Key Takeaways
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Inositol has been studied for preconception health. Research has looked at its role in insulin sensitivity, hormonal balance, and egg quality, with most studies using 4 g a day for about three months alongside 400–800 mcg of folate.
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Side effects reported in studies have been mostly mild. Mild digestive symptoms such as nausea and gas have been reported mainly at high doses of around 12 g per day.
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When choosing inositol, check three things. Look at the amount of inositol per serving and its origin, the type of folate, and the price based on a daily 4 g serving. We recommend naturally derived folate.
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YoungLong Double-Up Inositol with Folate provides the full 4 g in one daily stick. Each stick contains 4,000 mg of myo-inositol and 600 mcg of naturally derived folate from lemon in a clean, three-ingredient formula that is vegan and Halal certified.
Written by the YoungLong Pharmacist Team
At YoungLong, one of our pharmacists is also a father of a young child. He and his wife spent a long time trying to conceive, and the fear, “What if we are unable to have a baby?” made that period very painful for them. While looking for anything that might help, he came across “inositol.”
Not long ago, there was little information about inositol. Recently, however, it has become well known as a preconception supplement in online communities, and some OB-GYN offices and fertility clinics now recommend it as well.
There is already a great deal of information online about inositol’s benefits and the evidence behind them, but much of it is difficult to follow. So, we have covered inositol in a way that is easier for general readers to understand.
At YoungLong, we take pride in being exceptionally meticulous. We never recommend a supplement simply because “we heard it is good.” Everything we share is based on scientific evidence and trust.
Among the many choices you face while preparing for pregnancy, we hope that learning about and taking inositol can be at least a little easier, so we have put together everything you need to know about inositol in one place.
1. What Is Inositol?
When inositol was first discovered, it was named vitamin B8. Later, however, it was found that the body can also produce it on its own, so it was no longer classified as a vitamin.
Inositol has a structure similar to glucose. In whole foods, it is found mainly in nuts, grains, and citrus fruits such as oranges, and many multivitamins contain small amounts of inositol.
Inositol can be obtained from plant foods and is already present in the body. It is not a harmful chemical but a naturally occurring compound, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lists inositol as “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) for use as a nutrient in foods.[1]
2. The Benefits of Inositol: What the Research Shows
Are all the inositol benefits you see online actually true?
We will review them based on the evidence.
1) Insulin Sensitivity
To understand how inositol works, we first need to take a brief look at how the body responds to insulin, known as insulin sensitivity.
Insulin is a hormone that lowers blood sugar. When the body produces too much insulin for some reason, levels of SHBG, a protein that keeps male hormones in check, decrease.
With less of this protein to keep them in check, male hormone levels rise. This matters for women as well, since women also produce small amounts of male hormones.
In women, excess male hormones can block follicle maturation in the ovaries and prevent ovulation. Yet the body, unaware of this, keeps releasing only luteinizing hormone (LH), which signals the ovaries to ovulate.
When this happens, egg quality can decline, the chances of pregnancy can drop, and many immature follicles can build up in the ovaries.
In addition, when insulin cannot work properly, blood sugar can become harder to manage during pregnancy, and the effects of male hormones can lead to concerns such as excess facial or body hair and skin breakouts.
What the Research Says About Inositol
Now that we understand how these changes occur in the body, let us look at what research shows about how inositol may work.
Note: Dietary supplements are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. This information is for educational purposes only.
2) Inositol for Fertility: Egg Quality and Preparing for Pregnancy
More and more couples today are finding it difficult to conceive.
Environmental pollution, rising stress, and having children later in life may all play a role. In particular, ovarian function begins to decline more quickly around age 35, which can reduce both ovulation and implantation and lower the chances of pregnancy.
From around age 35, an anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) test can help assess ovarian reserve, and depending on the results, some couples may choose to prepare for in vitro fertilization (IVF).
IVF success rates are higher at younger ages and decline as age increases, so starting earlier can improve the chances of success.[2]
In IVF, eggs are retrieved from the ovaries and fertilized with sperm outside the body. Today, fertility medications are typically used to retrieve around 10 to 15 eggs at a time, and a successfully fertilized embryo is then transferred into the uterus. Because more than one embryo is sometimes transferred, fraternal twins have also become more common.
However, when ovarian function declines, fewer eggs can be retrieved even with fertility medications. In addition, eggs may not mature properly, which can lower the chances of fertilization.
This is why some women preparing for IVF take inositol, which has been studied for its role in supporting egg quality.
Below is a study that examined how inositol affects eggs in women with reduced ovarian function.
