5 Foods That Lower Testosterone in Women With PCOS

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There is some evidence that certain foods can lower testosterone levels in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Testosterone levels are typically high in people with PCOS, causing problems from increased body weight and acne to abnormal facial and body hair.

It is thought that certain foods have anti-androgenic effects, meaning the ability to reduce male hormones, including testosterone. This may help better manage a disorder that affects as many as five million females in the United States.

This article looks at five different foods that may help naturally lower testosterone if you have been diagnosed and have symptoms of PCOS.

Baked salmon with a lemon slice on top
Joe Biafore / E+ / Getty Images

A Note on Gender and Sex Terminology

Verywell Health acknowledges that sex and gender are related concepts, but they are not the same.

  • Sex refers to biology: chromosomal makeup, hormones, and anatomy. People are most often assigned male or female at birth based on their external anatomy; some people do not fit into that sex binary and are intersex.
  • Gender describes a person's internal sense of self as a woman, man, nonbinary person, or another gender, and the associated social and cultural ideas about roles, behaviors, expressions, and characteristics.

Research studies sometimes don't use the terminology in this way. For example, terms that describe gender (“woman,” “man”) may be used when terms for sex (“female,” “male”) are more appropriate. 

To reflect our sources accurately, this article uses terms like "female," "male," "woman," and "man" as the sources use them.

1:49

Click Play to Learn How to Lower Testosterone in Women Naturally

This video has been medically reviewed by Rochelle Collins, DO.

Vegetable Oils

Vegetable oils like canola, soybean, and corn oil are rich in polyunsaturated fat. Research has shown that these healthy dietary fats have the ability to lower testosterone.

With that said, most of the available research is limited to males, and there is a lack of studies devoted to the hormonal effects of polyunsaturated fat in females with PCOS.

For example, a 2017 study in the Asian Journal of Andrology found that a higher intake of polyunsaturated fats decreased total testosterone and free (circulating) testosterone levels in healthy males. It may be presumed to have the same effect in females, but more research is needed.

Of the available studies, a 2021 review published in Life Sciences suggested that the consumption of polyunsaturated fats may not only help decrease testosterone in people with PCOS but also regulate menstrual cycles and insulin sensitivity. This can lead to improved fertility and better control of type 2 diabetes, both of which are common in people with PCOS.

Flax Seeds

Certain types of seeds, such as flaxseed, may also be beneficial to PCOS given that they are among the richest food-based sources of polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Flax seeds are rich in a type fatty acid known as alpha-linolenic acid (ALA).

One small study published in the Nutrition Journal in 2020 reported that 30 grams of flaxseed powder per day improved cholesterol levels and significantly reduced insulin levels in women with PCOS—both of which are thought to be influenced by decreased testosterone levels induced by ALA. Flaxseed supplementation was also associated with an improvement in menstrual regularity and weight.

Fatty Fish

Fatty cold-water fish like salmon, herring, mackerel, tuna, and sardines are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, a type of polyunsaturated fat thought to be “heart-healthy.” Fish and oysters are by far the richest sources of omega-3.

A 2013 study published in the Iran Journal of Reproductive Medicine suggested that omega-3 can also lower testosterone in people with PCOS. For this study, 78 females with PCOS received a daily 3-gram dose of either an omega-3 supplement or a placebo (inert) supplement for 8 weeks.

Not only were testosterone levels lower in the omega-3 group, but those who took omega-3 were more than twice as likely to report regular menstrual periods (47.2% vs. 22.9%).

Dietary guidelines from the National Institutes of Health recommend eating two servings (3.5 ounces each) of cold-water fish per week.

Spearmint Tea

Some studies have suggested that certain teas or tea extracts may help improve PCOS symptoms. This is especially true of spearmint tea, which is known to have anti-androgenic effects.

An animal study published in 2020 reported that rats given a combination of spearmint extract and flaxseed extract not only lowered testosterone levels but also increased estrogen and progesterone levels. (Both of these may help normalize menstrual cycles and improve the odds of fertility in people with PCOS.)

