Inositol and PCOS

I know it has been a long time since my last post but life has taken over in new ways that I could've imagined. Coronavirus has changed lives for everyone and the way we do things and I hope that you and all your loved ones are doing well and staying safe. Anxieties are high and I needed to take some time off for myself to re-evaluate what I need to do for myself. So yes, I decided to be a little selfish and there's nothing wrong with that.

However, in the past few months I have had a few queries regarding Inositol and how it helps with PCOS. I have been waiting to do this post as the problem in Kenya is that there are not many Inositol containing supplements in the market that give the correct amount of Inositol that is needed to help with PCOS. A lot more clients have resorted to buying supplements from abroad and get them shipped here, which is also what I did, but in the long run this also can become pricey as there is no definitive timeline on how long it will take to work for one as an individual.

What is Inositol?

Benefits of taking Inositol for PCOS:

1. Improves Insulin Sensitivity:

For those of you who have read my previous blogs, you know that I have Insulin Resistant PCOS and so when I stumbled upon research that showed Myo-Inositol supplementation could reduce this problem, I had to try it. Numerous studies have shown that supplementation with Myo-Inositol not only reduces insulin resistance, but also decreases the amount of Insulin in the bloodstream as shown by significant reductions of fasting Insulin levels in women with PCOS. Thereby helping women control blood sugar levels and reduce insulin resistance.

2. Reduced Triglyceride levels:

Triglycerides are a type of fat (lipid) found in your blood.

When you eat, your body converts any calories it doesn't need to use right away into triglycerides. The triglycerides are stored in your fat cells. Later, hormones release triglycerides for energy between meals. This means that Insulin resistance or even hypothyroidism can result in blood glucose not being utilised and subsequently stored as fat. Most women with PCOS exhibit a high level of triglycerides in blood tests. Inositol, specifically D-Chiro inositol has been shown to reduce these triglyceride levels in blood plasma.

3. Improves Egg quality:

Inositol has shown to improve egg quality as well as decrease the amount of unsuitable eggs during IVF treatments.

Boost Ovulation and Fertility:

According to one study (2), it was shown that in 50 PCOS patients who were not ovulating due to insulin resistance, after receiving treatment with myo-inositol, 29 patients ovulated which translates to 61%. Of the 29 women who ovulated, 11 fell pregnant!

4. Prevents Gestational Diabetes:

Gestational Diabetes, to put it simply, occurs when the placenta redirects all glucose in the bloodstream of the mother to the baby during pregnancy by making the mother's cells more resistant to Insulin. Now if you have Insulin resistant PCOS this means that you at a much higher risk of developing Gestational Diabetes during pregnancy than a woman who does not have PCOS. Supplementation with Myo-Inositol can not only prevent Gestational Diabetes but also increase insulin sensitivity to help control GD. (7,8,9)

5. Lower Testosterone levels:

As we know, high Insulin levels contribute to an increase in Testosterone levels, and if supplementation with myo-inositol has shown that Insulin levels are lowered, then subsequently testosterone levels will reduce in time as well.

Now in terms of my personal journey, after doing my research, I went ahead and got a myo-inositol powder from Amazon, which I thought seemed to have the best reviews and pricing. I will be honest and say that I did not see any improvement and I had been taking the supplement everyday for months.

It is only when I changed to a low carb diet and took the supplement when I started to see results and Ovulation returned within four months of taking myo-inositol, which subsequently resulted in me falling pregnant.

I did not take a supplement that had folic acid of D-chiro Inositol either, just the plain myo-inositol and it turns out that it still works like a dream for me.

There are many expensive products out there that have a combination of Myo-inositol and D-Chiro Inositol in the ratio of 40:1 as is shown as the effective amounts in studies and because that is supposed to be the ratio of a natural physiological state in the body. In PCOS, this ratio can be somewhat unbalanced. However, it is important to note that D-Chiro Inositol is the expensive component in these supplements and that studies have shown that high supplementation of D-Chiro can result in worsening Insulin Resistance and decreases egg quality among other paradoxical effects (which I will have to address in another blog post) and it is why I chose to just stick to myo-inositol on its own just in case.

If you are interested in reading more studies about the effects of Inositol in women with PCOS, I have included references down below or you can contact me through my Facebook page for more info if needed.

I hope this helps shed a little more light on the positive effects Inositol can have in the body for women suffering with PCOS and look forward to hearing from you!

References:

1. Myo-inositol effects in women with PCOS: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5655679/

2. Ovulation induction with myo-inositol alone and in combination with clomiphene citrate in polycystic ovarian syndrome patients with insulin resistance: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25259724/

3. Myo-inositol effects in women with PCOS: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5655679/

4. Ovulatory and metabolic effects of D-chiro-inositol in the polycystic ovary syndrome: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10219066/

5. Inositol supplement improves clinical pregnancy rate in infertile women undergoing ovulation induction for ICSI or IVF-ET: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5728865/

6. The Efficacy of Inositol and N-Acetyl Cysteine Administration (Ovaric HP) in Improving the Ovarian Function in Infertile Women with PCOS with or without Insulin Resistance: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ogi/2014/141020/

7. myo-Inositol supplementation and onset of gestational diabetes mellitus in pregnant women with a family history of type 2 diabetes: a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled study: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23340885/

8. Effect of dietary myo-inositol supplementation in pregnancy on the incidence of maternal gestational diabetes mellitus and fetal outcomes: a randomized controlled trial: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23327487/

9. Antenatal dietary supplementation with myo-inositol in women during pregnancy for preventing gestational diabetes: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26678256/

10. INOSITOL FOR PCOS: https://ndnr.com/womens-health/inositol-for-pcos/