A PCOS Plate for Indian Vegetarians Abroad

Most PCOS diet advice online is a list of foods to cut, such as dairy, gluten, sugar, rice and fruit.

For a vegetarian, that leaves very little to eat. It is also not what the evidence says.

01There is no PCOS diet

The 2023 international PCOS guideline looked at the evidence and found no one type of diet works better than another ¹. It recommends healthy eating you can keep up, shaped around your own preferences and culture.

So you do not need to follow a strict list of banned foods.

02Why the plate still matters

Insulin resistance is common in PCOS ¹. That is why how you build the plate matters more than which foods you ban.

In one small study of adults with type 2 diabetes, eating the vegetables and protein before the carbohydrate led to lower blood glucose after the meal ². The study was small and in a different group, but this is easy to try.

03The plate

1. 1

   Protein in the centre

   Paneer, tofu, Greek yogurt, or dal with something next to it. A real serve at every meal. Here is how to get enough as a vegetarian.

2. 2

   Half the plate vegetables

   Sabzi, salad, whatever is in the fridge. Frozen vegetables count.

3. 3

   One carb, sized

   Roti or rice, not both. You do not have to give either one up.

04Add protein to breakfast

Poha, upma, idli and paratha are all mostly carbohydrate.

You do not have to drop them. Put a protein next to them. Greek yogurt, paneer bhurji, a glass of milk, sprouts.

05Dairy and gluten

The guideline does not ask you to cut either one ¹. If a food clearly bothers you, look at it with your doctor. If it does not, there is no reason to remove it.

06Lunch at work

• Leftover dal and sabzi with a tub of Greek yogurt.
• A chickpea salad with whatever vegetables you have.
• A paneer or tofu wrap in a whole wheat roti.

07Exercise matters too

The same guideline recommends regular physical activity for everyone with PCOS ¹. Strength training two or three times a week and a walk after meals are a good place to start.