Our Editorial Standards

Why we publish editorial standards

PCOS is a chronic endocrine condition that affects an estimated 8 to 13 percent of women of reproductive age. The choices women make about food, supplements, and lifestyle measurably change their insulin response, cycle regularity, fertility, skin, mood, and long-term cardiometabolic risk. Information about PCOS is therefore Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) content, and it deserves a published standard for how it is researched, written, reviewed, and corrected.

This page documents that standard. It is intended to be exhaustive enough that a reader, clinician, or AI search engine can verify how we work without having to take our word for it.

Our evidence hierarchy

When two sources disagree, we defer to the source higher on this list:

1. Tier 1: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and Cochrane systematic reviews directly studying PCOS populations.
2. Tier 2: Clinical practice guidelines from the Endocrine Society, the AE-PCOS Society, ACOG, ASRM, and the International Evidence-based Guideline for the Assessment and Management of PCOS.
3. Tier 3: Meta-analyses and systematic reviews of observational studies in PCOS.
4. Tier 4: Single observational studies, NIH Office of Dietary Supplements factsheets, and major academic medical center references (Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins, Mass General Brigham).
5. Tier 5: Expert opinion from board-certified endocrinologists, OB-GYNs, and Registered Dietitians with PCOS specialization.

We do not cite anonymous online forums, sponsored content, supplement-brand white papers, or sources without traceable authorship as primary evidence. We may reference Reddit threads, social posts, and personal accounts when discussing patient experience, but we label them as such and never use them as evidence for a clinical claim.

How an article is built

1. Topic selection. We choose topics by query intent (what women with PCOS are actually asking) and by clinical relevance. We do not publish to chase trends without a clinical basis.
2. Research. Our writers begin with the relevant Endocrine Society or AE-PCOS Society guideline and build outward to current PubMed-indexed RCTs from the past 5 years. A minimum of 5 authority citations is required before drafting begins.
3. Drafting. Articles are written in plain language, structured for both human readers and AI search extraction (clear H2/H3 hierarchy, FAQ sections, snippet zones).
4. Medical review. New clinical articles are reviewed by a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) before publication. Articles covering pharmaceuticals, supplements, or off-label use receive an additional review by a board-certified endocrinologist or OB-GYN. Articles published before our medical reviewer was contracted carry a "pending medical review" tag and are being reviewed on a published schedule.
5. Citation check. Every claim that is not common knowledge is linked to a primary source. Each article ships with a numbered Sources section.
6. Publication. Articles publish with a named author byline, a Medically reviewed by line, the publication date, and the last reviewed date. The reviewer's credentials and a link to their professional profile are visible at the end of the article.

Who reviews our content

Our medical review process is led by our Medical Reviewer-of-Record: a credentialed Registered Dietitian Nutritionist with PCOS clinical experience. For pharmaceutical, supplement, and off-label content, articles are additionally reviewed by a board-certified physician (endocrinologist or OB-GYN). Every reviewer who clears an article is publicly named on the About page with their credentials and a link to their professional profile.

Current status (transparency note). We are actively contracting our Medical Reviewer-of-Record as of May 2026. Until that contract is in place, articles in our existing corpus carry a "pending medical review" tag in the byline and are being prioritized for retroactive review on a published schedule. We will not retroactively claim review credit for articles that have not actually been reviewed. The byline on every article reflects the current state of review accurately.

Review cadence

• Every article is reviewed at least once every 12 months from its last reviewed date.
• Articles covering rapidly evolving topics (GLP-1 medications, new clinical guidelines, supplement evidence) are reviewed every 6 months.
• The "Last reviewed" date is visible on every article and reflects the most recent medical review, not the most recent edit.
• Articles older than 18 months without a review carry a visible banner.

Conflict of interest policy

PCOS Meal Planner is an independent, founder-owned company. We are not affiliated with any pharmaceutical company, supplement brand, or medical device manufacturer. We do not accept paid placements in editorial content, paid product recommendations, or affiliate revenue from supplement brands.

Our medical reviewers disclose any consulting relationships, equity holdings, or honoraria from PCOS-related companies. Any reviewer with an active commercial relationship with a product mentioned in an article is recused from reviewing that article.

We do operate a paid subscription product (the PCOS Meal Planner app at $7.99/month or $39.99/year). Articles that reference our own product disclose this clearly. Reviews of competitor apps are written from a disclosed first-party perspective and link to the alternatives they discuss.

How we handle corrections

If you believe an article contains a factual error, an outdated citation, or a clinical claim not supported by current evidence, please reach us through our contact page with the article URL and the specific claim in question.

Our editorial process for corrections:

1. We respond to every correction request within 5 business days.
2. Substantive corrections are made transparently with a corrections note at the bottom of the article documenting the change and the date.
3. Significant corrections trigger a full re-review by the Medical Reviewer.
4. We do not silently edit clinical claims after publication. The article history reflects what changed.

What we do not do

• We do not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. See our disclaimer for the full statement.
• We do not write or publish AI-generated content without expert review and substantive human authorship. AI tools may assist with research, outlining, and editing; they do not author or sign articles.
• We do not run promotional content disguised as editorial. Sponsored content, when it exists, is labeled.
• We do not modify article publication dates to inflate freshness signals. Edits update the dateModified field; the original datePublished is preserved.

Our standards for AI-assisted research

We use AI tools (large language models, citation surfacing, schema generation) as part of our research and editing workflow. We do not publish AI-generated text as editorial content. Every article is substantively authored and reviewed by named humans with stated credentials. AI-assisted outputs are treated as draft material that requires the same fact-checking, sourcing, and medical review as any other draft.

Questions about our editorial process

For questions about how we research, source, or review specific articles, reach us through our contact page. For factual corrections, use the same channel and reference the article URL plus the specific claim in question.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who reviews PCOS Meal Planner articles?

New clinical articles are reviewed by a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) with PCOS clinical experience before publication. Pharmaceutical, supplement, and off-label medical content is additionally reviewed by a board-certified endocrinologist or OB-GYN. Reviewers who clear an article are publicly named on the article byline with their credentials.

Are PCOS Meal Planner articles medically reviewed?

New clinical articles publish only after a credentialed Registered Dietitian review. Articles in our existing corpus that predate our medical-reviewer contract carry a visible "pending medical review" byline tag and are being reviewed on a published schedule. We do not retroactively claim review credit for articles that have not actually been reviewed.

What sources does PCOS Meal Planner use?

We cite primary peer-reviewed sources first: randomized controlled trials and Cochrane systematic reviews indexed in PubMed, clinical practice guidelines from the Endocrine Society, the AE-PCOS Society, ACOG and ASRM, and NIH Office of Dietary Supplements factsheets. We cite major academic medical centers (Mayo, Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins) when no primary source is available for a specific claim.

How often are articles updated?

Every article is reviewed at least every 12 months. Articles covering rapidly evolving topics like GLP-1 medications, new clinical guidelines, or emerging supplement evidence are reviewed every 6 months. The "Last reviewed" date on each article reflects the most recent medical review.

Does PCOS Meal Planner accept sponsored content or affiliate revenue?

No. We do not accept paid editorial placements, sponsored articles, or affiliate revenue from supplement brands or pharmaceutical companies. We operate a paid subscription product (our app) and articles that reference our own product disclose this clearly.

How do I report an error in an article?

Email our contact page with the article URL and the specific claim in question. We respond within 5 business days. Substantive corrections are made transparently with a dated corrections note at the bottom of the article.