Source: Caprio F, et al. Myo-inositol therapy for poor-responders during IVF: a prospective controlled observational trial. J Ovarian Res. 2015;8:37.[3]
In this study, 38 women took the following consistently for three months:
Group A: 4 g of inositol + 400 mcg of folic acid
Group B: 400 mcg of folic acid alone
To summarize the results:
- Mature (MII) egg rate: 80.5% vs. 66.6%, the only difference that was statistically significant
- Fertilization rate: about 3% higher in Group A (not statistically significant)
- Pregnancy rate: about 3% higher in Group A (not statistically significant)
- Top-grade embryo rate: about 6% higher in Group A (not statistically significant)
Group A, which took 4 g of inositol with 400 mcg of folic acid, showed more favorable results, particularly in egg maturity.
Because the study was small and most of the differences were modest, larger studies are needed. Still, for women whose AMH levels are low with age, taking inositol for about three months may be one option worth discussing with a doctor.
IVF is not as simple as it may sound.
Many people who have gone through it describe the process as truly painful.
If a cycle is unsuccessful, the injections and egg retrieval must be repeated, and because no one can know when pregnancy will happen, it is a very demanding process both financially and emotionally.
Given how demanding this process is, we believe inositol is worth considering as part of your preparation.
If you are preparing for pregnancy, including IVF, you may want to talk with your doctor about taking 4 g of inositol daily for about three months, the amount used in this study.
Note: Dietary supplements are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Under U.S. FDA rules, only drugs can make such claims.[4] Please use this information for reference only.
3) Hormonal Balance and Regular Cycles
Hormonal imbalances that affect ovulation are very common among women of reproductive age.
When factors such as reduced insulin sensitivity cause many immature follicles to build up in the ovaries, ovulation may not occur normally. As a result, menstrual cycles can become very irregular, and some women have only a few periods a year. Irregular bleeding between periods can also occur.
Even so, many women can still conceive by carefully tracking their ovulation.
In fact, a considerable amount of research has looked at inositol’s role in supporting hormonal balance and regular ovulation.
In one study, 42 women with PCOS were divided into two groups for about three to four months (12 to 16 weeks).[5]
Group A: 4 g of inositol + 400 mcg of folic acid
Group B: 400 mcg of folic acid alone
As a result, about 7 out of 10 women in Group A ovulated, compared with only about 2 out of 10 women in Group B.
Progesterone, a hormone that rises after ovulation, also increased to more than twice the level in Group A.
In a second study, 50 women with PCOS took inositol daily for six months.[6]
As a result, male hormone levels decreased, LH levels decreased, and insulin levels decreased.
These effects are thought to occur because inositol helps with the signaling process when hormones such as insulin act on cells.
Note: Dietary supplements are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Under U.S. FDA rules, only drugs can legally make such claims. Please use this information for reference only.
Higher levels of male hormones can also lead to concerns such as excess facial or body hair, skin breakouts, and weight gain.
In the same study, these skin and hair concerns were also reported to decrease after six months.[6]
Note: Dietary supplements are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Under U.S. FDA rules, only drugs can legally make such claims. Please use this information for reference only.
5) Common PMS Symptoms
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) refers to a range of symptoms that appear before a period, such as irritability, anxiety, and breast tenderness.
There is also research suggesting that inositol may help with mood-related symptoms that occur before a period.
To summarize the study, women with severe premenstrual mood symptoms took inositol daily for six menstrual cycles (about six months), either as 12 g of powder or 3.6 g in soft gel form, and their symptoms were compared with those of a placebo group.[7]
Symptoms such as anger, low mood, headaches, trouble sleeping, and fatigue were evaluated using three different rating scales.
As a result, premenstrual mood-related symptoms were reported to decrease on all three scales, and the powder and soft gel forms showed similar results.
Note: Dietary supplements are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Under U.S. FDA rules, only drugs can legally make such claims. Please use this information for reference only.
3. Does Inositol Have Side Effects?
Studies Report Mostly Mild Side Effects
Many studies have already examined inositol’s benefits, but the main reason people hesitate to take it seems to be reviews about side effects.
According to a review on inositol safety, “Inositol Safety: Clinical Evidences,” only the highest dose studied, 12 g per day, caused mild digestive side effects such as nausea, gas, and diarrhea, and the severity of side effects did not increase with the dose.[8]
Because inositol is naturally present in foods and is water-soluble, excess amounts are thought to be largely excreted from the body.
For this reason, taking about 4 g of inositol consistently appears unlikely to cause significant problems.
Looking through the many questions people ask about inositol side effects, the most common concerns were:
① Spotting between periods
② Irregular menstrual cycles
③ Headaches, dizziness, or nausea
So far, we have not found well-documented reports of ① or ② as side effects of inositol, and no cause-and-effect relationship has been established.
