How we score foods for PCOS (PMOS) eating

1. The short version

• Every food gets a score out of 100 and one of five words: Everyday, Most days, Sometimes, Once in a while or Rarely. The number and the word are one score: the word says which part of the 0 to 100 scale the food is in, the number says where it sits inside that part. Both rate the food’s overall nutrition per 100 g (per 100 mL for drinks).
• The base is a published nutrient-profiling method: our score is adapted from the 2023 update of the European front-of-pack nutrient-profiling algorithm published by Santé publique France ^[1]. Our documented changes count free sugars instead of all sugars, separate whole grains from refined ones, set limits for sugar, refined processed grain foods, processed and red meat and fried foods, and rate plain tea and coffee next to water.
• Then five rules take points off: added sugar, sugar-sweetened drinks, 100% juice, processed meat and drinks with non-sugar sweeteners. In packaged foods, additives count only when an official body has flagged them. All of these together leave at least a third of the number.
• A lower band doesn’t rule a food out. Numbers within about 5 points of each other are the same in practice.
• With every score you see the top reasons behind it, a short label for each rule that lowered it, any badges and where the data came from. “Why this score?” shows how the number was worked out and a note for each rule, with the guideline or official classification behind it.
• No glycemic-index numbers, no ratings for additives without an official flag, and no “hormone”, “inflammation” or “insulin response” scores.
• The same food with the same data always gets the same score. No AI model invents it.
• It is general information, not medical advice.

2. What the score is, and what it isn’t

The score describes a food, not you and not your diet. It answers one question: how does this food’s overall nutrition compare, using rules that put extra weight on fiber, free sugars and whole grains?

It doesn’t measure how your body responds to a food, it isn’t based on your lab results or medicines, and one food doesn’t make a diet. A food marked Rarely can still be part of healthy eating, and no single food treats PCOS (PMOS).

Healthy eating, as part of a healthy lifestyle, may help you live well with PCOS. The 2023 International PCOS Guideline recommends healthy eating in line with general population guidance for everyone with PCOS ^[2]. That’s why the score is built on a general nutrient-profiling method rather than on a special “PCOS diet”: no diet has been shown to be better than another for PCOS (section 12).

3. The score out of 100 and the five words

• Everyday
• Most days
• Sometimes
• Once in a while
• Rarely

The words describe how often a food fits well in an everyday pattern of eating, judged by its overall nutrition. They are not rules about what you may eat. There are no A-to-E letters and no traffic-light colors, and the word is always written out next to the number, because color alone shouldn’t carry meaning.

What the number means

Each word covers a fixed part of the 0 to 100 scale: Everyday 85 to 100, Most days 70 to 84, Sometimes 50 to 69, Once in a while 30 to 49 and Rarely 0 to 29. Inside its part, a food’s place is set by its points (section 4), in equal steps between the published cut-offs for its category: the fewer points a food collects, the higher its number. So two foods with the same word can still differ, and the number shows which one sits closer to the next word up.

The number and the word always agree. When one of our changes moves a food to a lower word (section 5), the food keeps its relative place inside that word’s part of the scale: white rice, at the bottom of Everyday by its points, is at the bottom of Most days (70), and Medjool dates, a little higher, are 76. Then the points off (section 6) and the additives (section 7) can lower the number further, and the word is read from the final number, so a food can move into a lower word. Plain tea and coffee are 95 and plain water is 100. A higher number means the food fits everyday eating better; it says nothing about you.

Food data are less precise than a number out of 100 suggests: US labels may state up to 20% less of a nutrient than the food really has, and the same food varies from sample to sample. So numbers within about 5 points of each other are the same in practice. Compare similar foods, per 100 g.

What each word means, the part of the 0 to 100 score it covers, and the points (section 4) it covers in each category:

Cheese and red-meat products use the cut-offs for general foods. Among drinks, only plain water, and plain tea or coffee, are rated Everyday.

