Inositol is a key factor in cellular health

What’s in a name? With all due respect to W. Shakespeare, plenty.

An HSI member named Doris wrote to ask: “Regarding psoriasis: You said that inositol was niacin. They are two separate nutrients. Was it inositol or was it niacin that helped the psoriasis?”

The quick answer: inositol.

Doris is referring to a recent “This week in the Health Sciences Institute e-Alert” (8/19/05) in which I wrote: “A member named George has a case of psoriasis that was treated unexpectedly. He began taking two grams per day of inositol (niacin) to address a cognitive condition. But to his surprise, ‘My psoriasis has reduced to something barely noticeable – even through the cold winter with the dry heat and little sunshine.'”

The “(niacin)” was added by me in an effort to easily explain what inositol is.

Here’s where I went wrong: Inositol hexanicotinate is a no-flush form of niacin. But Doris is right; inositol is something else entirely. (The potential for confusion is compounded by the fact that inositol and niacin are both members of the vitamin B complex.)

Inositol is a key factor in cellular health because it’s necessary for maintaining cell membranes, especially in the brain. In addition to helping address some cognitive problems (such as obsessive compulsive disorder), inositol supplements may also help breakdown fats and reduce cholesterol. Some men also report that inositol helps slow hair loss.

And in the case of at least one HSI member, inositol has apparently reduced psoriasis.