Pharmacist Says This Is the #1 Supplement to Regulate Your Hormones

Your hormones play a powerful and often behind-the-scenes role in nearly every aspect of your health. These tiny chemical messengers travel through your bloodstream, helping to regulate your energy levels, mood, metabolism, sleep, reproductive health, and even how your body responds to stress.

When your hormones are in balance, everything tends to work more smoothly—you feel more energized, focused, and emotionally stable. But when they’re out of sync, it can lead to a wide range of symptoms, from fatigue and anxiety to irregular periods and skin issues.

If you suspect your hormones are out of balance, it’s a good idea to check in with your doctor or endocrinologist to assess your symptoms and find potential solutions. However, Phil Cowley, PharmD, a pharmacist and health education influencer, says that many of the most common hormone-related conditions could be dealt with at home with the help of a supplement.

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What is inositol?

Cowley recommends inositol, a sugar-alcohol compound sometimes known as vitamin B8, as the number one supplement to regulate your hormones.

He notes that many Americans are deficient in this naturally occurring compound. While we should get five grams of inositol in our diets, today’s standard Western diet only provides a single daily gram, on average, he notes.

“Importantly, tissues highest in inositol, such as kidneys, brain, and blood cells, are typically no longer consumed by humans. Furthermore, other foods that are high in inositol-forming substances, such as liver, grains, seeds, and beans, are not readily consumed. Thus, from a dietary perspective, our intake of inositol is much lower compared with what humans would have consumed during Palaeolithic times,” one study agrees.

Some people also require more inositol than others. “Increasing age, antibiotic use, sugar and refined carbohydrate intake, sodium deficiency, insulin resistance, and type 1 and type 2 diabetes all increase the need for myo-inositol,” the researchers write.

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How can inositol supplements regulate your hormones?

Cowley recently took to TikTok to explain just how foundational inositol is to hormonal health. He says that if you get one gram instead of five each day, “That means you have 20 percent of the secondary messenger for all of your hormones, which [could] lead to polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), hormonal dysregulation, infertility, and weight gain you can’t explain.”

“If you don’t have the secondary messenger, myo-inositol, your insulin can’t work, which means you gain weight, you slow down your metabolism, you lose muscle,” he adds. “If you don’t have inositol, that means that your progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone aren’t managed.”

Research has shown that getting adequate levels of inositol can aid in reproduction, weight maintenance, mental health, and insulin regulation.

According to Cleveland Clinic, taking inositol can also help you manage metabolic syndrome, a group of risk factors that heighten your odds of certain chronic illnesses, including diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.

These risk factors include excess abdominal fat, high triglyceride levels, low “good” HDL cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar, all of which can be affected by the balance of your hormones.

So, if your hormonal health is in need of a tune-up, inositol may offer a natural, research-backed way to bring your body back into balance. Talk to your doctor to find out if it might be right for you.