I've been writing this blog long enough to know that as soon as I recommend a supplement, the post is circulated, reposted, retweeted, ad nauseum. If I talk about changing food choices, it sits there like a bump on a log.
I posted the information about myoinositol supplementation because I knew that many of you are having such a hard time with the side effects of metformin, that it might be helpful to try this compound as an adjunct.
In the process of researching the topic, however, I came to understand that part of the reason many of you have a problem with your myoinositol levels in the first place…is that your dietary choices may have backed you into a corner.
Myoinositol isn't new news, really. Back in 1980 a physician and a dietitian wrote a very nice review article and developed some recommendations for increasing dietary inositol that I'm going to summarize here. In a nutshell, it's a dietary intermediate that is found in high quantities in nerve cells. If your nerves are working harder than they were designed to, as is the case when you don't manage your stress, don't attend to good sleep hygiene, overexercise, and eat a poorly varied diet, there is a really good chance you're going to deplete your myoinositol levels more quickly than you can replete them. That is a consequence for ANYONE not taking good care of themselves, it's not a unique feature of PCOS.
For anyone struggling with medical issues related to hyperexcitable brains, including migraines, epilepsy, anxiety disorder, OCD, PTSD, bipolar disorder, etc., it's highly possible that your daily myoinositol needs are simply higher than average. Everything you see us write about on this blog, from omega-3's to antioxidants, is designed to reduce that hyperexcitability and make it easier for your brain to function as it should. It certainly is not going to hurt to take a supplement, and if you've been asking your brain to run on nutritional empty for a long time, or if you've been working hard to turn your PCOS around with good habits and just don't seem to be getting over the hump with it, supplementing may be a great tool to add to your already good habits.
There is some thought that people with insulin function problems may have alterations in myoinositol function, which could also increase the daily needed dose.
I must iterate, however, that a myoinositol supplement is NOT a substitute for a healthy diet. There is no such thing as a donut for breakfast, a Snickers for lunch, and a binge for dinner…cancelled out by a few pills in a bottle. So my guess is that those of you who are making good changes diet and stress management-wise in conjunction with the supplement are the most likely to achieve the benefit of the supplement. That is just how biochemistry works!
The study I recently quoted (focusing on neuropathy, not ovulation) used a myoinositol dose of 4 grams. The study I quote today found an effective response from a highest dose of 1,500 mg. It doesn't mean that these are the doses recommended for each particular diagnosis, or type of inositol, pill or food…it simply means those are the doses the reseachers decided to study.
However, since that is the dose reported in the ovulation study, and more of you reading this are interested in conception than nerve pain, I'll post the values of the highest myoinositol containing foods and let you figure out what your best food/supplement combination is to achieve that dose (4000 mg or 4 g daily).
I'm going to tell you, what I was thinking as I compiled this list was that if you're only concentrating on carb/protein/fat content, you're cutting out all your myoinositol sources. It looks like Mother Nature makes sure that when we eat carbohydrate as it appears in nature, that it comes packaged with a nutrient important for metabolizing it. It's when we refine that sugar and eat it out of context, as with sodas, candy, baked goods, etc…that we dig a hole for our nervous systems.
We just can't outsmart her, can we?
The complete list can be found at this link.
Myoinositol Containing Foods with more than 100 mg/serving
1/2 cup grapefruit juice 456 1/2 cup canned great northern beans 440 1/4 fresh cantelope 355 1 fresh orange 307 1 slice stone ground wheat bread 288 1/2 cup rutabaga 252 1/2 cup kidney beans 249 1/2 cup orange juice 245 1/2 cup canned oranges 240 1/2 cup canned peas 235 1/2 fresh grapefruit 199 1 fresh lime 194 1/2 cup canned blackberries 173 1/2 cup mandarin oranges 149 1/2 cup canned lima beans 146 1/2 cup kiwi fruit 136 1 cup split peas 128 2 T. creamy peanut butter 122 1 fresh nectarine 118 1/2 cup canned black-eyed peas 117 1/2 cup grapefruit sections, canned 117
Rex S. Clements, Jr., M.D. and Betty Darnell, M.S., RD. Myo-inositol content of common foods:
development of a high-myo-inositol diet. Am J Clin Nutr September 1980 vol. 33 no. 9, 1954-1967.