PCOS: D-Pinitol Articles
D-pinitol is a natural substance extracted from plant material. Some medical studies are suggesting that it could be helpful to women who have PCOS. It is available for purchase on this site.
D-Pinitol May Protect Your Pancreas
Is D-Pinitol an Anti-Inflammatory and Anti-Cancer?
D-Pinitol May Improve Insulin Sensitivity in PCOS
D-Pinitol Effective for Blood Sugar Reduction
More Health Benefits of D-Pinitol
D-Pinitol May Protect Your Pancreas
D-pinitol is a form of inositol, a member of the B-vitamin family. D-pinitol is one of the nutrients in the d-pinitol formula, which also includes chromium and vitamin D.
D-pinitol has been shown to improve blood sugar control and reduce insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is a condition where you do not efficiently utilize the hormone insulin. Therefore, your pancreas gland has to produce an excessive amount of insulin in order to manage your blood sugar levels and perform other critical functions in your body.
Insulin resistance is common among women who have PCOS and is regarded by many doctors as the primary cause of PCOS. Insulin resistance is a big problem.
In addition to causing symptoms of PCOS, it also can eventually cause your pancreas gland to become exhausted from producing so much insulin. As your pancreas gland approaches exhaustion, it can no longer produce the insulin you need. The result is type 2 diabetes with your blood sugar going out of control. In this situation, you would have to spend the rest of your life giving yourself insulin shots.
It's very important to protect your pancreas gland.
A recent study of d-pinitol at the University of Madras in India came to our attention. They studied two groups of rats. One group was diabetic, the other was normal.
The pancreas glands of the diabetic rats showed tissue damage from a condition called "oxidant stress". Oxidant stress occurs when the molecules in your cells become unstable. This instability is caused by a lack of "antioxidants". There are many antioxidants. Vitamins C and E are two commonly known antioxidants.
In this study, the diabetic rats were given d-pinitol. In one month, their oxidant stress was back down near the levels of the normal rats. In addition, physical examination of their pancreas glands confirmed the improvement.
Here's the point: d-pinitol not only helps you to normalize insulin and your blood sugar levels, it also may be act as an antioxidant to protect your pancreas gland from damage.
The d-pinitol formula is something to seriously consider, especially if you have an issue with insulin resistance or keeping your blood sugar balanced -- or if you have tried metformin but could not tolerate it.
Source:
Sivakumar S et al, Pancreatic tissue protective nature of D-Pinitol studied in streptozotocin-mediated oxidative stress in experimental diabetic rats, Eur J Pharmacol. 2009 Nov 10;622(1-3):65-70
Is D-Pinitol an Anti-Inflammatory and Anti-Cancer?
D-pinitol is becoming increasingly well known among PCOS women for its role in reducing insulin resistance and normalizing blood sugar problems. A new report from the University of Texas has shown that d-pinitol also has anti-inflammatory properties.
This is important because women with polycystic ovary syndrome are more likely to have chronic inflammation. As we discuss in our PCOS diet e-book, there is a vicious linkage between body fat, inflammation, insulin resistance and leptin resistance -- which is one reason why PCOS is so challenging to manage. Chronic inflammation also plays a role in cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. (Read Section 16 of our book for details).
A new report from the University of Texas has shown that d-pinitol suppresses an inflammatory pathway in the body called NF-kappaB. Suppression of NF-kappaB not only suppresses inflammation but also appears to make normal cells less likely to turn into cancer cells.
Source:
Sethi G et al, Pinitol targets nuclear factor-kappaB activation pathway leading to inhibition of gene products associated with proliferation, apoptosis, invasion, and angiogenesis, Mol Cancer Ther. 2008 Jun;7(6):1604-14
D-Pinitol May Improve Insulin Sensitivity in PCOS
If you've been reading our newsletters over the years, you know that we talk a lot about "insulin resistance", which means that your body is not utilizing the hormone insulin in an optimal way.
Recent research has shown that women with PCOS have a problem metabolizing compounds of inositol, a B-vitamin. The result is impaired insulin function and insulin resistance.
There has been a lot of interest in recent years about a nutritional substance called "d-chiro-inositol" or DCI. DCI appears to improve insulin sensitivity in women who have PCOS.
