Reactive Hypoglycemia and inositol

[Saint George]

Hi everyone,

I am trying to pinpoint which supplement is causing reactive hypoglycemia. I think it could be milk thistle, biotin, coffee, or inositol. I really think I have been able to isolate as inositol. There are a couple forms I've inositol I've dabbled with. Myo-inositol before bed for sleep, inositol hexaniacate (a form of niacin) in Seeking Health B Minus, and then there is Phosphatidylinositol in Seeking Health Optimal PC (phosphatidylcholine complex). I believe the one that causes the most issue is inositol hexaniacate. Upon stopping B Minus and just taking folinic acid, hydrox-b12, p5p b6, nicotinamide riboside (form of b3 that I now love), and riboflavin-5-p all on there own, I do not have this hypoglycemia / brain fog. Direct from the wiki page on reactive hypoglycemia there is a section that says:

"Myo-inositol or 1D-chiro-inositol withdrawal can cause temporary reactive hypoglycemia."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactive_hypoglycemia

Yet, there is NO source for that statement on wiki. If I google inositol and hypoglycemia, I can't find anything to support where that claim came from. Does anyone have any insight?

Greatly appreciate all your help!

 

[Carl]

Have you altered your Milk Thistle supplementation? Are you using a MT extract usually 80%?

Milk Thistle is known to lower Blood Glucose which could be part of your problem or at least contributing to it. It could be why the drug companies are blocking access to MT inside the EU incase it might reduce their T2 diabetic drug sales.

Are you not also consuming any Choline? They usually go together and taking larger doses of Inositol on it's own might be causing an imbalance. Largish doses of Choline makes me sleep so I have to keep the dosage fairly low> 350mg at a time. You are more likely to be deficient in Choline than Inositol.

 

[Richard7]

If you look at the human effect matrix on examine.com's inositol page https://examine.com/supplements/inositol/ you will see that there has been some research showing that it reduces blood glucose. But you would have to look at the research they link to to see if it is a short term or long term response.

Of course it could also be the case that you react differently.

 

[Saint George]

Thanks @Carl

I have taken various doses of Milk Thistle over the years. My favorite dose is 100mg in the morning and then 250mg at night. I eat one egg every morning and then I take that Optimal PC supplement below:

https://www.seekinghealth.com/optimal-pc-100-softgels

Which is a phospholipid complex containing primarily choline but also inositol. I don't think I have reactive hypoglycemia from this form and I believe I am getting it from Inositol Hexaniacate.

 

[Carl]

@Richard7
I think that that research is not very reliable and the effect was minor. It does also increase Insulin sensitivity which means that there would be less circulating insulin, however that effect was also fairly minor.

@Saint George
That seems extremely expensive for what it is TBH. I pay a lot less than that for 1Kg of Sunflower Lecithin powder.

The quantities in that supplement are minute which might explain why you do not get the same effect from that supplement but you do from a more concentrated source such as Inositol powder.

There is also very little Inositol in Inositol Hexaniacinate so I doubt that a tiny amount of Inositol could be causing your problems. Whether the Niacin itself is having an effect might be a little more likely.
Quote

Inositol nicotinate may increase blood sugar levels. Caution is advised in patients with diabetes or hypoglycemia, and in those taking drugs, herbs, or supplements that affect blood sugar. Blood glucose levels may need to be monitored by a qualified healthcare professional, including a pharmacist, and medication adjustments may be necessary.

http://www.naturesoasismarket.com/n...680134ecb&DocID=bottomline-inositolnicotinate
However:

Research has shown that supplementing with niacinamide (vitamin B3) can prevent blood sugar levels from falling excessively in people with hypoglycemia.

Gave the research supporting it only 1 out of 3 stars.
https://wa.kaiserpermanente.org/kbase/topic.jhtml?docId=hn-2926008
Which gives very different info than the site selling the supplement.

Are you aware that niacin can reduce methylation?

 

[Hip]

If I google inositol and hypoglycemia, I can't find anything to support where that claim came from. Does anyone have any insight?

If you Google inositol and insulin resistance, you will find things like this study, which explains how inositol (aka myo-inositol) reduces insulin resistance.

By reducing insulin resistance, you will in turn reduce blood glucose levels.