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synergy · 1
Sex hormone imbalance and insulin resistance push each other up: higher androgens in women with polycystic ovary syndrome worsen insulin resistance, and insulin resistance in turn lowers SHBG and raises free androgens. It is a loop that keeps itself turning, which is why both sides need to be managed together.
cofactor · 1
Inositol is a link in the insulin signaling chain, and the path in polycystic ovary syndrome from insulin resistance to high androgens and stalled ovulation starts right there. Supplementing inositol pushes at the same spot: a meta-analysis found fasting insulin fell while testosterone only trended down, and the 2023 international guideline judges its clinical benefit limited. It does not reverse PCOS.
regulates · 1
The excess androgens of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) thin the hair on the scalp while making facial and body hair coarser: one hormone, two opposite-looking effects. Hair loss together with irregular periods, acne or excess body hair is a reason to have your hormones checked.
contrast · 3
The same mechanism involving sex hormone–binding globulin (SHBG) reads in opposite ways in men and women: insulin resistance lowers SHBG, which in men shows up as low total testosterone while free testosterone may be normal, and in women as higher free androgens, one source of the androgen excess in polycystic ovary syndrome.
Berberine activates AMPK and works in a direction similar to metformin, which is why it is often offered as a cheaper substitute. But very little is absorbed when taken by mouth, and it must not be used in pregnancy, which matters especially for people with polycystic ovary syndrome who are trying to conceive.
Chromium is sold as a must-have for blood sugar on the strength of the glucose tolerance factor (GTF) hypothesis, yet this chromium compound has never been isolated despite decades of searching. For insulin resistance in polycystic ovary syndrome, chromium is not among the interventions with evidence behind them.