4. How the points are worked out

We compute the published algorithm for foods ^[1] and drinks ^[3] ourselves, from each food’s own nutrient data. A food collects points against it for energy, sugars, saturated fat and salt, and points for it for protein, fiber, and fruit, vegetables and legumes.

One point for each threshold the value is above (for the saturated-fat share: at or above). Energy in kJ (kcal x 4.184); salt = sodium x 2.5. Per 100 g, or 100 ml for drinks.

The tables below are for general foods.

Points against

Points for

Putting them together

• Points against, minus points for, gives the food's points total. Fewer points is better.
• Protein points count only while the "less favourable" points are below 11 (7 for fats, oils, nuts and seeds); for cheese and drinks protein always counts; red meat protein points stop at 2.
• The points total then gives the word and the number out of 100, with the cut-offs and ranges in section 3.

Each food is first placed in one of 6 categories, which the published algorithm handles differently:

• General foods: All foods not in another group, including poultry, fish, eggs, yogurt, grains, fruit, vegetables, legumes, sauces and mixed dishes.
• Fats, oils, nuts and seeds: Oils, butter, margarine and other fats; nuts, peanuts, seeds and their butters. Scored on energy from saturated fat and the share of saturated fat in the fat. Olive, canola (rapeseed) and walnut oils count toward fruit, vegetables and legumes, as in the published method.
• Cheese: Cheese, including cream cheese and cottage cheese. Protein always counts.
• Red meat and red-meat products: Beef, pork, lamb, veal, goat, game and their products (bacon, ham, sausages). Protein points stop at 2.
• Drinks: Drinks, including milk, plant drinks, juices, tea and coffee. Drinks have their own stricter tables, and only plain water, and plain tea or coffee (step 4i), can be Everyday.
• Plain water: Plain still, sparkling or mineral water. Always Everyday (100).

5. Our changes to the base method

Each of our changes is a change the algorithm’s own scientific committee discussed, a limit taken from WHO or national guidance, or our own choice, and each one says which. The limits only ever lower the best word a food can reach, and a lower band doesn’t rule a food out. After the limits come the points off (section 6) and, for packaged foods, the additives (section 7).

1. Free sugars instead of total sugars

   In the sugar line we count free sugars, not total sugars: added sugars, plus the sugars in honey, syrups, fruit and vegetable juices, purées and pastes, plus all the sugar in drinks other than milk drinks. Sugar inside whole fruit and vegetables (fresh, frozen, dried or canned), milk sugar in plain milk and yogurt, and sugar in grains do not count. When a packaged food lists no added sugar and its ingredients contain sugar, we count its total sugar and say so; fruit or vegetables packed in juice count about 40% of their sugar (the juice part), as an estimate. US labels leave fruit juice out of "added sugars", so juice sugar is added back where the data shows it (foods made of juice or purée, such as applesauce and fruit pulps, products whose first ingredient is a juice or purée, recipes), and when a juice or juice concentrate is one of a product's first three ingredients the band is marked estimated if the juice sugar could change it.

   Sourced definitions; applying them per food is our choice. Sources: ^{[4] [5] [6] [1] [7]}

   Fruit and plain dairy are no longer marked down for their natural sugar; foods with added sugar still are. The scientific committee behind the published algorithm called this change “quite relevant from a scientific perspective” but could not adopt it under EU labeling rules ^[1]. US labels have listed added sugars since 2020 ^[6], but they leave fruit juice out, so we add juice sugar back where the data shows it, as a 2020 study of carbohydrate quality did ^[7]. Free-sugar definitions follow WHO ^[4] and the UK nutrient profiling model ^[5].

2. Limits

   Each rule in this step sets the best word a food can reach; a food gets the lowest word any rule sets, never a better one than its points give. A lower band doesn't rule a food out.

   Our choice.

