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A Powerful Tool for PCOS

In this week’s video, I focus on PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome), a big name for a hormonal imbalance that affects a reported ~10% of women, a woefully low estimate in my opinion. The excess androgens and related hormone imbalances present in these women will lead to many states of dis-ease downstream. It’s an important one for you to master!

These women may struggle with a wide variety of symptoms including Weight gain, Fatigue, facial or excess body hair growth, Thinning hair on the head, Infertility, Acne, Irritability, Insomnia, and Headaches.

As usual, we want to focus here on understanding the Dynamics at play in this type of imbalance (and not the Diagnosis).  Many women with PCOS are not ovulating optimally (or, therefore, making much progesterone), and this often puts them in an estrogen “dominant” state.  This anovulation is often caused by excessive testosterone as a result of high insulin levels due to insulin resistance and brewing metabolic dysfunction.  Are you checking fasting c-peptide or insulin in your patients with PCOS-like dynamics?    

We know that insulin resistance is epidemic!  And it is indeed reversible in many cases with persistent lifestyle change.  Targeted short-term supplementation use can help to increase insulin sensitivity.  In the case of PCOS, I want to introduce you to the power of Inositol.  Check out this sample entry about Inositol from our Q&A Treasure Chest.  This database supports our students with a vast array of questions and case studies about biochemistry, interconnectedness, symptoms, lifestyle choices, interventions, nutrients, labwork, supplements, medication considerations, and much, much more.

This is the fourth in a four-part series about hormones.  If you missed the other ones, check out the first video (unexpected, negative effects of oral hormone supplementation), the second (why oral progesterone helps with sleep but why other solutions might be more appropriate), and/or the third video (PMS rapid relief recommendations). 

I hope this information is helpful to you and the patients and clients you serve!

Warmly,

 

P.S.  If you are passionate about transforming healthcare through the power of functional medicine, we encourage you to learn more about our training program here.

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Ann
Ann

How effective is it in post menopausal women with increasing insulin sensitivity? I also know it helps in gout and inflammation but can you point to studies?

SAFM Team
Reply to  Ann

Inositol is a well-studied substance in the post menopausal population. Here are a couple of articles that you may appreciate on the topics you are asking about:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5879846/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36516786/

Amanda Ruppel
Amanda Ruppel

Can inositol be used with 15yo girls that have PCOS?

Lulu
Lulu

Will inositol help with high luteinizing hormone? I’ve been diagnosed with PCOS, all other hormones in normal range except LH. Tried conventional treatments but wondering if this would help.

SAFM Team
Reply to  Lulu

Yes, inositol has been shown to be effective in restoring ovulation and lowering levels of LH – this study may be of interest to you:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24606639/

Cheryl Backes
Cheryl Backes

I have a client who has been diagnosed with PCOS based on her labwork (high testosterone) and her symptoms (weight gain, irregular menstrual cycle, hair loss on head). She currently has a hormonal IUD to prevent pregnancy. She has not told me which one, however I assume that it is one that suppresses ovulation. Since inositol can restore ovulation, should I assume that this would not be a prudent supplement to recommend to her? Thanks!

SAFM Team
Reply to  Cheryl Backes

Hormonal IUDs may suppress ovulation but this is not their primary mode of preventing pregnancy. The progestin that is typically the working hormone in an IUD primarily thickens the mucus to make it harder for the sperm to travel and meet the egg; it also changes the contractions of the fallopian tubes to make it harder for the egg to get to the uterus; it can also affect how long sperm lives in the female genital tract. Whether or not a person does ovulate depends on the hormone dose in an IUD and how long they have had an IUD for (the longer the less potent hormone effect).
As discussed in the video series inositol can restore ovulation in PCOS clients. This is also an interesting study on this topic:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25259724/
The primary mode of action of inositol is reversing insulin resistance. Thus a person who is working on the root causes of PCOS can use inositol and if they want to prevent pregnancy with an IUD they may want to take additional precautions.

Alana
Alana

Hi!
Thank you for the wealth of information on your site. Can I take IP6 with Calcium D-glucarate? Thanks again!

SAFM Team
Reply to  Alana

Since IP6 is phytic acid, which can bind with minerals, I would recommend taking them at different times of the day.

Alma
Alma

Is Inositol safe for teenagers? I’ve been reading on supplements and inositol and came across your page, please help.

SAFM Team
Reply to  Alma

Yes, inositol appears to be a safe and effective solution for teenagers with PCOS:
https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/1473612
Keep in mind that no supplement can address the dysfunction that is rooted in poor dietary choices, excessive toxicity or habits that propagate stress and negatively affect sleep.

