Taking care of your PCOS

What if our daily diet could profoundly influence the hormonal and metabolic balance disturbed in PCOS? This is what a lot of recent research tends to confirm.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects between 10 and 13% women of childbearing age.
This hormonal disorder is manifested in particular by disturbed ovulation, insulin resistance, excess androgens, and chronic low-grade inflammation.

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In this dynamic, food plays a central role: by modulating the inflammatory response, supporting glycemic balance, and optimizing overall hormonal health.

How does diet impact PCOS?

The objective of a nutritional approach in PCOS is not to aim for weight loss at all costs, but to:

• Improving insulin sensitivity to reduce hormonal disruptions;
• Modulating systemic inflammation to promote better ovarian function;
• Support hormonal balance by providing key nutrients (zinc, magnesium, omega-3, vitamins B, D, E);
• Reducing oxidative stress by increasing the intake of natural antioxidants;
• Optimizing the intestinal microbiota, which is heavily involved in metabolic and hormonal regulation.

Personalized nutritional support thus makes it possible to improve numerous biological parameters and, ultimately, to restore natural ovulation.

What are the studies on the links between diet and PCOS?

• An article by Sowmya and Jothi published in 2025 in World News of Natural Sciences highlights that traditional Indian food rich in fiber, antioxidants and fermented foods could improve inflammation and insulin resistance in PCOS;
• An article coordinated by Varghese and colleagues In 2024 evokes The importance of the intestinal microbiota in the hormonal and metabolic regulation of PCOS, reinforcing the value of dietary probiotics;
• A recent review of Chen et al., published in 2025 in Frontiers in Endocrinology, highlights the deleterious effect of diets rich in sugars and fats on ovulation and inflammation in PCOS models, and the value of an anti-inflammatory diet rich in fiber and omega 3.

Far from being incidental, food is now a fundamental pillar in the management of PCOS. By modifying the body's metabolic and inflammatory environment, it can actively participate in restoring natural cycles, supporting fertility, and sustainably improving the quality of life.

• PCOS is a multifactorial disease but whose expression is strongly influenced by lifestyle.
• An appropriate diet, rich in antioxidants, fiber, essential fatty acids, and targeted nutrients, can improve ovarian, metabolic, and inflammatory health.
• Integrating dietetics into the treatment process is a key, complementary and natural strategy.

In any case, it goes without saying that taking dietary supplements without consulting a specialist in dietetics and nutrition is a mistake. In fact, accompanying PCOS through diet involves an analysis of your lifestyle and your personal blood results in order to have advice adapted to your personal situation.

The objective ofosteopathic support in PCOS is not to “cure” the syndrome, but to improve certain physiological parameters by:

• working on The tone of the autonomic nervous system (and reduce sympathetic dominance that alters ovulation),
• promoting better pelvic circulation, which could optimize the blood supply to the ovaries,
• modulating low-grade inflammation, which is often exacerbated in PCOS,
• helping to improve insulin sensitivity indirectly through the reduction of physiological stress.

An osteopath will be able to adapt techniques (visceral, cranial, myofascial) to the metabolic profile, the menstrual cycle and any associated comorbidities (obesity, insulin resistance, digestive disorders).

What are the statistics and studies on the links between osteopathy and PCOS?

Several studies or memory surveys have been carried out to identify the link between PCOS and osteopathy.

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Osteopathy can have a real positive impact on PCOS

Osteopathy does not replace medical treatment for PCOS but can offer a additional support for:

• improve pelvic circulation,
• reduce chronic inflammation,
• regulate the autonomic nervous system,
• and optimize the natural hormonal response.

An osteopath trained in perinatal or hormonal health will be able to personalize the approach according to the profile of each patient and allow them to feel better in the long term. However, it is important to consult a well-trained specialist who is sensitive to the subject.

What if a millennial approach like acupuncture could now support hormonal health in the face of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)? More and more modern research is exploring the natural mechanisms by which acupuncture could support the regulation of the ovarian cycle, the reduction of inflammation, and the improvement of metabolic sensitivity.

In the context of PCOS, acupuncture is not aimed directly at “curing” the syndrome. Rather, she seeks to rebalance hormonal and metabolic systems in a natural and gradual way:

• Regulation of ovulation : acupuncture can help restore ovarian cyclicity by acting on the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis.
• Improving insulin sensitivity : some studies show an improvement in glucose metabolism after several acupuncture sessions;
• Decreased chronic inflammation : acupuncture seems to be able to reduce the levels of circulating inflammatory cytokines, which are known to disrupt ovulation;
• Stress reduction : by modulating the activity of the autonomic nervous system, it can reduce the stress hormone cortisol, which is often elevated in PCOS.

Support by a practitioner trained in fertility support acupuncture can thus be integrated into a global course, in addition to medical follow-up.

What are the studies on the links between acupuncture and PCOS?

• A review coordinated by Garcia and colleagues, published in 2024 in Cureus, mentions that acupuncture is one of the complementary approaches that has shown beneficial effects on insulin resistance and inflammation in PCOS;
• A bibliometric study carried out by Jin and his team in 2024, published in Gynecological Endocrinology, analyzes research trends and highlights that acupuncture is one of the most studied complementary methods to improve ovulation and insulin resistance in PCOS;
• A Chinese work by Yang and collaborators, published in 2025 in the Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine, describes how acupuncture, combined with traditional Chinese medicine, could target cellular autophagy abnormalities observed in PCOS;
• Finally, a pilot study analyzed by Stener-Victorin in 2012 (classical reference) had already shown that acupuncture could improve spontaneous ovulation rates and reduce fasting insulin levels in women with PCOS.

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PCOS affects 1 in 10 women, with major hormonal, metabolic and inflammatory consequences, and complementary practices such as acupuncture can have a real impact in the long term, if they are used in parallel with medical support, of course.

• Acupuncture may support natural hormonal balance by improving ovulation, modulating insulin response, and reducing low-grade inflammation;
• Several studies confirm a complementary interest to be integrated into global support, especially for women seeking to optimize their fertility naturally.

Far from replacing conventional treatments, acupuncture can now find its place as a complementary tool in the management of PCOS. By acting at the same time on the hormonal, metabolic and inflammatory levels, this ancestral approach offers an additional dimension to the care process, in a global vision of women's health.