3. Starchy staples

   A grain food (bread, cereal, pasta, rice and other grains, flour, crackers, grain snacks), or a food that is mainly white potato, cassava, taro or yam, can be Everyday only if it is whole grain (whole grain is its first grain ingredient; for recipes, at least half the grain is whole grain) or it has at least 1 g of fiber per 10 g of carbohydrate. Otherwise its best band is Most days. Sweet potato counts as a vegetable, not a staple.

   Whole grains and the 10:1 ratio are sourced; adding white potato, cassava, taro and yam and the 50% recipe share are our choice. Sources: ^{[1] [8] [7] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]}

   Whole grains carry strong evidence in the general population ^{[11] [12]}. Among the whole-grain criteria compared in a study of 545 grain products, the 10:1 carbohydrate-to-fiber ratio identified the most healthful products ^[8], and a later study of 2,208 products found similar results ^[7]. White potato, cassava, taro and yam are added because they are eaten as staples in place of grains; that is our own choice and the evidence is weak: in a 2025 analysis, boiled, baked and mashed potatoes were not linked to type 2 diabetes ^[13]. The “at least half” share is our own choice.

4. Free-sugar ladder

   Everyday needs free sugars at or under 10% of the food's energy (grams x 4 kcal / kcal per 100 g) and at or under 5 g per 100 g (2.5 g per 100 ml for drinks). Over either, the best band is Most days; when total sugar stands in for an added-sugar value the label does not list, the gram limit alone does not lower the band. Over both, the best band is Sometimes, except a food (not a drink) whose free sugar comes only from fruit or vegetable juice or purée, whose best band is Most days.

   The 10% level is the WHO recommendation and 5 g is the EU and UK "low sugar" level; applying them per food and the two steps are our choice. Sources: ^{[4] [14] [15] [16] [17]}

   WHO strongly recommends keeping free sugars below 10% of energy intake ^[4], and the Pan American Health Organization applies the same 10% to single products ^[14]. 5 g per 100 g is the UK and EU “low sugar” level ^{[15] [16]}. The two steps and the exception for juice and purée in foods are our own choice; the 2025–2030 US guidelines also ask people to limit added sugar and juice ^[17].

5. Sweetened-drink limit

   A drink with non-sugar sweeteners gets 4 extra points (as in the published 2023 drinks update) and is Sometimes at best.

   The 4 points are sourced; the band limit is our choice. Sources: ^{[18] [19] [3]}

   WHO advises against using non-sugar sweeteners for weight control (a conditional recommendation) ^[18], and the 2023 update of the published algorithm aims to limit swapping sugar for sweeteners in drinks ^[19]. Where the cap sits is our own choice.

6. Industrial trans fat

   Partially hydrogenated oil in the ingredients, or industrial trans fat above 1 g per 100 g of fat (counted from 0.3 g per 100 g of food, in processed foods without dairy, beef, lamb or other animal fat, whose trans fat is natural), puts the food in Rarely.

   The 1 g per 100 g of fat limit is sourced; the 0.3 g floor and the food classes are our choice. Sources: ^{[20] [21]}

   This follows the WHO Europe nutrient profile model ^[20] and WHO’s guidance on trans fat ^[21]. The 0.3 g floor is our own choice.

7. Concentrated sugar

   A food with more than 22.5 g of sugar per 100 g (the UK "high" level), such as dried fruit, is Most days at best. Its reason says how much sugar a 30 g portion has (the usual portion of dried fruit). A dried fruit whose sugar value is missing counts too.

   The 22.5 g level and the 30 g portion are sourced; the limit is our choice (the evidence on outcomes is insufficient). Sources: ^{[15] [22] [17]}

   22.5 g of sugar per 100 g is the UK front-of-pack “high” level ^[15], and 30 g is the usual portion of dried fruit ^[22]. The studies on dried fruit and health outcomes are not enough to say more, so the limit stops at the second word; it is our own choice.

8. Processed meat

   Processed meat (meat preserved by salting, smoking, fermenting or added nitrite or nitrate, from any animal, poultry included: bacon, ham, sausages, hot dogs, salami, deli meats, jerky) is Once in a while at best. Fish, plant-based products, fresh cuts and mixed dishes are not counted.

