Inositol Benefits: Unlocking the Power of Vitamin B-8 Carbohydrate

| Modified on Feb 02, 2024
Depression
Posted by Granny Laura (Waco, Tx Usa) on 08/25/2011
★★★★★

I am elated to report that after taking inositol for about 2 months I do not have the big, black, depression I've had for the last 2 years! I had read about inositol for depression while researching Pyroluria and Histadelia and decided to try it. I ordered the powdered product, and began taking 1/4 teaspoon 4 times a day. After about a week I started going up on the dose until I was taking 1/2 teaspoon 3-4 times a day. That dose works out to 1200 mg 4 times a day. There was very little change at first but gradually I found that if I hadn't taked a dose that the depressive thoughts would start. After about 2 months I noticed that my mood had smoothed out so I waited about a week and cut my dose in half. That has worked just fine so far.

The powder is relatively inexpensive, and easy to take. The label says there is nothing in the powder but inositol. It is very sweet and I found I like it just fine dumped as a powder into my mouth from the measuring spoon. It would be fine to mix into anything that you drink as it has no taste except for being very sweet. I will try to remember to update if I have any changes in dose. I've never had anything for depression that didn't have really bad side effects so saying I'm very pleased would be an understatement.

Hot Flashes
Posted by Vitaminjunkie (Marietta, Georgia) on 08/17/2015
★★★★★

Inositol has greatly relieved my hot flashes! I am 52, and I started having perimenopausal hot flashes about a year ago. Mine are related to estrogen dominance and falling progesterone levels, so any estrogenic substances (i.e. black cohosh, flax seed, etc.) only made things worse.

I used a DIM supplement, which is made from cruciferous vegetables and helps convert estradiol to estriol, very successfully for a year and this kept the flashes and being too hot at night at bay. Then the flashes came back. Mine are not as severe as many people's are, but they were only happening at night and really interfering with my sleep.

I started using a popular brand of an over the counter progesterone cream, along with Vitex (chasteberry) which helps the body favor the production of progesterone over estrogen to help boost my levels. This also helps some, but as far as the cream, I really don't like using hormones at all, even in a low dose. And the flashes weren't gone, they were still happening far too much in frequency and intensity at night.

I began giving my mother some inositol because it is relaxing to many people and helps them sleep. I took some myself one night (1000 mg.) to see if it would perhaps help me sleep through the hot flashes. Well, it had the reverse effect on me and kept me alert and awake for half the night, but I had zero hot flashes! I decided to mete out my dose throughout the day, and yesterday I took 1500 mg. altogether spread out over three 500 mg. doses. I took the last 500 mg. before bed, this smaller amount doesn't keep me awake, esp. if I take it with magnesium. I deliberately did not use the progesterone cream last night and did not have a single flash!

Ladies, I think inositol is definitely worth trying, you can find it at your local vitamin store and it is very inexpensive! I've seen very little research on it for hot flashes, but it works well for me.

Lastly, I eat a pretty low carb diet, favoring seafood. I take antioxidants, high doses of DHA, I drink a gallon of water per day, limit my coffee to two cups per day, and avoid sugars and grains. My diet is mostly Paleo, I guess, although I do eat a small amount of organic/raw dairy. The B vitamin complex I take, however, did not include any inositol, as many of them don't. Inositol is formed by the body from glucose, and I don't eat too many foods that favor glucose production, so I possibly had a deficiency. I also recommend taking the supplement cholin along with the inositol as these two work well together. I hope this works for some of you. Bear in mind that no one supplement works the same for everyone, but at the low price - inositol is definitely worth trying!


Weight Loss, Excessive Bleeding
Posted by HisJewel (New York) on 08/09/2023
★★★★★

I have mentioned something about Inositol in a post or two.

In four months, it took 20 pounds off me, it is still off. It helped my daughter's excess heavy bleeding from a fibroid to regulate.

Here is some basic information on this supplement. You will learn the different types of Inositol and take your pick for your health and situation.

https://www.intimaterose.com/blogs/womens-health/types-of-inositol-a-complete-list

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33755975/

https://www.centerforhumanreprod.com/blog/who-is-myo-inositol-for-and-who-should-stay-away-from-it

Insomnia
Posted by Gary (Oregon, US) on 04/05/2015
★★★★★

I have had Insomnia for more than 20 years. I have been taking Unisom every night for 20 years, finally I started trying everything, Nothing worked for sleep, till I looked up Insomnia in the Nutritional Healing book, it said Inositol was one of the items as it helps you to fall asleep and get you into REM deep sleep. I have been taking it every night with great success, 7-1/2 hours of deep restful sleep, No more Unisom or the Unisom's terrible side effects.

Inositol has changed my life for the better, or should I say the Best.


Helps Withdrawal from Meds
Posted by Denise (Oregon, Usa) on 03/19/2015
★★★★☆

I am new here, but I just start Inositol after quite a bit of research. I am using it to get off 3 months of using Lexapro as I've heard you can be very addicted to Lexapro. The Lexapro helped me, amazingly, but there were side-effects that scared me like headaches, tinnitus, stomach cramps, and increased tremor I have always had.

I will keep posting here on my progress. If I am understanding Inositol, you can take it just when you feel depression, anxiety or panic attack. But someone mentioned taking it every day. I know I have to see how much works for me, so I started with 1000 mg (1 g) as I was a bit nervous. Feedback very welcome;) Denise


Multiple Cures
Posted by Nat (Brooklyn, Ny) on 09/25/2013
★★★★★

Inositol helps with seratonin. In some cases, low levels of inositol can cause constipation.

Israeli research found it as effective as prozac or luvox for some problems, such as OCD.

Dr. Mendel Fux (Israeli researcher) uses up to 18 grams - 6 teaspoons of the powder daily. (can be bought at a reasonable price on Amazon. ) Some people are helped with as little as 2 grams (less than a teaspoon a day.)

It can take, for many people, up to six weeks or more to see benefits.

see:

http://www.rockwellnutrition.com/Inositol-100g-Powder-by-Designs-For-Health-DFH_p_892.html

http://www.autism.com/ari/newsletter/112/page2.pdf

Inositol helps with depression, anxiety, ocd, trichotillomania, fatty liver, pcos, metabolic syndrome.

It is being studied also for bipolar, neuropathy, attention deficit disorder, adhd, alzheimers, resperatory problems in babies, and more.

Experimentally, inositol dosages of up to 18 g daily have been tried for various conditions.

see - http://www.med.nyu.edu/content?ChunkIID=21766

One can try using it with some Vitamin C powder.

It might be better to start slowly and build up gradually.