there is a documentary movie "Feed your head" with Abraham Hoffer where they concentrate on niacin as one of the best aids for mental health problems and nervous system.
Niacin is good for diabetes prevention and many other metabolic syndrome. It doesn’t cause diabetes unless you’re grossly overdosing it for which you should clarify the dose.
Niacin or niacinamide? I've heard niacinamide is the one to take, and I've been taking it at 3grams a day for 4 months. My arthritis is gone now. I've heard that it also prevents diabetes.
The problem is the first month you will flush alot which causes significant damage in people with diseases its similar to mCAS where mast cells degranulate massively, 10 years later i can't tolerate the flush anymore. Niacin gave me glucose intolerance that said i took niacin for two years with dosages up to 10 grams. Niacinamide seems to be more toxic but sensitizes insulin while niacin impairs. Niacinamide also speeds up aging
I eat one meal a day at 5pm. I find that I can take 3 grams of niacin during the day without side effects. I do , however, take 3 grams of TMG for methylation. I sweeten my tea with glycine and I take Nac and choline.
The founder of niacin success back in the 30's, his findings was if possible take 250mg every 90 minutes, 10x a day. I'd naturally would start off much lower & if spreading 3 or 4 times per day, and see how that goes.
Look into Berberine supplementation. It is not as cheap as niacin but it lowers LDL and triglycerides and raises HDL cholesterol while at the same time lowering A1C. Plus has antioxidant properties. As always consult your doctor before taking any supplement.
Excellent Post. also i've heard that taking high dose Niacin depletes or whatever the right word is.. your methyl groups. If you're an undermethylator ..you don't want to take Big niacin
It sounds complicated for most people, unless one does OMAD or takes niacin before bed. One thing is clear. Almost no one knows this info and is taking their niacin randomly.
While your brain represents about 2-3% of your total body weight, 25% of the cholesterol in your body is found in your brain, where it plays important roles in such things as membrane function, acts as an antioxidant, and serves as the raw material from which we are able to make things like progesterone, estrogen, cortisol, testosterone and even vitamin D. In fact, in a recent study available on the NIH Public Access site, researchers showed that in the elderly, the best memory function was observed in those with the highest levels of cholesterol. Low cholesterol is associated with an increased risk for depression and even death. This understanding of the important role of cholesterol in brain function raises concern as we now see changes in recommendations for prescribing statin medication. Some estimates indicate that moving forward, the number of individuals taking statins to lower cholesterol in America may actually double! This presents a worrisome proposition for brain health.
Optimal niacin dosing: 100mg, per hour, each hour of the day. Up to 1g daily. Diminishing returns after this. No flushing and no extreme dosing necessary. It takes 30-60 min to rise in blood, and had half life of 60 minutes.
I take 3grams of Niacinamide per day (1000mg x 3). Afrer 2 months, my arthritis was almost gone. After 3 months, arthritis completely gone. Of course this is not niacin, it's niacinamide, so im assuming that there is a significant difference. I don't know enough to say, i just know it's working.
Dr Abram Hoffer did not agree with this as I understand it. You may see problems with niacin in high doses, several grams. Dr Abram Hoffer told that the liver values increases but thats not the same as the liver is getting harm.
Wow, thanks for that video. Since a couple of weeks I take 100mg niacin daily and since one week I feel like shit and I think niacin skyrocket my blood sugar. I feel dizzy, no energy, always hungry, lost weight, have to pee all the time, often thirsty, dry skin, feel shitty in the morning, can't drink coffee anymore. I will stop immediately. Hope I did not any unrecoverable damage to myself!!!
Ii know it’s a bit old but to me it sounds like the niacin makes you undermethylate. It can deplete your methyl groups in your body, which is bad for undermethylators but good for people who already have too much methylation activity. If you still want to take Niacin, you can try to supplement SamE or Methionine (or some take TMG) to raise your methylation again.
Dr Ford Brewer said that the issues with Niacin go away after 3-4 months. I tend to believe him, since he is someone who thinks a majority of Americans are pre-diabetic. Having said that, I don't know if this might be looking at patients eating a low carb diet. On a different note, I wonder if the initial favoring of carbs would be beneficial for bodybuilding?
