| Inositol | ||||||||
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- Why inositol is good for you
- Important inositol facts
- Groups at risk of inositol deficiency
- Symptoms of inositol deficiency
- Inositol and health
- Inositol in foods
- Inositol recommended daily intake (RDI)
- Inositol works best with
- Overdosage, toxicity and cautions for inositol
Inositol is one of the B vitamin co-factors. It assists the B vitamins to function more effectively.
Inositol plays an important part in the health of cell membranes especially the specialised cells in the brain, bone marrow, eyes and intestines. Cell membranes are responsible for regulating the contents of the cells, to enable the cells to function correctly.
Inositol promotes healthy hair and hair growth, and it also helps in controlling estrogen levels.
- Inositol is needed for health at cellular level
- A good concentration of inositol is found in the lens of the eye as well as the heart
- Inositol is closely related to choline - in fact the two work together to make neurotransmitters and the fatty substances for cell membranes, as well as helping to metabolise and move out fats from the liver.
- Inositol is obtained from food in two ways: (1) from phytic acid - a substance found in the fibre of foods (phytic acid gets converted to inositol in the intestine); and (2) from foods directly in the form of myo-inositol
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Groups at risk of inositol deficiency
- Alcoholics - this group absorb less of some of the B vitamins and may not eat properly
- Mega coffee drinkers - coffee blocks absorption of inositol, so more may be needed to counter this
- People taking antibiotics - all B vitamins and co-factors may not be absorbed propertly in people taking antibiotics and they may require extra
- People on certain drugs - some drugs actually block absorption of inositol
- People under stress - when the body is under stress, it uses up all nutrients (especially the B-group vitamins and their co-factors) at a much faster rate, so extra may be required
- People with high blood pressure - inositol may play a part in helping to lower blood pressure
- People with high LDL cholesterol levels - inositol helps the body lower LDL (bad) cholesterol levels
Talk to a medical professional about inositol supplements BEFORE taking them.
Symptoms of inositol deficiency
Inositol deficiency is not very common as most people get enough from the foods in their diet. Deficiency symptoms that do rarely occur, are:
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- Reversing hair Loss - men taking extra inositol reported that their hair loss had improved, with less hair falling out - although this has not been tested under clinical situations.
- Reducing LDL cholesterol - inositol may be of benefit in reducing blood cholesterol levels.
Talk to a medical professional about inositol supplements BEFORE taking them.
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The body is able to manufacture this co-factor nutrient.
Inositol is also available from:
- Bananas
- Brewers yeast
- Brown rice
- Liver
- Nuts
- Oat flakes
- Raisins
- Unrefined molasses
- Vegetables
- Wheat germ
Inositol recommended daily intake (RDI)
| RDA | 30mg |
|---|---|
| TOLERABLE UPPER LIMIT | 600-3000mg |
| TOXIC LEVELS | essentially non-toxic to humans |
The tolerable upper limits should only be taken for short periods and only under medical supervision.
Overdosage, toxicity and cautions for inositol
No toxic effects are known, but diarrhea has been noted with the intake of very high dosage of inositol, as well as an increased secretion of creatine.
references
- O'Hara J, Nicol CG. The therapeutic efficacy of inositol nicotinate (Hexopal) in intermittent claudication: a controlled trial. Br J Clin Prac. 1988;42(9):377-381
- Office of Dietary Supplements USA - has the official USA RDI for all vitamins (these are also adopted by Australia), accessed 9 August 2005
- Osiecki, Henry, The Nutrient Bible 2002, BioConcepts Publishing
- Sarkar S, et al. Lithium induces autophagy by inhibiting inositol monophosphatase. J. Cell Biol, 2005. 170 (7): 1101-1111
