reproductive profiles in women with PCOS: a systematic review and meta analysis of randomized controlled trials. Read the paper
• Effect of a low glycemic diet in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome and anovulation: a randomized controlled trial. Read the trial
• Anitha S, et al. Millets and glycaemic response: systematic review and meta analysis. Frontiers in Nutrition, 2021. Read the paper
• Optimizing carbohydrate quality: a path to better health for women with PCOS. Frontiers in Nutrition, 2025. Read the review

Nutrition information, not medical advice. PCOS is a medical diagnosis and diet is one part of managing it, alongside your gynaecologist or endocrinologist and any medication you have been prescribed.