I Took Ovasitol. Here’s What Happened

A nutrition supplement called Ovasitol can really help people with PCOS? I’ll admit, I was skeptical too-until I tried it. I used to believe that most individuals with PCOS can get their needs met through food and didn’t need to take supplements.

It wasn’t until I started researching inositol for a chapter on supplements for my book PCOS: The Dietitian’s Guide, that I saw the evidence first-hand. Inositol, specifically myo and d-chiro inositol (DCI) is perhaps the most studied of supplements for PCOS. If you do a Pubmed search on Inositol and PCOS, you will see over 100 studies, all favorable for helping the condition.

What is Inositol?

Inositol is a pseudovitamin of the B vitamin family, which is like saying, it’s almost a vitamin.

Inositol is found in many foods such as fruit, vegetables, beans and buckwheat.

Inositol works as a secondary messenger to help regulate the activity of certain hormones like insulin and thyroid.

As I have described it before, people with PCOS have a defective doorbell on their cell “doors” or receptors that makes them more resistant to opening. As a result, the cell nucleus doesn’t hear the signal and doesn’t call your pancreas to secrete the appropriate amount of insulin needed. Taking inositol, in particular MYO, can fix the door bell and regulate insulin signaling so only the required amount of insulin gets secreted. Check out this video where I explain inositol’s actions in PCOS:

Most of the tissues in our bodies have a combination of MYO to DCI in a 40:1 ratio. MYO converts into DCI but in PCOS women, this conversion happens too quickly, depleting levels of MYO inositol. Taking a combination of MYO and DCI in the 40:1 ratio, like Ovasitol to mimic levels in tissues is ideal.

Taking too much DCI (600mg or more daily) has been shown to actually worsen egg quality and ovulation.

Here’s what supplementing with MYO and DCI has been shown to help with:

Benefits of MYO and DCI for PCOS

Ok. I was sold. The research was overwhelmingly positive showing the benefits of inositol. I had to try it for myself to really see what it can do. Here’s my review of what happened with my PCOS when I took Ovasitol.

Curbed My Carb Cravings

Since I can remember, I have always loved sweets, especially baked goods like cupcakes, brownies and cookies. Much more so than my friends. I know I am not alone.

Carbohydrate cravings, whether it’s for sweets or salty foods, or just bread is very common among people with PCOS. Did you know that insulin is an appetite stimulant, driving the urge to eat? And that women with PCOS have been shown to have impaired levels of appetite regulating hormones? This could explain the intense carbohydrate cravings.

Within two weeks of taking Ovasitol, I noticed my carb cravings were diminished significantly. I no longer needed that sweet taste after a meal (even breakfast!) and could easily pass up a plate of brownies.

I felt like what most normal women, those blessed not to have PCOS, must feel on a daily basis.

I have heard from numerous other women with PCOS who notice a difference in carb cravings from taking Ovasitol as well. Have you?

Lowered My Risk for Diabetes

When I first started taking Ovasitol, I had my blood levels checked. My labs were all normal (yes, a healthy lifestyle and medications can do that!) but my hemoglobin A1c or HA1c was 5.4%.

HA1c measures the average glucose level in your blood for around 3 months. HA1c levels of 5.7-6.4% indicate pre-diabetes. Levels at 6.5% or higher indicate type 2 diabetes. (If you don’t know your HA1c levels, ask for it the next time you get your blood taken.)

I started taking the Ovasitol supplement which is a powder you can mix in a beverage or smoothie, twice a day (I love it in green unsweetened iced tea). After 3 months I had my blood levels rechecked. I was amazed! My HA1c dropped to 5.1%! Taking metformin had never brought it lower than 5.4%. My HDL cholesterol, the “good” type, increased (you want high levels of HDL). Wow, I thought, Ovasitol really does work! My doctor was also amazed.

I kept taking Ovasitol.

Three months later (after 6 months of using it), I had my levels checked again: My HA1c dropped to 4.9%. Amazing!

Women with PCOS have been shown to have a 6.8 times higher prevalence of developing type 2 diabetes in middle age than women without PCOS. I truly feel that taking Ovasitol, along with a balanced eating plan, regular exercise, other supplements, and good sleep hygiene has helped to prevent diabetes.

 

Improved My Menstrual Cycle

Ovasitol has been shown to improve menstrual cycles in women with PCOS. For some, this can happen in as little as one month. I often suggest young women and teens consider taking Ovasitol first before jumping to birth control pills to regulate their cycles.

I am one of the few women with PCOS who gets regular periods. But they were heavy and somewhat long. I would often get fatigued from the blood and iron loss.  I did notice after a few months of taking Ovasitol, that my cycle shortened and flow was lighter. Bonus!

Cleared Up Acne

A few weeks in of taking Ovasitol I noticed that the stubborn ugly pimples on my chin and jaw line were going away and rarely come back now. Yeah! One of the many benefits of inositol is its ability to lower testosterone. Inositol has been shown to improve acne by lowering testosterone and androgens in women with PCOS. Thank goodness.

I know it sounds really great, almost too good to be true (and yes, full disclosure: we sell Ovasitol at the PCOS Nutrition Center because we believe in it), but you may have to try it for yourself to believe it too.

My Four Year Update

I have now been taking Ovasitol for four years since I first wrote this review. I am happy to say my HA1c continues to hover around 5% (last week it was actually 4.9%). My skin has never been clearer (no pimples in years) and my cycle has come monthly like clockwork. Cravings are still mostly non-existent except for that time of the month when I need chocolate.  I have found I only need to take Ovasitol once a day, with breakfast, to maintain these improvements. I have also been able to reduce my metformin dose in half.

Do you take Ovasitol for PCOS? Share your review of it!

Angela Grassi, MS, RDN, LDN is the founder of The PCOS Nutrition Center where she provides evidence-based nutrition information and coaching to women with PCOS. Angela is the author of several books on PCOS including PCOS: The Dietitian’s Guide, The PCOS Workbook: Your Guide to Complete Physical and Emotional Health, and The PCOS Nutrition Center Cookbook Recognized by Today’s Dietitian as one of the Top 10 Incredible Dietitian’s making a difference in 2014, Angela is the past recipient for The Outstanding Nutrition Entrepreneur Award, The Award in Excellence in Practice in Women’s Health and The Award for Excellence in Graduate Research, from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Having PCOS herself, Angela has been dedicated to advocacy, education, and research of the syndrome.