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  • Home
  • About Dr Pamela Frank, ND
  • PCOS Symptoms
    • Hormonal Acne Got You Down?
    • The Good News About PCOS Hair Loss
    • How PCOS Impacts Fertility: Causes & Ways to Boost Ovulation
  • PCOS Treatment
  • Contact Me
  • PCOS Blog
    • Why PCOS Causes Hair Loss
    • Berberine for PCOS
    • Why Does PCOS Acne Affect the Chin and Jawline?
    • Getting Pregnant with PCOS
    • Why PCOS Causes Weight Gain
    • The Low-GI Diet for PCOS
    • PCOS Lab Tests
    • NAC for PCOS
    • PCOS and Perimenopause
    • Magnesium and PCOS
    • Myo-Inositol vs D-Chiro-Inositol for PCOS
    • Spearmint Tea for PCOS
    • Lean PCOS
  • Resources
    • Free PCOS Symptom Tracker
    • Quiz: What Type of PCOS Do You Have?
Balanced & Strong: Blossoming Despite PCOS

Balanced & Strong: Blossoming Despite PCOS

  • picture of a desk with pcos lab tests, a laptop and glass of water
    PCOS Diagnosis - Uncategorized

    PCOS Lab Tests: What to Ask For and What the Results Mean

    July 1, 2026 - By Dr. Pamela Frank, Naturopath

    A PCOS diagnosis often comes with very little investigation involving more thorough PCOS lab tests. A doctor notes irregular periods and elevated androgens, orders a pelvic ultrasound, and concludes: PCOS (or more recently, PMOS). Here’s a birth control prescription. That approach identifies the diagnosis but does nothing to characterize the underlying metabolic and hormonal drivers, information that is essential for actually managing the condition rather than masking it. Knowing which PCOS lab tests to ask for, what they measure, and what the results mean gives you real leverage in your own care. How PCOS or PMOS Is Currently Diagnosed The most…

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    woman exercising with lean PCOS showing that women with PCOS can be thin

    Lean PCOS: Why You Can Have PCOS Without Being Overweight

    March 14, 2026
  • picture of a bowl with the supplement NAC for PCOS
    PCOS Treatment

    NAC for PCOS: The Evidence Behind This Underused Supplement

    June 15, 2026 - By Dr. Pamela Frank, Naturopath

    N-acetylcysteine isn’t typically the first supplement that comes to mind for PCOS. Most people are more familiar with inositol, magnesium, or berberine. But NAC for PCOS has a growing and surprisingly robust evidence base in managing this condition, with RCTs addressing insulin resistance, androgen levels, ovulation induction, and inflammatory markers. If you have PCOS and you haven’t heard of NAC for PCOS, it’s worth understanding what the research actually shows. What Is NAC? N-acetylcysteine is a stable, bioavailable form of the amino acid L-cysteine. It’s primarily known as a precursor to glutathione, the body’s most abundant endogenous antioxidant, and has…

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    picture of a bowl of berberine for PCOS

    Berberine for PCOS: What Is It and How Does It Work?

    May 22, 2026
    picture of bowl with vitamins and magnesium for PCOS

    Magnesium and PCOS: Should You Take It, Which of The Five Types and How Much?

    May 14, 2026
    picture of inositol supplements for PCOS containing myo-inositol and d-chiro-inositol

    Myo-Inositol vs D-Chiro-Inositol for PCOS: Which One Should You Take?

    May 10, 2026
  • picture of a salad bowl for a low GI diet for PCOS
    Diet and Nutrition for PCOS - Weight Management

    The Low-GI Diet for PCOS: What to Eat, What to Avoid, and Why It Works

    June 11, 2026 - By Dr. Pamela Frank, Naturopath

    Nutrition advice for PCOS is everywhere, and most of it is vague. “Eat clean.” “Cut carbs.” “Avoid inflammatory foods.” Useful only if you already know what that means in practice and how to implement it. What is a Low Glycemic Index, Low Glycemic Load Diet for PCOS? The low GI diet for PCOS has more clinical evidence behind it than almost any other dietary pattern. Here’s the actual rationale, and what it looks like as a real eating plan. Why Glycemic Index Matters in PCOS The glycemic index measures how quickly a carbohydrate-containing food raises blood glucose compared to a…

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  • picture of a scale to weight yourself with pcos weight gain, pcos belly fat, and to lose weight with pcos
    Weight Management

    Why PCOS Causes Weight Gain (And What Actually Helps With PCOS Belly Fat)

    June 8, 2026 - By Dr. Pamela Frank, Naturopath

    If you have PCOS and you’ve been told to “just eat less and move more,” you’ve been given advice that completely misses the point. Weight management in PCOS isn’t a willpower problem. It’s a metabolic problem, and treating it like anything else is why so many women stay stuck. Here’s what’s actually going on, and what the evidence says about addressing it. Why PCOS Weight Gain Is So Easy (And Weight Loss With PCOS Is So Hard) PCOS doesn’t cause weight gain through a single mechanism. It causes it through several interlocking hormonal and metabolic disruptions that together create an…

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    picture of a salad bowl for a low GI diet for PCOS

    The Low-GI Diet for PCOS: What to Eat, What to Avoid, and Why It Works

    June 11, 2026
  • picture of a pregnant woman on a couch who knows about getting pregnant with PCOS
    Fertility

    Getting Pregnant with PCOS: Fertility Challenges and Natural Treatment

    June 2, 2026 - By Dr. Pamela Frank, Naturopath

    PCOS is the most common cause of anovulatory infertility; but the prognosis is far better than many patients fear. For most women with PCOS, with the right support, getting pregnant with PCOS is very achievable. The key is working strategically, starting with evidence. Fertility in PCOS (or PMOS) is primarily disrupted by irregular or absent ovulation (oligo-ovulation or anovulation). The hormonal environment of PCOS – elevated LH, elevated androgens, inflammation, and often elevated insulin – disrupts the normal follicular recruitment process, preventing the dominant follicle from maturing and releasing an egg on a predictable cycle.1 The good news: the ovaries…

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  • pcos acne on the chin, jawline, and cheeks, cystic acne, hormonal acne
    Acne

    Why Does PCOS Acne Affect the Chin and Jawline?