In our pharmacists’ view, many of the people who look for inositol already have irregular cycles or occasional spotting before they start taking it. This may be why such reviews appear more often for inositol than for other supplements.
When people start a new supplement, they naturally tend to suspect it first as the cause of any change.
In fact, while research has looked at inositol’s role in supporting regular menstrual cycles, we have not found research showing that it causes these problems.
*This reflects our pharmacists’ opinion. Because everyone’s body is different, side effects may vary from person to person.
4. Recommended Inositol Dosage and Duration
- Inositol at a Glance
- Inositol: 4 g
- Folate: 400–800 mcg
- Duration: 3 months or longer
If you have decided to take inositol, the most important thing to consider is the dosage.
Most studies on inositol’s benefits involved taking 4 g of inositol daily for about three months, so taking 4 g a day is the amount that most closely matches the research described above.
Tablets or Powder: Which Is Easier to Take?
To give a sense of how much 4 g is: inositol tablets usually contain 500 mg each, so you would need to take about eight tablets a day.
We suspect that the indigestion and nausea some people report may come from having to swallow so many pills.
Powder forms are now available, and they may be easier on digestion and more convenient to take.
Most powder products contain 2 g per packet, but some now provide 4 g in a single packet. Taking the full 4 g at once is likely the most convenient option.
How Much Folate Should You Take With Inositol?
Folic acid is an essential nutrient for forming the baby’s neural tube, which develops into the brain and spinal cord, so it should be taken before and during pregnancy.
Folic acid is usually started before pregnancy. The studies above used 400 mcg, which is a basic amount. For those who have not been taking any folic acid, taking 600–800 mcg starting three months before pregnancy to raise folate levels can also be a good option.[9]
For folate, we recommend naturally derived folate, such as folate from lemon, rather than synthetic folic acid. It is the same type of folate found naturally in foods.
Whichever form you choose, it is important to get enough folate every day before and during pregnancy.
In summary, we recommend taking 4 g of inositol and 400–800 mcg of folate daily for at least three months.
5. The Bottom Line: Why YoungLong Created Double-Up Inositol
Inositol is a naturally occurring compound that has been studied for its role in insulin sensitivity, hormonal balance, and egg quality. Most studies have used 4 g a day for about three months, together with 400–800 mcg of folate, and the side effects reported have been mostly mild, appearing mainly at higher doses.
However, when our pharmacist looked for an inositol supplement for his wife, he repeatedly encountered the same issues: about eight tablets a day, powders with only 2 g per packet, synthetic folic acid, and added sweeteners.
He wanted a supplement she could take every day without any additional burden, so he established three criteria:
① The full 4 g of inositol used in research, in one daily stick
② Naturally derived folate from lemon instead of synthetic folic acid
③ A clean, vegan-certified formula with no unnecessary additives
When he could not find a product that met all three, YoungLong set out to develop its own formula.
YoungLong Double-Up Inositol with Folate
- 4,000 mg (4 g) of myo-inositol in one stick a day
- 600 mcg of naturally derived folate from lemon
- Vegan and Halal certified
Preparing for pregnancy can feel long and uncertain. We hope this guide, and the supplement our pharmacist created with his own family in mind, make one part of that journey a little easier.
Before starting any new supplement, especially if you are trying to conceive, are pregnant, or are undergoing fertility treatment, please consult your healthcare provider.
Explore YoungLong Double-Up Inositol with Folate →
References
[1] U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 21 CFR 184.1370 — Inositol (Substances Affirmed as Generally Recognized as Safe).
[2] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2021 National ART Summary.
[3] Caprio F, D’Eufemia MD, Trotta C, Campitiello MR, Ianniello R, Mele D, Colacurci N. Myo-inositol therapy for poor-responders during IVF: a prospective controlled observational trial. J Ovarian Res. 2015;8:37.
[4] U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Questions and Answers on Dietary Supplements.
[5] Costantino D, Minozzi G, Minozzi E, Guaraldi C. Metabolic and hormonal effects of myo-inositol in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a double-blind trial. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2009;13(2):105–110.
[6] Zacchè MM, Caputo L, Filippis S, Zacchè G, Dindelli M, Ferrari A. Efficacy of myo-inositol in the treatment of cutaneous disorders in young women with polycystic ovary syndrome. Gynecol Endocrinol. 2009;25(8):508–513.
[7] Carlomagno G, Unfer V, Buffo S, D’Ambrosio F. Myo-inositol in the treatment of premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Hum Psychopharmacol. 2011;26(7):526–530.
[8] Carlomagno G, Unfer V. Inositol safety: clinical evidences. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2011;15(8):931–936.
[9] U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Folic Acid Supplementation to Prevent Neural Tube Defects: Preventive Medication.
*This content has not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