   Cancer: IARC Group 1 (strong); type 2 diabetes: moderate; the band is our choice. Sources: ^{[23] [24] [25] [26]}

   The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies processed meat as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1) ^[23], and the World Cancer Research Fund advises eating very little, if any ^[24]. In 1.97 million adults, each 50 g a day of processed meat was linked to a 15% higher risk of type 2 diabetes ^[25]. The word it stops at is our own choice.

9. Red meat

   Unprocessed red meat (beef, pork, lamb, veal, goat and game; offal included) is Most days at best.

   Moderate to weak evidence; US guidelines set no limit, WCRF and the NHS do; the band is our choice (2026-10-15). Sources: ^{[24] [26] [25] [17]}

   The World Cancer Research Fund advises no more than about 350 to 500 g of cooked red meat a week ^[24] and the NHS about 70 g a day ^[26]; the 2025–2030 US guidelines set no limit ^[17]. The evidence is moderate to weak, so red meat stops at the second word; this is our choice.

10. Fried potatoes

    Fried potato products (french fries, hash browns, tater tots, potato chips and crisps, from white or sweet potato) are Once in a while at best. Boiled, baked and roasted potatoes are not counted.

    Moderate evidence (fries, not boiled or baked potatoes); the band is our choice. Sources: ^{[13] [27] [17]}

    In large US cohorts, three servings of french fries a week were linked to a 20% higher risk of type 2 diabetes, while boiled, baked or mashed potatoes were not ^[13]; an umbrella review points the same way ^[27]. The word it stops at is our own choice.

11. Plain tea and coffee

    Plain tea, herbal tea and black coffee (no sugar, no non-sugar sweetener, no milk or cream; at most 10 kcal and 0.5 g of sugar per 100 ml) are Everyday, with the number 95 (plain water is 100). Tea and coffee with caffeine carry a "Contains caffeine" badge.

    Coffee: moderate, tea: weak evidence (lower type 2 diabetes risk in cohort studies); dietary guidance names them next to water; the number 95 is our choice. Sources: ^{[28] [29] [17]}

    Coffee drinkers have a lower risk of type 2 diabetes in cohort studies (moderate evidence; weaker for tea) ^[28], and dietary guidance names water, tea and coffee as the drinks to choose ^[29]. 95 is our own choice.

12. Refined, processed grain foods

    A grain food that fails rule 4a (not whole grain and under 1 g of fiber per 10 g of carbohydrate) and is not a plain cooked grain is Sometimes at best: white bread, rolls and bagels, flour tortillas, crackers, ready-to-eat and other packaged breakfast cereals and bars, pancakes and waffles, bakery items and grain snacks. Plain white rice, pasta, noodles, couscous and grits keep Most days (rule 4a); flours, meals and mixes, corn tortillas, filled doughs and mixed dishes are not counted.

    The US Dietary Guidelines 2025-2030 advise significantly reducing these foods by name; the band is our choice (score v2, 2026-10-16). Sources: ^[17]

    The 2025–2030 US guidelines advise significantly reducing highly processed, refined carbohydrates and name white bread, ready-to-eat or packaged breakfast options, flour tortillas and crackers ^[17]. They do not name plain rice or pasta, and no PCOS-specific evidence singles them out, so those keep the starchy-staple limit. The word it stops at is our own choice.

13. Deep-fried foods

    Deep-fried, battered or breaded-and-fried foods (fried chicken and fish, doughnuts, fritters, onion rings, tempura, corn dogs, churros, and packaged foods whose ingredients say they were fried in oil) are Once in a while at best, as fried potatoes are (4h). Stir-fried, pan-fried, oven-fried and air-fried foods, fried rice, refried beans and eggs are not counted.