    May 29, 2026 - By Dr. Pamela Frank, Naturopath

    Acne is one of the most common and distressing symptoms of PCOS, affecting approximately 49% of women with the condition. The characteristic PCOS acne location along the chin and jawline is not coincidental: it is a direct expression of androgen excess on the sebaceous glands. A 2025 meta-analysis including 95 studies confirmed that acne vulgaris has a pooled prevalence of 49% in women with PCOS, making it one of the most frequent comorbidities of the syndrome. In PCOS acne, the chin and jawline are particularly androgen-sensitive areas because the oil-producing (sebaceous) glands in this region have a higher density of…

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  • picture of a bowl of berberine for PCOS
    PCOS Treatment

    Berberine for PCOS: What Is It and How Does It Work?

    May 22, 2026 - By Dr. Pamela Frank, Naturopath

    Berberine has become one of the most searched supplements for PCOS, and for good reason. The clinical research is more robust than for most botanical compounds. But the devil is in the details: dose, form, timing, and who is (and isn’t) a good candidate matter enormously. Berberine is an isoquinoline alkaloid found in plants such as Berberis vulgaris (barberry), Oregon grape root (Mahonia aquifolium), Coptis chinensis, and Hydrastis canadensis. The primary mechanism of action of berberine for PCOS is activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) – the same cellular energy-sensing pathway targeted by metformin. This leads to improved glucose uptake,…

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    picture of a bowl with the supplement NAC for PCOS

    NAC for PCOS: The Evidence Behind This Underused Supplement

    June 15, 2026
    picture of bowl with vitamins and magnesium for PCOS

    Magnesium and PCOS: Should You Take It, Which of The Five Types and How Much?

    May 14, 2026
    picture of inositol supplements for PCOS containing myo-inositol and d-chiro-inositol

    Myo-Inositol vs D-Chiro-Inositol for PCOS: Which One Should You Take?

    May 10, 2026
  • close up picture of hair when pcos causes hair loss
    Hair Loss

    Why PCOS Causes Hair Loss

    May 18, 2026 - By Dr. Pamela Frank, Naturopath

    Women with PCOS are more than twice as likely to experience hair thinning compared to women without PCOS of the same age, and the cause runs deeper than stress or diet alone. PCOS Causes Hair Loss Due to Excess Androgens PCOS-related hair loss, clinically called female pattern hair loss (FPHL) or androgenic alopecia, is driven primarily by excess androgens – particularly dihydrotestosterone (DHT). In PCOS (now called PMOS or polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome), elevated androgens shrink hair follicles and shorten the growth phase of the hair cycle, leading to progressively finer, thinner hair, especially across the crown and top of…

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  • picture of a woman with PCOS and perimenopause
    PCOS and Perimenopause

    PCOS and Perimenopause: When Two Hormonal Conditions Overlap

    May 15, 2026 - By Dr. Pamela Frank, Naturopath

    If you have PCOS and are in your 40s, you are navigating one of the most underserved areas in women’s health: the convergence of two hormonal conditions that share symptoms, amplify each other’s risks: PCOS and Perimenopause. These two are rarely addressed together in a coherent clinical framework. PCOS does not disappear at menopause. It is a lifelong metabolic and hormonal condition. And perimenopause – the 4 to 10 year transition before your final menstrual period – brings its own set of hormonal disruptions that can overlap confusingly with PCOS, or actively worsen it. Understanding this overlap is essential for…

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  • picture of bowl with vitamins and magnesium for PCOS
    PCOS Treatment

    Magnesium and PCOS: Should You Take It, Which of The Five Types and How Much?

    May 14, 2026 - By Dr. Pamela Frank, Naturopath

    Magnesium and PCOS Magnesium is one of the most underappreciated nutrients in PCOS management. Women with PCOS are significantly more likely to have low serum magnesium than women without the condition – and this matters, because magnesium plays a direct, mechanistic role in insulin signalling, glucose metabolism, and the hormonal dysregulation that drives PCOS symptoms. In my clinical practice, measuring magnesium (and often finding it low or at the very bottom of the reference range) is a routine part of working with new PCOS patients. Correcting magnesium deficiency is not a dramatic intervention, but it is a foundational one –…

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    picture of a bowl with the supplement NAC for PCOS

    NAC for PCOS: The Evidence Behind This Underused Supplement

    June 15, 2026
    picture of a bowl of berberine for PCOS

    Berberine for PCOS: What Is It and How Does It Work?

    May 22, 2026
    picture of inositol supplements for PCOS containing myo-inositol and d-chiro-inositol

    Myo-Inositol vs D-Chiro-Inositol for PCOS: Which One Should You Take?

    May 10, 2026
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  • The Low-GI Diet for PCOS: What to Eat, What to Avoid, and Why It Works
  • Why PCOS Causes Weight Gain (And What Actually Helps With PCOS Belly Fat)
  • Getting Pregnant with PCOS: Fertility Challenges and Natural Treatment

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