It is my understanding that the big FFA inhibition and rebound only occur in subjects that are high dose niacin-naive. Once you've been taking a while the effect subsides
Hi, could you do a video on niacin for people with schizophrenia? How to best supplement high does niacin (1-3g a day), what supplements to take with high dose niacin to prevent problems, etc?
I was thinking the same thing. I'm guessing that you're ability to utilize fat for energy is impaired during that three hour window, so probably best not to eat a high fat meal with the niacin?
Niacin is necessary for NAD+ production, which is essential to running the ADH and ALDH detoxification enzymes and for producing ATP, which is the power currency of the cell and therefore the whole body. If you take niacin, specifically nicotinic acid, you will have more energy, to run detox enzymes, and also more building blocks to run detox enzymes. This will not cause diabetes, but can cause diabetic like symptoms from the speeding up of detox processes and the stirring up of stored toxins and byproducts of the detoxification process (for example, when the body detoxes methanol, it produces toxic byproducts that can be fatal in large amounts, so an emergency treatment for methanol poisoning is to give someone things to slow the methanol detox process) So basically, don't take too much too quickly. Detox is good, just not more than your body can handle at one time. But until I fully understand diabetes it's difficult to say what exactly is going on.
I presume you mean a bolus of niacin that releases in the first two hours and is not extended release over the next several hours. I'm keto and I take 1500 mg of extended release niacin (and equal TMG) after all food and at 8 p.m. which when I go to bed. Diet would not drop my triglycerides but this practice reduced them by more than two thirds to under 100. My HDLs however remain dismally low and have been through different diets et cetera for well over a decade. Three months ago they were 34 then I added a lot of olive oil to my diet and they dropped to 27.
@@DDumbrille what? Maybe that's old information. There's several videos on here now where people got rid of all carbs, eight sticks of butter and tons of eggs went on a completely carnivore diet zero carbs no plants no fruits no vegetables no plant products whatsoever and all of them had their triglycerides drop, none of them were even close to 100, mine are 64 and I eat almost zero carb except for what might be naturally in a few ounces of milk few tablespoons of yogurt I might occasionally have
Go on a zero carb high fat diet, eat butter eggs and meat, get rid of the fruits vegetables and plant products, and see what happens to your triglycerides and HDL. Look at all the other people who've done it, haven't seen anyone yet that it did not work
Aside from becoming insulin resistant, isn't the other concern with Niacin that it raises uric acid and homocysteine levels? Would the protocol mentioned (taking niacin with a meal, and then fasting (or at least avoid carbs) for 3-6 hours after taking niacin) help reduce with the other risks?
Chris, when is best time for aerobic exercise for fat loss if one is taking niacin? 3-6hrs post instant release niacin? And what about resistance training timing? And why can't we just take niacin once a day to avoid the increase in FFA issue several times a day? What time would once a day dosing be best?
I’ve seen niacin recommended in the evening with dinner. Is that a good recommendation? Since niacin can also give you energy and cause you wake up at night
If you have seen an increase in A1C while taking 3g/day for over 6 months. Are these increases reversible simply but either cutting it out, or scaling it back?
The key take away should be, do not eat high carbs meal later than one hour after taking niacin. This is because high carbs meal is likely not good for anyone. The way it was phrased sounded like we "should" eat high carbs meal with niacin, which doesn't provide any benefits. Unless you are a high carbs meal kind of person, and want to use nicacin to help. Still, I don't think that it's a good idea to have your blood sugar spike from a high-carbs meal, then have niacin pushing it around the body into all the parts of your body and into little capillaries. I don't see how that is a sensible thing to do.
What if I exercise 5x a week, eat beef and eggs daily, and don’t eat refined sugars or carbs… will niacin 500mg 3x a day with meals cause diabetes? Also taken with berberine/metformin
I am a bit lost by all this. An overcomplicated "solution" to a simple situation. Shouldn't be snacking anyway, and is niacin more likely to cause diabetes than statins which are renowned for doing so. And why are you trying to reduce cholesterol anyway, doesn't your liver produce as much as the body needs ? And are you aware of niacins related effects ?