    Moderate observational evidence (fried food and heart disease); the US Dietary Guidelines 2025-2030 advise swapping deep-frying for other methods; the band is our choice (score v2, 2026-10-16). Sources: ^{[17] [30]}

    The 2025–2030 US guidelines advise swapping deep-fried cooking for baking, broiling, roasting, stir-frying or grilling ^[17]. In a meta-analysis of observational studies, eating the most fried food was linked to more heart disease ^[30]. The word it stops at is our own choice.

Apart from these changes, the score is never more lenient than the published algorithm.

6. Points off: the PCOS deductions

Some foods sit in a word that their nutrition allows, yet general guidance asks people to have them less often: foods and drinks with added sugar, 100% juice, processed meat and drinks with non-sugar sweeteners. For these, points come off the number out of 100 after the limits. Each amount comes from a published level; how many points each one takes is our own choice.

After the limits, five rules take points off the number out of 100. They come on top of the limits, so a food can move down inside its word or into a lower one. Plain water, tea and coffee are never touched.

7. Additives an official body has flagged

We count an additive only when an official body has acted on it: a regulator removed it from food or found it not safe or not appropriate for food (tier 1), or the International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies it as probably or possibly carcinogenic when eaten, or EU law makes foods with it carry a warning (tier 2). There is no PCOS-specific evidence about additives; they count because general guidance and regulators name them, and we say which body said what. Precautionary lists from other apps are not used.

Packaged foods only, read from the ingredient list (names, synonyms, and E and INS numbers) and from Open Food Facts additive tags. Only additives that a regulator removed from food, found not safe or not appropriate for food, or that IARC classifies as probably or possibly carcinogenic when eaten, or that EU law makes carry a warning, are counted. Tier 1: the number is at most 49 (the top of Once in a while). Tier 2: 10 points per flagged family, at most 20 per food; nitrite is not counted again on processed meat. A negation ("no aspartame") and an additive added only to the packaging do not count. Each additive, its tier, its official flag and its sources are published with this method.

Only additives an official body has flagged count, and only in packaged foods (USDA single foods and recipes have no ingredient label). Everything else, including additives some apps rate as risky on a precautionary basis, is left out of the score.

Tier 1: The number is at most 49 (the top of Once in a while)

Tier 2: 10 points per flagged family, at most 20 per food. Nitrite is not counted again on processed meat

Not counted, and why

• Caramel colour. Its concern (4-MEI, IARC Group 2B) applies only to classes III and IV, and US labels never say which class is used.
• BHT and azodicarbonamide. The FDA opened reviews in 2026; there is no official flag yet.
• TBHQ. No official flag found.
• Sucralose and acesulfame K. The sweetened-drink rules (4c, 9e) already cover non-sugar sweeteners in drinks; no IARC classification.
• MSG, phosphates, carrageenan, sulphites, benzoates, sorbates and emulsifiers. No regulator ban, IARC Group 2A or 2B classification or warning label for adults.

Read from the US ingredient statement (names, synonyms, E and INS numbers) and Open Food Facts additive tags. Reading 412 matches by hand found 1 false positive, since fixed; the reading finds 96.6% of the additives Open Food Facts tags. Celery powder or juice counts as a nitrite source only in processed meat, or when the label says "uncured".

Every flag is official (EU, FDA, JECFA, IARC, EU labelling law); the tiers and points are our choice (score v2, 2026-10-16).

8. The floor, the final word and the notes

All deductions together (the PCOS deductions and the additives) leave at least one third of the number after the limits, so no food reaches 0 through deductions alone and the order among foods in the lowest word is kept. The tier-1 additive limit (49) applies after the floor.

The word is read from the final number (Everyday 85-100, Most days 70-84, Sometimes 50-69, Once in a while 30-49, Rarely 0-29), so the two always agree. Each rule that lowered the score adds a short note: the rule's name, the food's own numbers where the rule has them, and the guideline or official classification behind the rule, with its source. The app shows the first 2 as labels under the score, such as "PCOS · Sugary drink" for a food rule and "Additive · Titanium dioxide" for an additive (a tier-1 additive first, then the largest PCOS deductions, then the limits, then tier-2 additives). "Why this score?" shows how the number was worked out, with only the rules that changed it, and every note. A lower band doesn't rule a food out.

