My personal path with Inositol keeps unfolding much like the peeling of an onion. As we peel away the outer layers we are exposed more and more to inositol’s importance in mammalian (and human) biochemistry.
I have shared with you how I personally benefited from inositol when I was overcome with severe pain and suffering with TMJ issues. More recently, I was introduced to how increasing dosages of this very safe vitamin has been used for veterans, particularly, struggling with anxiety, depression, and PTSD.
We are going to continue to unpeel the onion of inositol as far down as it goes and see where it leads us.
How Unque is this B Vitamin?
First of all, there is no Required Daily Allowance (RDA) for inositol. Generally, we obtain about 1,000 milligrams (1 gram) daily from our food supply.
It is found in two forms:
Fiber of plan foods contains inositol along with 6 carbons. This inositol plus 6 carbons is abbreviated as IP6. Its full name is Inositol Hexaphosphate. But let’s keep it simple and refer to it as IP6. When we digest plant fiber the good bacteria in our intestines convert the fiber into inositol.
You also get in another form called myo-inositol from plant and animal foods like organ meats, citrus fruits, nuts, beans, and whole grains. “Myo” simply means muscle. Its role is different than regular inositol.
Since inositol is water soluble it is not stored very well in the body. We require daily supplementation to support it’s many functions. We lose this key vitamin during times of fasting, weight-loss diets or diets that include substantial amounts of refined and processed food, sugar, or alcohol. Caffeine is another culprit that creates an inositol shortage so that additional amounts are needed when someone is a heavy drinker of coffee, tea, cocoa or other caffeine-containing substances.
Let’s address the safety of this vitamin. We all always ask “can you get side effects from inositol?” or “what would be the downside if you take too much? According to the Physicians’ Desk Reference family Guide to Nutrition and Health it states that inositol has not been found to be toxic at any dosage level. In fact, according to a study:
"as much as 50 grams (50,000 milligrams) has been taken by mouth with no ill effect. It has a mild antianxiety effect, similar to that of mild tranquilizers, but without the side effects."
This might relate to inositol’s interaction with serotonin or other neurotransmitters. Inositol can also lower blood pressure, help remove fatty deposits from the liver, and can naturally induce sleep.
In our next article we will peel the onion and explore whether our daily intake from food is enough and if not why? We will continue with dosage levels ranging from daily maintenance to higher levels for adjusting our biochemistry when it has gone astray, and we are now suffering from the altered path. We will also discuss if we can get back on track again and does it matter how long we have strayed.
If interested, please jump ahead and investigate as well with the following. Get your hands on the book by Dr A. Shamsuddin called “IP6”. The supplement I am using and will discuss has had studies on it and it is from Nature’s Way and called Cell Forte IP6 and Inositol (powder).