I am a bit confused, I take Metformin 500 mg BID for pre-diabetes. Should I just avoid Niacin? I have been considering taking it to increase HDL and lower Trigs as well as for protection against skin cancer and to help with anxiety.
Look into Berberine supplementation as studies have shown it is effective as Metformin. As alway consult your doctor before taking any supplement as a replacement or along with a prescribed medication. As a bonus Berberine lowers cholesterol as well.
Does this information applies to Kaufman protocol for arthritis? My mother is taking 100 mg niacinamide every 3 hours totalling 600 mg and along with meal as well so 800-900/day. It can also got up to 250 mg ever hour or hour and half totalling to 1500-5000 mg/day. Another question is that I take a B-complex containing 100 mg niacinamide with meals totalling 200-300 mg/day, will the same information applies to me as well. Thanks.
Chris, you said 3 in 7 get diabetes on high dose niacin then later in video you say 1 in 43 get it. Which one is it? Did you mean 3 in 7 on statins get diabetes?
I have high cholesterol and higher lipoprotein (a) and is on 3 grams of niacin, I have a question , I used to have bad flushing for one week and after that I hardly have the flushing , is niacin still working ?
I agree it's probably better to fast during the later half of Niacin window because eating fat will stop your body from using your own fat. Or unless you have very low fat then eating fats might be beneficial at that time. I have low body fat so I eat an avacodo in the 3-6 hr window.
Taking niacin as a medicine is already limited by factors that interfere with compliance. Bedtime and morning dosing are most likely to be remembered. It would be a mistake to eat a high carb meal at night.
500mg of nicotinic acid has inhibiting effect on free fatty acid. So the ffa rebound will happen. That is when the body experiences the insulin resistance.
Great info, as you always bring. I was wondering, what exactly is considered this ´´Niacin Therapy´´ that you mention? Dosage? Form (NR, NMN, Niacinamide...) ? I´m in a cyclical Keto diet with IF from time to time and I do supplement with a multivitamin which has 30mg Nicotinamide (it´s not NR nor NMN). I normaly take half to full dose of this supl, which gives me 15-30mg of B3 just from supplement and I do eat meat, eggs... My main question would be: Is this dosage I´m taking enough to exert this carb/fat oxidation switch? I haven´t seen the dosages on the graph. Thank you! Love your channel.
You might be interested in reading "Niacin the real story" by Abram Hoffer. Doses for cholesterol are 1500 - 3000 mg in divided doses, like with meals. I'm pretty sure the dose you're taking doesn't affect the carb/fat oxidation switch.
so, that graph indicates to me that niacin suppresses FFA for energy usage in first 2 hrs. then after 3 hrs FFA becomes more available for consumption. This is NOT the same as saying our bodies are more/less efficient at metabolizing fats or carbs. we will always metabolize carbs in preference to fats because it is easier and requires less energy!.. Glyconeogenisis included.
None of what you said is true. FFA are the main body source and are more efficient than carbs and most cells can't burn carbs at all which are mainly burned by the brain. If you stop burning carbs though your body will stop making them in the liver over time so it should not be an issue.
@@LTPottenger what on earth are you talking about? FFA are the main body source? Please explain. Are you stating that our cells prioritize the burning of fats over sugar/carbs? this is a misconception. Read more. metabolizing fats, ketogenesis are a starvation mode and is activated when carbs are unavailable. Carbs require less ATP to metabolize. I do not understand why anyone would be taking massive doses of niacin and still be consuming a diet of mostly carbs. Cut the carbs, get the insulin under control (anabolic hormone) and monitor blood acidity levels (keto acidosis).
@@MrLeewsee You are absolutely clueless is what I am saying. Your brain uses ketones and sugar, everything else mainly uses free fatty acids which is easy to look up so go ahead and do it. Even your muscles can't use carbs, that is a lie told by supplement industry to sell sugary drinks to idiots. Your muscle glycogen can take glucose out of the blood stream but your blood can only hold half a teaspoon of sugar and all of the sugar is produced from the liver and mostly from fat as well. There is no reason to give a crap about carbs unless you are running a marathon or something similar and only if you are not fat adapted. The only reason runners invented carb loading was because they were doing all their training on low carb and would carb load to fire up the ability to take carbs into glycogen. For 99.9% of the population who are not burning thousands of calories of glycogen in a single workout there is zero reason to ever care about glycogen since your muscles have about 2000 calories worth and you can replenish it from your fat anyway.