Notes

Each rule that lowered a food’s score adds a note. The app shows the first 2 as labels under the score, PCOS · … for the food rules and Additive · … for additives, in this order: tier-1 additives first, then the PCOS deductions by size, then the limits that lowered the score, then tier-2 additives (a family not counted, such as nitrite in processed meat, last). “Why this score?” lists them all.

Each note has a short name, one line of about 20 words with the food's own numbers where the rule has them and what the guideline or official body says, attributed to it, and its source. Notes never say a food is bad, unsafe or to be avoided, and make no claim about hormones, insulin or inflammation.

Why this score?

Every food in the app comes with “Why this score?”: the number from its nutrition, then only the rules that changed it (a limit that set its word, each deduction and flagged additive with its points, the floor when it held the number, the tier-1 additive limit), the final number, and a note for each rule. The same rules apply to every food and every brand.

9. Reasons and badges

Each word comes with up to three reasons in plain words: the facts that mattered most for that food. Badges add facts too, and never change the word.

Examples of the reasons you may see:

• Industrial trans fat: contains partially hydrogenated oil. Versions without it can rate higher.
• Processed meat: Once in a while at best. Unprocessed poultry, fish or meat can rate higher.
• Fried potato: Once in a while at best. Boiled or baked potatoes can rate higher.
• Deep-fried: Once in a while at best. Baked, grilled or roasted versions can rate higher.
• Refined, processed grain food: Sometimes at best. Whole-grain versions can rate higher.
• Added sugar: 25% of its energy (6.7 g per 100 g). Under 10% of its energy, or 5 g or less, it can be Most days. (When the free-sugar rule sets the word; otherwise a fact such as "Added sugar is 45% of its energy (18 g per 100 g)")
• Non-sugar sweeteners: drinks with them are Sometimes at best. Unsweetened drinks can rate higher.
• Red meat: Most days at best. Poultry, fish, eggs or beans can be Everyday.
• Concentrated sugar: 66 g per 100 g, about 20 g in a 30 g portion. Fresh fruit and vegetables can be Everyday.
• Refined grain: under 1 g fiber per 10 g carbs. Whole-grain versions can be Everyday.
• Starchy vegetable: under 1 g fiber per 10 g carbs. With 1 g or more per 10 g it can be Everyday.
• Plain tea: no sugar, sweetener or milk
• High in saturated fat: 21 g per 100 g
• High in sodium: 720 mg per 100 g
• Energy-dense: 520 kcal per 100 g (The only calorie-language reason; always ranked last; the app may hide it on the not-weight-focused path)
• Among drinks, only water and plain tea or coffee are rated Everyday
• Whole grain
• High in fiber: 7.9 g per 100 g ("High in fiber" or "Source of fiber" only when both the EU level per 100 g and the US level per serving are met; otherwise "Fiber: ...")
• Protein: 20 g per 100 g
• Mostly fruit, vegetables or legumes
• Mostly unsaturated fat (14% saturated)
• Its sugar is natural, not added (12 g per 100 g)
• Low in saturated fat, sodium and added sugar
• No added sugar
• Plain water
• Not enough nutrition data to score this food.
• Sodium is missing.
• The nutrition data for this food looks wrong, so it is not scored.
• Alcoholic drinks are not scored.

