If you’re looking for natural support for PCOS, take a look at these heavily-researched inositols. These carbocyclic sugars are naturally occurring within our bodies. They are also found in some nutritious foods such as whole grain bread, peanut butter, dried prunes and liver.
Inositols play a major role in our bodies: a messenger role, sending signals which affect the function of insulin (as well as brain chemicals dopamine and serotonin).
The benefits of myo-inositol for PCOS are clear, so it helps to take a supplement as it can be difficult to make sure your diet provides the right amount. Plus, women with PCOS can find it harder to absorb it and need the combination with alpha-lactalbumin to aid absorption. Myo-inositol and D-chiro-inositol are two of the most popular inositol supplements on the market.
What is myo-inositol and D-chiro-inositol?
Your body actually converts a little bit of myo-inositol into D-chiro-inositol. So myo-inositol and D-chiro-inositol are nearly identical on a molecular level. But they have totally different roles when it comes to insulin. Myo-inositol helps the body’s use of glucose (via glucose transporters and glucose activation) while D-chiro-inositol is involved in glycogen synthesis and storage.
There’s a lot of solid research backing the benefits of myo-inositol, especially for managing PCOS symptoms. Inofolic AlphaPlus delivers the perfect dose of myo-inositol, paired with alpha-lactalbumin to help your body absorb it better. While D-chiro-inositol hasn’t been studied as extensively on its own, when combined with myo-inositol in the proven 40:1 ratio, it’s shown to work wonders for hormonal balance, ovulation, and overall fertility health.
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Designed for PCOS women with a BMI over 25
What are the benefits of taking myo-inositol and d-chiro-inositol?
There’s no doubt that the right inositol supplement can be beneficial for those with PCOS, but how and why does inositol benefit you?
Benefits of Inositol for women
Reduces risk of metabolic syndrome
Metabolic syndrome is a group of conditions that heighten your risk of chronic disease, including type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Women with PCOS are more likely to have metabolic syndrome. Five conditions are associated with metabolic syndrome:
- High blood sugar
- High blood pressure
- Excess fat in the stomach area
- Low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol
- High levels of triglycerides in the blood
Studies have found that one of the benefits of inositol for women is that it lowers the risk of metabolic syndrome and helps the body regulate and process insulin. Plus inositol supplements for women may be beneficial for those with metabolic syndrome. In a year-long clinical study, 20% of the women taking the inositol supplements no longer met the criteria for metabolic syndrome by the end of the study!
Lowers high cholesterol
Inositol supplements also help to lower cholesterol by reducing the overall amount of fat in your body. It does this in part by combining with choline to produce lecithin. You need lecithin to break down fats in your body and prevent fat building up in the cell walls of your heart, arteries and brain.
Relieves symptoms of PCOS
Unfortunately, at present, PCOS can’t be cured, but there are ways to treat PCOS symptoms. Myo-inositol has become one way to treat PCOS symptoms – with great effect.
In fact, numerous studies have examined the way in which myo-inositol does this. In a study where MI was used for at least 24 weeks, levels of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) increased significantly. SHBG helps reduce the effects of excess testosterone by binding to it in the blood. More specifically, overall, the study suggests that myo-inositol could help women with PCOS by improving their metabolism and reducing symptoms of excess male hormones (hyperandrogenism).
Myo-inositol may also help reduce androgens. High levels of androgens cause symptoms like acne and hirsutism, so taking a myo-inositol supplement will help to manage this.
Reduces risk of gestational diabetes
Gestational diabetes occurs in pregnancy when your glucose levels are too high. PCOS is linked with insulin resistance and reduced glucose tolerance, both of which are risk factors for gestational diabetes. Research is limited, but the combination of myo-inositol and folic acid throughout pregnancy (as found in Inofolic Alpha) may help prevent gestational diabetes in women with a family history of diabetes. This is also backed by a study where inositols were found to reduce the risk of gestational diabetes.
Improves insulin resistance
Women with PCOS are often insulin resistant, so PCOS and insulin resistance go hand in hand. But with the right supplementation, that doesn’t need to be the case. Myo-inositol has been used safely for decades by those with insulin resistance and PCOS, but a combination of both myo-Inositol and D-chiro-inositol has also been shown to improve insulin sensitivity.
What are the side-effects and benefits of myo and d-chiro inositol?
Most people don’t seem to have any side effects with the correct doses of myo-Inositol and D-chiro-inositol. But as with any supplements, women with PCOS who take inositol can experience mild side effects effects, which are usually reported when taking high doses.
Nausea and stomach pain
Research including more than 250 patients found that myo-inositol taken at a rate of 12-30g per day was associated with gastrointestinal side effects such as nausea and stomach pain. However, it’s worth noting that this is at a high dose (more than three times the recommended dose): the recommended dose is much less than this.
Both myo-inositol and D-chiro-inositol are beneficial for glucose metabolism, but D-chiro-inositol works best when combined with myo-inositol. This is exactly why Inofolic AlphaPlus is such an effective supplement. When taken in the right amounts, neither myo-inositol nor D-chiro-inositol should cause significant side effects, and the benefits – especially for managing PCOS and boosting fertility – are clear to see.
Improve your hormonal balance with Infofolic AlphaPlus
Inofolic AlphaPlus offers a breakthrough solution with its unique, patented formula of myo-inositol and D-chiro-inositol in the scientifically proven 40:1 ratio. This powerful combination has been shown to significantly improve metabolism and fertility, especially for women with PCOS and a BMI over 25, delivering faster, more noticeable results.
What makes AlphaPlus even more effective is the addition of alpha-lactalbumin, a whey protein that enhances myo-inositol absorption, ensuring it reaches your body more efficiently. Since up to 38% of women with PCOS may struggle to absorb myo-inositol from food or supplements alone, the inclusion of alpha-lactalbumin in Inofolic AlphaPlus means that you get the most from this essential nutrient. For women seeking to support their fertility, Inofolic AlphaPlus provides a balanced, effective solution.
References:
Crawford, T. Antenatal dietary supplementation with myo-inositol in women during pregnancy for preventing gestational diabetes. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015 Dec 17;2015(12):CD011507.
Dinicola S, Minini M, Unfer V, Verna R, Cucina A, Bizzarri M. Nutritional and acquired deficiencies in inositol bioavailability. Correlations with metabolic disorders. Int J Mol Sci. 2017;18(10):2187. doi:10.3390/ijms18102187
Genazzani AD, Prati A, Santagni S, et al. Differential insulin response to myo-inositol administration in obese polycystic ovary syndrome patients. Gynecol Endocrinol.2012;28(12):969-973.
Greff, D. Impact of myo-inositol treatment in women with polycystic ovary syndrome in assisted reproductive technologies. Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology volume 21, Article number: 10 (2023)
Matarrelli B, Vitacolonna E, D’Angelo M, et al. Effect of dietary myo-inositol supplementation in pregnancy on the incidence of maternal gestational diabetes mellitus and fetal outcomes: a randomized controlled trial. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. doi:10.3109/14767058.2013.766691.
Tabrizi, Reza et al. The effects of inositol supplementation on lipid profiles among patients with metabolic diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Lipids Health Dis. 2018; 17: 123.
