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03.03.2023

Inositol alleviates severe depression

According to a forgotten trial from the previous century, a substantial daily dose of inositol can turn a severe depression into a mild depression in a matter of weeks.

Study
In 1994, Joseph Levine, then affiliated with the Yehuda Abarbanel Mental Health Center in Israel, published a small human study in which he gave 13 participants with severe depression 12 grams of inositol every day for 4 weeks. In this publication, Levine did not specify which variant of inositol he used. We believe it was myo-inositol, but it may have been D-chiro-inositol.

Regardless, the participants divided the 12 grams into two doses per day. They dissolved 6 grams of powder [which is two teaspoons] in a glass of fruit juice and drank it - one glass in the morning and one glass in the evening.

Levine determined the severity of the participants' depression using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, which is a questionnaire. The higher the score, the more serious the depression.

A score of less than 7 means no depression. A score of 7-17 indicates mild depression, a score of 18-24 indicates moderate depression. Scores of 25 or higher indicate severe depression.

Results
In the placebo group, the average score decreased from 33 to 29. This means that these participants had a severe depression at the start of the trial, and this had not changed by the end of the trial.

In the inositol group, the effect was greater. During the trial, the average score decreased from 33 to 22, which means a change from severe depression to moderate depression.

The effect of supplementation seemed to be stronger in women than in men.

Side effects
The tested dose of 12 grams of inositol is on the high side. Usually, supplement companies recommend doses of 1-3 grams per day. However, serious side effects did not occur in Levine's trial. Some participants in the inositol group complained of nausea and flatulence, but there were no more serious side effects.

Source:
Am J Psychiatry. 1995 May;152(5):792-4.

More:
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