Myo-inositol for pregnancy: Why are you taking it?

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Knowing the right supplements to take for pregnancy can be confusing. Do they do what you need it to?

In this article you will find everything you need to know about Myo-inositol, what it does, do you need it and who should be using it.

Myo-inositol for pregnancy

Women with poor egg quality and low AMH levels are recommended to take Myo-Inositol. However, does it help?

Studies have shown that women with insulin-resistant PCOS can benefit from using Myo-inositol. Likewise, people with depression can show improvements. Those who drink excessive amounts of coffee can also benefit.

Your body naturally produces Myo-inositol, and low levels are rare.

Science and research do not show that Myo-inositol improves fertility outcomes for women with poor egg quality and low AMH.

Myo-inositol does help some women with PCOS to ovulate in the same way using the drug Metformin does. Taking myo-inositol cannot harm you, and excess levels pass through the urine.

What is it?

Myo-inositol is a carbocyclic sugar found in the human body, many fruits, and vegetables. Your kidneys produce 4g of Myo-inositol daily, and this is all the body needs. Inositol is present in all body tissues. The highest concentrations in the brain and heart, and lens of the eye. It sometimes called vitamin B8 and is one of the B complex vitamins. It is not recognized as a vitamin as your intestinal bacteria synthesize it from glucose for you. It is vital for assisting with the functioning of various intra-cellular processes.

This is why marketing says it can help improve egg quality.

Myo-inositol is also found in the follicular fluid of a woman’s eggs. Studies show mature eggs have higher levels of Myo-inositol than immature eggs.

Supplementing Myo-inositol to your daily diet does not increase levels in your eggs. It does not help your eggs mature unless you have insulin resistant PCOS.

What does it do?

1. important in fat and cholesterol metabolism

2. mild lipotropic agent that removes fats from the liver and lowers blood cholesterol

3. Improves ovulation in women with PCOS. with significant weight loss and increased HDL (“good”) cholesterol levels

4. used to help prevent plaque build-up and arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries)

5. needed for hair growth and strong, healthy hair

6. helps maintain healthy skin

7. is used to prevent and treat eczema

8. considered a brain food as it works with choline in brain cell nutrition

9. needed, together with choline, for the formation of lecithin. It is a crucial building block of cell membranes. It protects cells from oxidation and forms the protective sheath around the brain

10. and essential component of myelin that coats nerves and regulates nerve transmission. It may help treat nerve disorders

11. can decrease pain in people with diabetes who experience pain and numbness from nerve degeneration

12. Research indicates that Myo-inositol has a calming effect and may help treat depression.

Do I need it?

Deficiency is rare as the body manufactures Myo-inositol, and it is present in a wide variety of foods. Long-term use of antibiotics increases the need for Myo-inositol. High coffee intake (more than 2 cups per day) can produce a deficiency. Include these following foods in your diet to help your body produce all the Myo-inositol it needs.

Myo-inositol is found in cereals, legumes, and seeds, in the form of phytic acid. Rich Myo-inositol food sources are

  • cereals with high bran content · lecithin · fruits especially bananas, citrus fruit like oranges and grapefruit (except lemons) and cantaloupes · green leafy vegetables.

Other inositol sources

· beans like red beans and kidney beans · brewer’s yeast · brown rice · cabbage · liver · unrefined molasses · nuts · oat flakes · raisins · wheat germ · whole grains.

Can taking myo-inositol supplementation harm you?

Any excess myo-inositol consumed by a person passes in the urine like many other vitamins. The only side-effects have been diarrhea for very high doses.

Who should take Myo-inositol for fertility?

Women with insulin-resistant PCOS. Combined with folic acid helps them ovulate and return to a more regular menstrual cycle. Myo-inositol does not have the same effect on women with normal insulin levels and PCOS.

I’ve heard of studies that say Myo-inositol improved egg quality in women.

You may have come across a combination of Myo-inositol, melatonin and folic acid for improving egg health. A 2010 study compared these three products together against just Myo-inositol and Folic acid alone. The study looks very promising. 65 women undergoing IVF were divided up into two groups. 50% of each taking the different combinations. They did notice that women taking the combination of Myo-Inositol/Folic acid plus Melatonin had on average 1.6 more mature eggs to be harvested for IVF than the women without the Melatonin addition. These women also had the GnRH drugs as a part of the study. So what is wrong with these findings? According to the study taking Melatonin plus Myo-inositol and Folic acid improves the body’s ability to mature eggs.

This is also what it says. No difference in the outcomes of implantation or pregnancy rates. The other problem with the study is that it did not use women who were diagnosed with diminished ovarian reserve, poor ovarian responders or low AMH levels. All the women had normal egg quality in the trial.

If you wanted to test a product for solving a problem, wouldn’t you test on people with the problem?

Conclusion.

Myo-inositol naturally occurs in the body. It helps to maintain many functions and is essential for good health. Myo-inositol deficiency diagnosis is rare. Supplementing Myo-inositol can help women with insulin resistant PCOS to ovulate. It can also make up losses for people who are regularly taking antibiotics or over consume coffee. There is no evidence that Myo-inositol improves egg quality or low AMH levels.

Sources

https://nootriment.com/inositol-deficiency/

https://www.livestrong.com/article/506226-foods-high-in-inositol/

http://www.europeanreview.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/458.pdf

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301211509005466

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09513590701672405

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20712264

https://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282(08)00180-5/abstract

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