Badges

• Whole grain Whole grain is the first grain ingredient (for recipes: at least half of the grain is whole grain).
• High fiber At least 6 g of fiber per 100 g ^[16], and at least 20% of the 28 g Daily Value in a serving ^[50] (the US reference amount for that kind of food ^[51], or the label serving).
• Source of fiber At least 3 g of fiber per 100 g ^[16], and at least 10% of the Daily Value in a serving ^[50].
• Added sugar How many grams of added or free sugar the food has per 100 g, and what share of its energy that is. When a label doesn’t list added sugar, the badge says so.
• Contains sweeteners Non-sugar sweeteners appear in the ingredients.
• Contains caffeine Tea and coffee (not herbal or decaffeinated), cola and energy drinks, and any food whose ingredients list caffeine, guarana, yerba mate or a coffee or tea extract.
• Ultra-processed (NOVA 4) When Open Food Facts records NOVA group 4 for the product ^[52].
• Low-carb food Under 5 g of carbohydrate per 100 g, not counting fiber.
• Industrial trans fat The food meets the industrial trans fat rule in our changes above.

Fiber levels are EU and US claim levels; servings are the US reference amounts or the label serving; the low-carb level is our choice. Sources: ^{[16] [50] [51] [53]}

10. When data is missing

If a nutrient the score needs on the "less favourable" side (energy, saturated fat, salt, sugar) is missing and could change the band, the food is not scored ("not enough data"). If fiber, protein, whole-grain status or the added-sugar line is missing and could change the band, the band is shown as estimated, using the less favourable reading. If both fiber and protein are missing and either could change the band, the food is not scored. A gap that cannot change the band is not flagged.

Where free-sugar values come from

• Packaged foods: the label's added sugars; plus the total sugar when a juice, purée or concentrate is the first ingredient or the product is a fruit purée, pulp or applesauce (an all-fruit one also gets the fruit credit); drinks other than milk drinks: total sugar.
• Packaged foods without an added-sugar line: 0 when the ingredient list has no sugar, syrup, honey, juice or purée of any kind (US labels must list every ingredient); fruit or vegetables packed in juice with no other sugar or sweetener: about 40% of the sugar (the juice part), estimated, as for USDA rows; otherwise the total sugar, shown as estimated when it matters.
• USDA survey foods (FNDDS): added sugars from the USDA Food Patterns Equivalents Database.
• USDA single foods (SR Legacy, Foundation): added sugars from USDA's pattern databases where available; plain single foods have none; sugars, syrups, honey and jams count in full; fruit and vegetable juices, purées and pastes count in full; fruit and vegetables canned in juice count about 40% of their sugar (the juice part), shown as estimated.
• USDA single foods whose description says no sugar was added ("without added sugar", "no sugar added") have none: under US rules that claim means no sugars or sugar-containing ingredients were added (21 CFR 101.60), so their sugar is the food's own (score v2; before it, stewed prunes were held at Sometimes by their total sugar). A description that names a separate sweet part, such as a sauce or a cone, keeps the total-sugar reading.

Values we work out from the rest of the label

• Sugar, fiber and saturated fat are 0 when their parent (carbohydrate or fat) is 0.
• Sodium is read as 0 in foods that are at least 98 g fat per 100 g (pure fats).
• Plain single oils whose USDA record lists only the fatty acids are completed as 884 kcal and 100 g fat per 100 g, as every other USDA oil record reads.
• Energy, when missing, is estimated from protein, carbohydrate and fat (4/4/9 kcal per g, fiber 2) and the band is shown as estimated if that could change it.

Foods we don’t score

• Alcoholic drinks are not scored.
• Baby foods and infant formula are not scored.
• Supplements are not scored.
• Herbs, spices, salt and baking ingredients are used in small amounts, so they are not scored.
• Table-top sweeteners are used in small amounts, so they are not scored.
• Chewing gum is not scored.
• Mixes and concentrates are scored as prepared, and this entry describes the dry or concentrated product, so it is not scored.
• Tea and coffee are scored as brewed drinks, and this entry describes the dry product, so it is not scored.

Meals logged from a photo

An AI model identifies the foods in the photo and estimates the amounts. Each food is then matched to a food in our database and scored by the same rules as everything else. The identification and the amounts are estimates, so check them before you save.

