Women's Wellness and the benefits of Myo-Inositol

This month is PCOS Awareness Month, so this blog is extremely fitting and will be heavily focused on PCOS. As several of our employees struggle with PCOS we were beyond thrilled for Tikva’s Myo-Inositol CBD Tablets to come across our shelves and for the chance to do this research to help not only our employees but other women struggling with this. 

Have you heard of Myo-Inositol? We hadn’t until Tikva came into our lives, and now that we know about it, these tablets will definitely be a part of our daily routine from here on out. So here we go, everything we found and know about Myo-Inositol (MI) and how it can help women’s wellness. 

What is Myo-Inositol?

Myo-Inositol is a carbocyclic sugar that is present in the brain and other mammalian tissues like epithelial, muscle, nervous, and connective tissues. It mediates cell signal transductions for hormones, neurotransmitters, growth factors, and it participates in osmoregulation. 

That is a lot of sciencey terms, so we’ll break it down a little bit. Cell signal transduction is how cells communicate with themselves, from the outside to the inside, the outside of the cell says it needs to change, the inside does the work and changes itself. Neurotransmitters are how the nervous system transmits messages from neurons to muscles. Growth factors refer to the growth of cells, it also includes survival, inflammation, and tissue repair. Osmoregulation is how the body and cells maintain their water-mineral balance. Hopefully this little section helps break down the majority of how Myo-Inositol works. 

How can Myo-Inositol help Women’s Wellness?

Myo-Inositol directly interacts with target tissues for Insulin. It targets the same tissues as Insulin to improve the body’s sensitivity to Insulin, reducing Insulin resistance. Now, if you read that and you know how much it can affect your body then chances are you or someone you know has PCOS. It can help with mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, panic disorders, bipolar, schizophrenia, OCD, and PTSD by stimulating the production of serotonin and dopamine. It has also been shown to help metabolic syndromes and to help psoriasis symptoms in people taking lithium. Since MI plays a role in osmoregulation it can improve cholesterol levels by balancing the water-mineral levels in blood lipid cells by decreasing the zinc-copper ratio. MI is also an antioxidant, it helps fight free radicals in the brain, circulatory system, and other body tissues. The last few things MI could be beneficial for, but more research is definitely needed, is that it can possibly promote hair growth, overcome insomnia, slow Alzheimer's, and even slow certain cancers because it is a tumor suppressant. 

What is PCOS?

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome is a lifelong health condition and the most common endocrine disorder in childbearing age women, it affects 6%-12% of women and by age 40 over half of these women will have diabetes, especially if they are overweight. They can also develop other serious health issues such as gestational diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, stroke, and it’s linked to depression and anxiety without a clear answer to why. PCOS often comes with Insulin Resistance, so our bodies can make insulin but it can’t use it properly, which is why we are more prone to diabetes. Women with PCOS have higher levels of androgens, the male hormone that men and women have, which can stop the release of eggs and cause irregular periods, acne, and thinning hair on our heads but abnormal hair growth on our faces or other body parts. PCOS is a confusing disorder, thinning hair that pops up in other places, women of normal weight having PCOS and overweight women not having it, but it is linked to weight gain, it could be genetic, but it can be genetic through PCOS, diabetes, or insulin resistance in the family. It’s unclear as to what truly causes PCOS, the biggest culprit seems to be the androgen hormone causing a hormonal imbalance. PCOS can cause infertility and cysts that grow in the ovaries, it can also be responsible for miscarriages, liver inflammation, metabolic syndromes, and the health issues mentioned above. Now the one thing that doesn’t seem to be mentioned on the CDC, Mayo Clinic, Hopkins, or any other website that is trusting, is the pain that comes with PCOS. When you have a cyst growing IN your ovary it doesn’t feel good, some women experience severe cramps or back pain from the cyst. 

How does Myo-Inositol help PCOS?

Okay, so we’ve hit on what Myo-Inositol is, how it can help overall women’s wellness, and what PCOS is, after all of that we’re sure it’s kind of clear how MI can help PCOS but we’re going to cover this too just in case. PCOS is linked to Insulin Resistance and MI improves the body’s sensitivity to insulin, it also mediates cell signals for hormones, these are the two biggest ways MI helps PCOS. Infertility is a big concern for women with PCOS, MI helps to improve the function of the ovaries, leading to improving fertility, it also helps to promote menstrual regularities, ovulation, weight loss, blood pressure, and pregnancy rates in women with PCOS. MI also helps post-menopausal women with insulin sensitivity, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels. 

Now that we have gone over all of this there are a few extra things that need to be included. MI has a very good record, the side effects of MI are not heard of in low doses, around 2-4 grams, which is the normal dosage for PCOS and other conditions. However in doses around 12-18 grams it can have mild side effects of an upset stomach or stomach pains. It also was given to pregnant women, 4 grams a day, with no concerning effects, you should always consult your doctor before taking anything when pregnant, but if you are at risk of gestational diabetes MI could be a supplement to consider and talk to your doctor about.