Research in humans is currently limited. However, one 2010 study published in Phytotherapy Research reported that drinking spearmint tea twice a day for one month led to lower testosterone levels, as well as a reduction in the degree of self-reported hirsutism, in persons with PCOS.

Red Reishi Mushrooms

Some mushrooms have anti-androgenic effects. The most potent is the red reishi mushroom, known as lingzhi in traditional Chinese medicine.

Red reishi mushrooms appear to inhibit the activity of 5-alpha-reductase in the bloodstream. This is the enzyme that converts testosterone into a more potent form, known as dihydrotestosterone (DHT), that acts upon the liver, brain, skin, hair, and male sex organs.

High DHT levels can raise the risk of PCOS-related symptoms such as acne, hirsutism (excessive hair growth), and androgenic alopecia (male-pattern baldness).

Red reishi mushrooms, usually sold dried or in powdered form, can be found online and in supplement stores and some Asian food markets.

Summary

High testosterone is common in people with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and certain food have anti-androgenic properties that may help lower these levels. Doing so may improve symptoms of PCOS, including weight gain, acne, high blood sugar, excess facial hair, and irregular periods.

Although the evidence is far from conclusive, healthy polyunsaturated oils, flax seeds, fatty fish, spearmint tea, and a mushroom called red reishi may help lower testosterone in women with PCOS.

13 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
  1. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health. Polycystic ovary syndrome.

  2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Polycystic ovary disease (PCOS) and diabetes.

  3. Minguez-Alarcon L, Chavarro JE, Mendiola J, et al. Fatty acid intake in relation to reproductive hormones and testicular volume among young healthy men. Asian J Androl. 2017;19(2):184–90. doi:10.4103/1008-682X.190323

  4. Prabhu YD, Gopalakrishnana AV. Can polyunsaturated fatty acids regulate polycystic ovary syndrome via TGF-β signalling? Life Sci. 2021;276:119416. doi:10.1016/j.lfs.2021.119416

  5. Dodevska M, Markovic JK, Sofrenic I, et al. Similarities and differences in the nutritional composition of nuts and seeds in Serbia. Front Nutr. 2022;9:1003125. doi:10.3389/fnut.2022.1003125

  6. Haidari F, Banaei-Jahromi N, Zakerkish M, Ahmadi K. The effects of flaxseed supplementation on metabolic status in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: A randomized open-labeled controlled clinical trialNutr J. 2020;19(1):8. doi:10.1186/s12937-020-0524-5

  7. National Institutes of Health. Omega-3 fatty acids.

  8. Adjarzadeh A, Dehghani Firouzabadi R, Vaziri N, Daneshbodi H, Lotfi MH, Mozaffari-Khosravi H. The effect of omega-3 supplementation on androgen profile and menstrual status in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: A randomized clinical trialIran J Reprod Med. 2013;11(8):665-72.

  9. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Dietary guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025.

  10. Mehraban M, Jelodar G, Rahmanifar F. A combination of spearmint and flaxseed extract improved endocrine and histomorphology of ovary in experimental PCOSJ Ovarian Res. 2020;13:32. doi:10.1186/s13048-020-00633-8

  11. Grant P. Spearmint herbal tea has significant anti-androgen effects in polycystic ovarian syndrome. a randomized controlled trial: SPEARMINT AND HIRSUTISMPhytother Res. 2010;24(2):186-188. doi:10.1002/ptr.2900

  12. Cabeza M, Sánchez-Márquez A, Garrido M, Silva A, Bratoeff E. Recent advances in drug design and drug discovery for androgen- dependent diseasesCurr Med Chem. 2016;23(8):792-815. doi:10.2174/0929867323666160210125642

  13. Kumar H, Halder A, Sharma M, Jain M, Kalsi AK. Dihydrotestosterone—a potential biomarker of hyperandrogenaemia in polycystic ovary syndrome: a case-control study from North India. J Clin Diagn Res. 2022;16(2):QC09-QC14. doi:10.7860/JCDR/2022/51169.15962

Angela Grassi, MS, RDN, LDN

By Angela Grassi, MS, RDN, LDN
 Angela Grassi, MS, RDN, LDN, is the founder of the PCOS Nutrition Center.