PCOD Diet Chart: Foods to Eat and Avoid

Updated on 19 November 2025

Polycystic Ovarian Disease (PCOD) is a common hormonal disorder that affects millions of women. You can control it with drugs and changes to your lifestyle, but food is also vital for making your symptoms better and your health better overall. This article speaks about the greatest and worst foods to eat if you have PCOD, why diet is important, and what you can do to keep this condition under control.

What is PCOD?

Polycystic Ovarian Disease (PCOD) is a condition in which a woman's ovaries make eggs that are not fully mature or are only partially mature. Eventually, these eggs become cysts. This throws off your hormones, making your periods unpredictable and causing problems, including weight gain, acne, and trouble becoming pregnant. People commonly confuse PCOD with PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome), however, PCOS is usually regarded to be worse.

Causes of PCOD

The exact cause of PCOD is still not fully understood, although some things may make it more likely to happen:

Hormonal Imbalance: If you have too many androgens (male hormones), it can be harder for your body to ovulate.
Insulin Resistance: It means that the body creates more androgens when insulin levels are high.
Genetics: If someone in your family has PCOD or diabetes, you may be more likely to have it.
Obesity: Being overweight can make hormonal problems and insulin resistance worse.
Lifestyle Factors: Stress, a bad diet, and not getting enough exercise can all make PCOD worse or start it.

Importance of Diet in PCOD

Eating the right foods is very crucial for managing the symptoms of PCOD. A balanced low-GI (glycaemic index) diet can help keep insulin levels in check, lower testosterone levels, retain a healthy weight, and make your periods more regular. Choosing the right meals can also help lessen inflammation and keep diseases like heart disease and type 2 diabetes from occurring.

Foods to Eat in PCOD

What you eat is highly important if you have PCOD. Adding these things to your diet can help you get healthier, but managing the PCOD symptoms.

1. Whole Grains: Pick whole grains like oats, brown rice, quinoa, and whole wheat. These meals are high in fibre, which helps keep blood sugar levels stable, helps with digestion, and lowers insulin spikes that can make PCOD symptoms worse.

2. Lean Proteins: Adding protein to your diet is really crucial for getting rid of PCOD. Fish, tofu, skinless poultry, and lentils are all good sources of lean protein. These foods are beneficial for your muscles and fill you up, which helps you stay away from unhealthy snacks and keeps your blood sugar constant.

3. Fruits and Vegetables: Apples, berries, spinach, kale, carrots, and broccoli are among the fruits and vegetables that are high in antioxidants. These help keep hormones in check, decrease inflammation, and offer you the vitamins and minerals you need to stay healthy while you're pregnant.

4. Healthy Fats: Avocados, nuts, seeds (including flaxseeds and chia seeds), and olive oil are all excellent fats that you should eat. These fats help your body create hormones, lower inflammation, and keep you full longer, all of which help you stay at a healthy weight.

5. Foods with a Low Glycaemic Index (Low-GI): Consume low-GI foods are meals which don't raise your blood sugar level too much. Sweet potatoes, beans, chickpeas and lentils are all examples of low-GI foods you can eat. These foods slowly release glucose into the blood, which helps maintain insulin levels stable and stops hormones from rising too quickly.

6. Fermented Foods: Fermented foods, such as yoghurt, kefir, kimchi, and sauerkraut, are high in probiotics. These are good for managing PCOD because they aid the gut, digestion, and reduce inflammation throughout the body.

7. Herbal Teas: Spearmint tea and green tea have been shown to lower levels of androgens and help the body burn calories. They can assist with acne and hirsutism and bring hormones back into balance.

Foods to Avoid if You Have PCOD

Here are some of the foods you need to avoid if you have PCOD.

1. Refined Carbohydrates: Don't eat white bread, white rice, sugary cereals, or pastries. These are refined carbs. These are all processed carbs. These swiftly elevate blood sugar levels, which makes the body less responsive to insulin and makes it easier for fat to build up, especially around the stomach.

2. Sugary Foods and Drinks: Don't eat a lot of sweets, cake, soda, energy drinks, or fruit juices. These substances make PCOD symptoms worse by making you less sensitive to insulin, making you gain weight, and elevating your androgen levels.

3. Processed and Junk Foods: Don't eat pre-packaged snacks, freezer dinners, chips, or fast food. All of these foods are processed and garbage. These meals have a lot of preservatives, salt, and trans fats, which can mess up hormones and make you sick.

4. Dairy Products: Some women with PCOD can't eat dairy products, including whole milk, cheese, and cream. These may raise insulin levels and make more androgens, although the effect is different for each person.

5. Red and Processed Meats: Try to consume less bacon, sausage, gammon, and red meat. These are linked to greater inflammation and worse heart health, which are already issues for women with PCOD.

6. Caffeine and Alcohol: Avoid caffeine and alcohol at any cost. These drinks harm your overall health, worsening your PCOD issues.

Preventive Measures for PCOD

Following these tips can help minimise your risk, even if you don't have PCOD:

Pay attention to your weight: Be careful about what you eat and work out a lot.
Eat meals that are balanced: Foods that are low in GI, high in fibre, and full of vitamins and minerals
Take care of stress: Cortisol levels can be lowered by doing yoga, meditation, or other things.
Stay Active: You need to work out for at least 30 minutes every day.
Health checkups on a regular basis: Check your hormone, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels.

When to See a Doctor

If you see any of the following, you should go to the doctor:

Periods that don't happen at all or happen at odd times
Too much hair on the chest, back, and face
Acne that is bad or damaged, and weak hair
Putting on weight that doesn't make sense
Difficult to become pregnant

Finding out about problems like diabetes, infertility, and endometrial cancer early can help stop them from happening.

Treatment Options for PCOD

Some treatments might be:

Changes in your daily life, such as what you eat, how often you exercise, and how you deal with stress.
Clomiphene, letrozole, or IVF are all options for getting pregnant.
Ovarian drilling surgery is performed in rare cases.

Always do what your doctor recommends and don't take care of yourself.

Conclusion

PCOD is a condition that can be controlled, and a well-planned diet is one of the best methods to do this. Women with PCOD can improve their quality of life a lot by consuming foods that are low in sugar and processed foods and high in nutrients. Eating the right foods, together with exercising regularly, managing stress, and getting medical care, can help you stay healthy and keep your hormones in balance for a long time.

FAQs

1. Is PCOD curable with diet alone?

You can't get rid of PCOD altogether, but eating correctly can help you control and lessen its symptoms a lot.

2. Can I eat dairy products if I have PCOD?

Some women can eat dairy, but for others, it may make their symptoms worse. Pay attention to how your body reacts.

3. Are there specific fruits to avoid in PCOD?

Bananas and mangoes are two examples of fruits that are high in sugar. You should only eat a modest amount of these. Choose apples, pears, and berries.