Without getting too technical, DCI is a component of "inositolphosphoglycan" or IPG. IPG in turn improves the effectiveness of insulin. The problem appears to be that not enough IPG can be produced if there is not enough DCI (d-chiro-inositol).
This concept is supported by a study released in October 2008 by Virginia Commonwealth University.
The researchers conducted a study of 11 women with PCOS. Although the study had to be concluded early because of a sudden unavailability of the d-chiro-inositol, the results were encouraging.
They said "…DCI-IPG release is significantly correlated with improved insulin sensitivity. The significant relationship between DCI-IPG release and insulin sensitivity suggests that the DCI-IPG mediator may be a target for therapeutic interventions in PCOS."
In plain English, they are saying that taking d-chiro-inositol improves insulin function in PCOS. By improving insulin function, you help to remove one of the primary causes of polycystic ovarian syndrome and all its symptoms.
But there is a problem with d-chiro-inositol: it is very expensive.
That's where d-pinitol comes into the picture. It is a precursor to d-chiro-inositol and is converted by the body into d-chiro-inositol. So you can increase your d-chiro-inositol levels by taking supplemental d-pinitol.
Secondly, d-pinitol is much less expensive than d-chiro-inositol. And thirdly, d-pinitol is available right here on this site. This d-pinitol formula also contains chromium and vitamin D, which are additional nutrients that help to improve insulin function.
Source:
Cheang KI et al Insulin-stimulated release of D-chiro-inositol-containing inositolphosphoglycan mediator correlates with insulin sensitivity in women with polycystic ovary syndrome, Metabolism. 2008 Oct;57(10):1390-7
D-Pinitol Effective for Blood Sugar Reduction
Pinitol (3-O-methyl-D-chiro-inositol) appears to lower blood sugar (glucose) by helping insulin do its job. It is thought that d-pinitol participates in the insulin signaling pathway.
We came across an interesting study of d-pinitol and people with uncontrolled diabetes.
Doctors at Hong-ik Hospital in South Korea evaluated the effect of pinitol therapy in twenty type 2 diabetic patients who were poorly controlled with hypoglycemic drugs, such as sulfonylurea, metformin and/or insulin. In other words, the drugs these people were taking -- such as metformin -- were not working very well.
The patients took d-pinitol for 12 weeks, at a dose of 20 mg per kilogram of weight. For example, a person weighing 150 lbs. would have taken 1,360 mg of d-pinitol.
After pinitol treatment, they had a reduction in after-meal blood sugar levels, and hemoglobin A1c was significantly decreased. Hemoglobin A1C is a blood marker for your average blood sugar over a 3-month span of time.
What's interesting about this study is that d-pinitol was helpful for people who were not getting good results with drugs such as metformin.
If you cannot tolerate metformin or are not getting results from it, you might consider d-pinitol as an element of your treatment program.
View our d-Pinitol formula at the online supplements store.
Source:
Kim MJ et al, Effect of pinitol on glucose metabolism and adipocytokines in uncontrolled type 2 diabetes, Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2007 Sep;77 Suppl 1:S247-51
More Health Benefits of D-Pinitol
Some of you are taking the d-Pinitol nutritional supplement. If so, we have some good news.
A new study from Annamalai University in India demonstrated that diabetic rats had a reduction in their blood sugar, total cholesterol, and triglycerides when given d-pinitol. In addition to a lowering of total cholesterol, there was a significant decrease in the "bad" LDL/VLDL cholesterol and an increase in the "good" HDL cholesterol as a result of d-pinitol.
Another rat study from Inje University in Korea showed that d-pinitol had a protective effect on their livers. The d-pinitol appeared to have an anti-oxidant effect and also inhibited inflammation. This study is interesting because women with PCOS tend to have disturbed, dysfunctional livers. The liver-protective aspect of d-pinitol is in addition to its ability to aid in restoration of ovulation and reduction of insulin resistance.
We'll have more good news about d-pinitol in our next newsletter. Stay tuned!
Sources:
Geethan PK et al, Antihyperlipidemic effect of D-pinitol on streptozotocin-induced diabetic Wistar rats, J Biochem Mol Toxicol. 2008 Jul;22(4):220-4
Zhou Y et al, Protective effect of pinitol against D-galactosamine-induced hepatotoxicity in rats fed on a high-fat diet, Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2008 Jul;72(7):1657-66
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