IP6 Update
Posted by DS DC on Sep 19th 2022
IP6 Update
IP6 To Lower Iron
We have been recommending IP6 (inositol hexaphosphate) for several years, primarily for helping to reduce minor serum iron elevation, especially for people who can’t give blood through the blood bank for some reason. For example, we lived in Spain during the 1990’s and the FDA has ruled that due to mad cow disease being present in England for a short time during those years, anybody who was on the European Continent for more than six months during that time period can never give blood. So I either had to go to a hematologist and get diagnosed with hemochromatosis for an in office blood draw or find another solution. The alternate solution for me and other people with mild iron overload was IP6. IP6 is an excellent chelator of metals and is fairly inexpensive and highly available.
We have become aware of some other important uses of IP6 that you should know about. If you want to do some reading on IP6, get ready for some deep water. I will try to break it all down into manageable bits. But first let’s talk about some basics.
IP6 Involved in Several Key Cell Pathways
IP6 is also known as myo-inositol hexaphosphate or phytic acid. It is a naturally occurring carbohydrate and is present in most plant and animal cells so you can get some IP6 from just about any diet. IP6 is typically involved in common cellular functions like signal transduction, cell growth and differentiation, platelet activity and cholesterol metabolism.
IP6 Can Remove Calcium From Tissues
As well as chelating iron, IP6 can also chelate calcium. Some researchers have been saying for years that heart disease is complicated by too much calcium in the diet. Getting calcium just right is the key. Researchers are working with using cardiac calcium measurements (CT scan) to assess the amount of calcium in the heart and cardiac arteries. High levels have been associated with increased risk of heart attacks.
The medical approach is to just use the typical drugs to try to lower heart attack risk without really addressing the calcium buildup. We think it makes sense to get your cardiac CT scan, take a couple of caps of IP6 a day, reduce your intake of dairy products, increase your intake of brown rice (high levels of IP6 in rice bran) and then retest your cardiac calcium in about 6 months.
Plants Don’t Do Well Without IP6 Either
It is interesting to note that researchers have been trying to lower the amount of IP6 in grains without success. Turns out that plants don’t live well without it any better than we do.