11. What we leave out, and why

Glycemic index (GI) numbers

We don’t show GI or glycemic-load numbers, and the score doesn’t use them. First, the evidence: in PCOS, low-GI diets have been tested in about ten small trials with roughly 400 women in total, with high dropout, and with energy restriction and weight loss mixed into several of them ^[54]. The 2023 guideline makes no recommendation about GI ^[2]. Published GI values also vary widely, even within one kind of food such as whole-grain cereals ^[55]. Second, the data: we found no openly licensed, reliable GI database that an app may use.

Instead, the score looks at carbohydrate quality that can be read from a food’s own data: whole grains, fiber compared with carbohydrate, and free sugars (section 5).

Additives without an official flag

Some apps mark foods down for long lists of additives, often on a precautionary basis. We count only the additives in section 7, each with the official action behind it, and leave the rest out of the score: caramel color, BHT, TBHQ, MSG, phosphates, carrageenan, sulphites, benzoates, sorbates and emulsifiers have no regulator ban, IARC classification or warning label for adults. We show the facts instead: the ingredients list and, where Open Food Facts records it, the NOVA processing group as a badge.

“Hormone”, “inflammation” and “insulin response” scores

There is no validated way to score a single food for its effect on hormones, inflammation or insulin, so we don’t pretend to. Chickpea never shows a number that looks like a measurement of your body.

Penalties for dairy, soy or gluten

The evidence in PCOS is not enough to mark these foods down, so the score handles them like any other food. If you leave them out by choice or for a medical reason, set that in your preferences and your meal plans will follow it.

A protein bonus

Higher-protein eating patterns have been studied in PCOS, but the evidence is weak. Protein counts exactly as it does in the base method, with no extra bonus.

Personal adjustments from lab results or medicines

The score is the same for everyone. Adjusting it to your lab results or medicines would turn general information into medical advice, which is your clinician’s job.

12. What the 2023 PCOS guideline says

The 2023 International Evidence-based Guideline for the Assessment and Management of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome was developed by an international network led by Monash University ^{[2] [56]}. It uses the name PCOS; the condition was renamed PMOS in 2026 ^[57]. On diet, it says:

“Healthcare professionals and women should consider that there is no evidence to support any 1 type of diet composition over another for anthropometric, metabolic, hormonal, reproductive, or psychological outcomes.”

Recommendation 3.3.1: evidence-based, conditional, very low certainty of evidence.

Very low certainty reflects a lack of good comparative trials. It is not proof that all diets are equal. The guideline goes on:

“Any diet composition consistent with population guidelines for healthy eating will have health benefits and, within this, healthcare professionals should advise sustainable healthy eating tailored to individual preferences and goals.”

Recommendation 3.3.2: consensus recommendation.

“There are benefits to a healthy lifestyle even in the absence of weight loss.”

Practice point 3.1.5.

The guideline authors’ own summary puts it simply: for diet and exercise, “there is no one superior approach” ^[58].

13. Versions and corrections

This page is built from the same rules file the app’s score engine uses (rule version pcos-score@2.0.0). You can download the rules as JSON.

When we change a rule, the version number changes and this page is updated. Every score in the app records the rule version that produced it.

The score is our opinion, based on the method on this page. The same rules apply to every food and every brand; no manufacturer pays us, and we don’t send alerts about brands. Product data come from labels, which change: the app shows the date of the label behind a packaged food’s data.

If you think a score or a product’s data is wrong, use “Report a problem with this score” on the food in the app, or email support@joinchickpea.com with the food name or barcode. If the data came from Open Food Facts, we’ll also report it there, so it gets fixed for everyone.

14. Sources

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2. Teede HJ, Tay CT, Laven JJE, et al. Recommendations from the 2023 International Evidence-based Guideline for the Assessment and Management of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2023;108(10):2447–2469. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10505534 Open access, CC BY-NC 4.0. Also published in Human Reproduction, Fertility and Sterility and the European Journal of Endocrinology.
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