Alexandrea Casini

Hi!
This is very helpful. What is the difference between Myo-inositol and the inositol itself, such as in NOW brand? Which brand would you recommend? Thank you!

SAFM Team

The NOW brand supplement is Myo-inositol, but one needs to go to their website to find that detail:
https://www.nowfoods.com/supplements/inositol-500-mg-veg-capsules
There are nine isomeric forms of inositol and Myo-inositol is one of the most ubiquitously needed in the body for various functions, and when a supplement says ‘inositol’ one needs to dig deeper into which form or forms is it. There are many great brands on the market for Myo-inositol and it’s hard to call one to be the best, but to give a few examples, one can look at:
Inositol from Pure Encapsulations or form Designs for Health, or combination formulas such as Cenitol from Metagenics, or Metabolic Ovary Support from DaVinci.

Melissa Homner

This information is fascinating and very clear. Thank you all for sharing in this conversation. I am about to jump on a call with my first PCOS prospective client. Cheers! Melissa Homner

Samantha
Samantha

Is Inisitol safe for pregnant and breastfeeding moms?

Keira Coverdale

Hi SAFM Team,
I have found such great information about PCOS on this site – thanks!!! It is clear that insulin resistance is the key. Tracy outlined several specific supplements and brands which is so helpful(Thorne’s Basic B, Sensitol, Thorne’s Berberine, Metagenics probiotic, HistaEze). My question is: For a patient who does not want to take metformin, what should the supplement protocol be in conjunction with the diet change (low glycemic and diary/gluten elimination)? Start with Inositol or Berberine? Can you start the B-complex supplements simultaneously to starting one (or both) of those?

SAFM Team

Alas, we cannot give you a specific supplement protocol in these Q&A threads as this often depends on a client’s unique situation and preference.
However, you may be interested in reading this post:
https://schoolafm.com/ws_clinical_know/blood-sugar-busting-berberine/
and also in taking the Reversing Diabetes deep dive clinical course where detailed supplement protocols are discussed:
https://schoolafm.com/clinical-courses/

Shoba Kumar
Shoba Kumar

Hi

Inositol and Sensitol are same my doctor recommend sensitol for me. Need some feedback on this.

Thanks
Shoba

SAFM Team
Admin
SAFM Team
Reply to  Shoba Kumar

Indeed, Sensitol is just an excellent-quality brand name supplement by Designs for Health that contains inositol, in both the myo- and d-chiro forms (which I mention below).

hannah
hannah

Hello. Inositol seems to be the supplement of choice for PCOS within functional medicine now. I also hear of dietitians recommending it. I personally experienced such rapid weight gain with inositol that I hesitate to recommend it to PCOS clients who also have subclinical hypothyroidism like myself. I’m interested to know your thoughts on this.

SAFM Team
Admin
SAFM Team
Reply to  hannah

Fascinating. I personally only know of cases of the opposite. I know of no reason why inositol would be specifically connected to weight gain; it may be that other coincident dietary changes, supplement additions, or increased stress is at play? In fact, there is some evidence that inositol helps to improve thyroid function – via immune modulation which notably reduced autoantibodies (and by the role of normalized progesterone in better balancing estrogen in order to increase available free thyroid hormones). These may be of interest to you: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5331475/ and https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28724175 . There are indeed certain supplements that can promote weight gain in some individuas (e.g. S. Boulardi probiotic), but again, I know of no data/pathway of that for inositol (assuming you were using a bio-available form with myo- or d-chiro and ideally a combination of both). I can think of 3 things which might be helpful: 1. If you have subclinical hypothyroidism, it’s likely that you have trouble in particular with T4 to T3 thyroid hormone conversion, and indeed, supporting yourself as appropriate with key nutrient cofactors would be key – especially selenium and zinc. 2. It’s also key that in using inositol in situations to improve insulin sensitivity (and… Read more »

Angela Gladkowski
Angela Gladkowski

Hi Tracy,
Such wonderful information! My question is if a client is taking metformin they can safely take Inositol at the same time? And in addition to the Inositol cantaking a b-complex be helpful, especially if the client has a MTHFR gene mutation? Thank you so much!

SAFM Team
Admin
SAFM Team

Yes! Certainly a person should check with their physician for any unique considerations, but I know of no reason these would be contraindicated. Just keep in mind that any collection of agents designed to improve insulin sensitivity might eventually lead to low blood sugar from over-medication with the metformin. If the aggregate intervention in reversing the insulin resistance is effective, a person will eventually need to lower/cease their metformin in order to allow blood sugar to be optimal.