Inositol

About Inositol

Inositol has been used to treat and prevent progression of athero-sclerosis throughout the body and to help reduce cholesterol, there is no good evidence from human studies that inositol lowers cholesterol and protects against cardiovascular disease. As a mild lipotropic agent, though, it is commonly used by overweight people to help with weight loss, and it may help in redistributing body fat. Exercise helps, too, of course.

Inositol helps promote healthy hair and skin. It has been used to treat eczema, and it may help the hair, especially if there is an inositol deficiency. For sleep, 500 mg. of inositol before bed has a mild antianxiety effect (placebo?) as well as possibly helping to utilize fat and cholesterol during sleep.

Inositol has also had some success therapeutically in improving the nerve function in diabetic patients with pain and numbness due to nerve degeneration. Generally, diabetic people should take extra inositol. People with multiple sclerosis may also receive some benefit with inositol supplementation, as there seems to be a higher percentage of inositol deficiency in nerve cell membranes in those patients.