Inositol Side Effects and Benefits



Posted: Saturday, November 06, 2010

by Ben Mester
Plan B Publishing

Inositol is a compound that many researchers are studying heavily recently, mostly because of its positive benefits, but also because of a few inositol side effects. Of the reported side effects, most symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, upset stomach, and skin rashes. No long term side effects have been reported from the supplement. However, since inositol is being studied in the treatment of a wide variety of conditions and ailments, it isn't yet known what effects inositol has on the body. For a quick background on inositol, inositol has been called a brain food, and in light of that, is currently being tested for its efficacy in the fight against a range of mental conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder, panic attacks, obsessive compulsive disorder, and others. While researchers don't believe that inositol will have any side effects on persons with preexisting conditions like those, studies are still preliminary.

A few facts that need to be stated about inositol are first that the body is able to synthesize inositol on its own. Second, the average diet isn't generally deficient in inositol because inositol can be found and eaten in both animal and plant sources. Third, in order to achieve effectiveness in the treatment of mental conditions, high doses were needed. Don't get me wrong, inositol is a very essential chemical to healthy function in human beings. It brings a variety of different positive benefits. Just because that's true doesn't necessarily mean that inositol in supplement form is helpful to the body. As often happens with chemicals that are in ready supply which the body can synthesize on its own, it can be difficult to raise the levels of the compound in the body through supplementation. That's a big drawback of a lot of supplements. The distributors tell you about all of the benefits of the chemical in the body, but neglect to mention that clinical trials have shown that taking supplements of the chemical failed to raise levels of the chemical in the bloodstream.

That's not necessarily a side effect unless you consider wasting money a side effect. But just consider this. In a clinical trial, a double blind, controlled study was initiated that compared inositol with fluvoxamine in treating panic attacks. There were twenty patients that each were given up to 18 grams of inositol a day for a month. That's 18 grams!! 18,000mg a day. Does anyone care at that point if inositol is shown to be effective. Who among us is going to take 36 inositol pills a day at 500mg each? So while this isn't a side effect, you have to be careful when reading about some of the benefits of supplements, because suppliers won't always tell you the levels that were needed in order to receive the desired benefit of the drug.

That all being said, I still think that taking inositol as a supplement is a good idea, especially when combined with choline. The reason is because inositol and choline are similar and complimentary in nature to one another. Both of these help regulate fats as well as cholesterol, and both have also been shown to support the brain as well. Though both have been placed at times into the family of Vitamin B, they technically aren't B Vitamins, though they definitely are related to the group. Choline is a precursor to acetylcholine, which is an essential neurotransmitter in the brain. So using a supplement with multiple complimentary compounds is kind of like getting twice the bang for your buck. So instead of having to take a whole bunch of inositol, you can essentially take half as much of each. And through reading testimonials, I found that people really like the combination of choline and inositol.

** This article is meant to add to your general knowledge and should not be taken as medical advice or a medical diagnosis

Thanks for reading about some of the side effects of inositol. If you want to check out more, read my article on choline and inositol.
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