Ovasitol for PCOS
Ovasitol is a high quality and evidenced-based supplement aimed to support hormonal health, promote regular periods, and reduce insulin resistance. In this article, we’ll review all of the benefits of taking Ovasitol for PCOS.
What is Ovasitol?
Ovasitol is a supplement designed for women with PCOS. It contains two vitamin-like compounds called myo and d-chiro-inositol in the same ratio (40:1) found naturally in the body (1).
Ovasitol is also independently verified by a program called NSF International. Essentially, NSF provides third-party testing to ensure the product you buy actually contains the ingredients listed on the label and is free from contaminants.
November 2024 Update:
Root Myo & D-Chiro Inositol Supplement
While Ovasitol has been a go-to for supporting hormonal balance and improving insulin sensitivity in PCOS, we’re excited to share that Root now offers our very own Myo & D-Chiro Inositol supplement. This supplement matches the 40:1 ratio of myo to d-chiro inositol found naturally in the body, providing the same benefits as Ovasitol to help promote regular periods, support fertility, and reduce insulin resistance.
Whether you're already familiar with Ovasitol or considering it for the first time, Root’s Myo & D-Chiro Inositol supplement offers the same trusted formulation, so you can continue benefiting from this powerful nutrient combination.
Benefits of Ovasitol
We frequently recommend Ovasitol (now available as Root Myo & D-Chiro Inositol) in our practice for PCOS, due to its well-documented and widespread health benefits.
Lowers insulin and glucose levels
The first major benefit of Ovasitol is its ability to lower insulin and glucose levels by improving insulin sensitivity. Up to 70 percent of women with PCOS have some degree of insulin resistance. This occurs when your cells become resistant to insulin, a hormone responsible for controlling blood sugar levels. When you have insulin resistance, you also have higher insulin and blood sugar levels. This usually leads to many unwanted symptoms, like sugar cravings, weight gain or difficulty losing weight, and irregular periods.
Fortunately, inositol is fairly effective at reducing insulin levels and improving blood sugar control in women with PCOS (2, 3). By improving insulin resistance with Ovasitol, you may also experience many other benefits which we will further explain.
More regular periods
Taking Ovasitol for PCOS may help you achieve more regular menstrual cycles. In fact, one study found that myo-inositol was more effective in restoring ovulation than metformin, a drug commonly used to treat insulin resistance and irregular periods in PCOS (4).
Researchers believe inositol supplements promote regular periods and ovulation in PCOS by rebalancing insulin levels and restoring myo-inositol levels in developing eggs.
Researchers believe inositol supplements promote regular periods and ovulation in PCOS by rebalancing insulin levels and restoring myo-inositol levels in developing eggs.
Improves fertility
PCOS is one of the most common causes of female infertility, and an estimated 40 percent of women with PCOS suffer from this condition. Fortunately, by lowering insulin levels and promoting more regular ovulation, Ovasitol may improve your fertility if you have PCOS. Myo-inositol may also increase pregnancy rates in women undergoing IVF by improving egg and embryo quality (5).
Reduces cravings
Another surprising benefit of taking Ovasitol for PCOS is a reduction in sugar cravings which is likely due to Ovasitol’s ability to reduce insulin resistance and balance blood sugar levels. Essentially, when your blood sugar and insulin levels are controlled, you do not experience the drastic high and low blood sugar levels that often worsen cravings.
Lowers androgens
Androgens are sex hormones present in both men and women but with higher concentrations found in men. When a woman’s body produces too many androgens, known as hyperandrogenism, she may experience symptoms like acne, excessive facial or body hair, or thinning hair on the scalp. Hyperandrogenism is one of three diagnostic criteria for PCOS and is present in about 60 to 80 percent of PCOS cases. Fortunately, myo and d-chiro-inositol can significantly reduce androgen levels and related symptoms, like excessive hair growth, in women with PCOS (6, 7).
Lowers cholesterol levels
Many women with PCOS suffer from abnormally high cholesterol levels which also increases their risk for heart disease. Our PCOS meal plans offer the necessary nutrients for lowering cholesterol levels; however, taking Ovasitol may also help with this goal. For instance, a few studies found a reduction in LDL cholesterol and triglycerides when women with PCOS supplemented with both myo and d-chiro-inositol. Many of these studies found a beneficial increase in the women’s HDL “good” cholesterol levels as well (8).
Improves mood
Taking Ovasitol may also have favorable effects on your mental health. In one study, women with PCOS were randomly assigned to take either myo-inositol or metformin for 12 weeks. At the end of the 12 weeks, the women assigned to myo-inositol had significantly better scores on depression, anxiety, and stress scales (9).
Improves thyroid function
Inositol plays an important role in thyroid function and autoimmunity. This is important because women with PCOS are three times more likely to also suffer from Hashimoto’s thyroid disease than the general population (10, 11). Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system releases antibodies to mistakenly attack the thyroid gland. Hashimoto’s is also the leading cause of hypothyroidism in the United States. Thankfully, supplementing with inositol may lower TSH levels and thyroid antibodies in individuals with Hashimoto’s (12).
Read more about PCOS and Hashimoto’s.
Read more about PCOS and Hashimoto’s.
Dosing of Ovasitol
The usual dosage of Ovasitol (now Root Myo & D-Chiro Inositol) is one scoop, twice per day with breakfast and dinner. Some people choose to only take one scoop per day. Each scoop contains 2,000 milligrams (mg) of myo-inositol and 50 mg of d-chiro-inositol in a tasteless and odorless powder that dissolves in water.
Many studies have shown that inositol is very safe. Plus, unlike the prescription drug, metformin, Ovasitol has few (if any) reported side effects.
Ovasitol Reviews
The reviews on ovasitol we hear from our members with PCOS include:
- More regular, predictable periods
- Improved skin and acne
- Less facial hair growth
- Fewer food cravings
- Improved anxiety
Some of these results happen more quickly within days to a week, like reduced food cravings, and others take more time like improved skin and regular periods.
In our practice, we like to call Ovasitol “magic period dust” because of its incredible ability to promote regular periods and reduce common PCOS symptoms.
Consumer reviews for Ovasitol back up our nickname:
“Since taking Inositol, I get my period naturally, my skin is clear, my mood swings have lessened, my inflammation has reduced by 75% and I do not suffer from uncontrollable cravings. My quality of life has improved tremendously and for that, I am extremely grateful. I would highly recommend Inositol for people who are suffering with pcos. Taking Inositol has really changed my life for the better.”
“I was skeptical, but I've been using this for almost 3 months now and I see a crystal clear difference. I have a history of Hypothyroidism, PCOS, Insulin resistance, Anxiety and Binge eating. Since I started taking this supplement my periods are so damn regular and healthy (on the clock according to my Fitbit), that never happened before. My unnecessary food cravings are gone (that addresses insulin resistance and binging problems). And last but not least, lately I'm calm and peaceful, less anxious and less restless. This is my personal experience, then again everyone is different, but I would say this product is worth trying.”
Shop Myo & D-Chiro Inositol in the Root Shop. We also include Myo & D-Chiro Inositol in our PCOS Supplement Bundle for optimal results and savings.
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