@@LTPottenger good luck with your conspiracy approach to diet. I'm sure that will serve you well in the future. Kindly post your source for the utterly ridiculous claim that skeletal muscle or any muscle for that matter, does not, infact cannot use glucose for fuel. I am very curious...this cannot be from a peer reviewed source.
I take niacin 4 times 2 hours apart otherwise i cant tolerate my dose... does that mean that i can eat carbs during that 8 hours or is that only for the first dose and the following doses dont have that effect?
Back in the day, experimented with trimethylglycine (TMG) to add more methyl groups in hopes of helping. I quit the niacin and my result were mixed with TMG. I later used TMG Cl as a digestive aid and it was a life saver so to speak.
does niacinamide (aka nicotinamide) also raise glucose/blood sugar levels and/or cause diabetes (if one is taking 500 mg twice daily with food, to boost immunity to prevent bacterial infections/gangrene and skin timors-cancers due to occupational hazards) like regular niacin does? and should carb foods (most foods are carbs, some with fats, no?) be avoided in the 6 hour window (before the next niacinamide dose)? [ from videos to articles, i thought i saw 'diabetes/raise blood sugar' as an adverse effect of niacinamide. ] lastly, is the inositol hexanicotinate form of niacin as effective/bioavailable but without the risks of niacin? the european food commission approved inositol hexanicotinate (2009) as a viable bioavailable alternative and safer source of niacin (plus the bonus benefits of inositol).
Chris...My dermatologist has me taking 500 mg of Niacin twice a day in an attempt to prevent skin cancers because I've had 5 melanomas in the past 2 years. It never occurred to me that it could be causing problems with my blood sugars and fat storage. I eat a (mostly) carnivore diet with some added fat. So, if I take my Niacin in the morning and have coffee with heavy cream...is that a problem? Now if I'm understanding you, I should never eat till 6 hours after my niacin dose and even then, I should avoid fatty meats and added fats? Please advise me. Two years ago i was diagnosed with insulin resistance and I've been diligently working on low carb...no carb and fasting to avoid diabetes. I still have some visceral fat so I know I must still have insulin resistance and be at risk for developing diabetes. Should I stop taking the niacin?
"I still have some visceral fat so I know I must still have insulin resistance " lol or maybe your insulin sensitivity is fine and you're just eating a carnivore diet with "added fat" that's extremely high in calories....
I have read that Niacinamide protects the skin from UV radiation. This was in the June issue of the Life Extension magazine. Probably Niacin does too. Niacinamide does not raise blood glucose the way that Niacin does.
This is very interesting and I'd really like this to be true because I totally enjoy niacin flush. However, I almost never take high carb meal, especially for breakfast. It's ham and eggs for me, every morning, then I take niacin after that, on full stomach. Is that bad?
What happens if we don't eat carbs or being carnivore. Is it safe to take niacin? If my last meal is 6pm and eat at 12NN. 18 hr fasting. Or OMAD 12NN to 12NN can I take Niacin before sleeping without bad effects to diabetes?
I think this is wrong, because niacin blocks insulin sensitivity which is why blood glucose increases with niacin, without eating carbs. Why would you want to eat carbs and spike glucose even higher. My suggestion is eat nothing but protein with niacin, wait for the 3 hrs window than eat fats. This is if you are on a keto diet. I don't think carbs go well with niacin at all.
Does this same carbohydrate oxidation timeline exist if you are using “extended release” niacin? Or how does the extended release aspect affect the timeline of when to consume carbs and when not to?
I went on 2 divided 500 mg doses of berberine 1/2 hour before lunch and dinner after my doctor wanted to put me on a statin. I did not alter my diet but I never really ate horribly to begin with. After 6 months I had a lipid panel and and my total cholesterol went from 212 to 180, LDL dropped 33 points to 107, HDL raised 8 point to 47. Triglycerides dropped 10 points to 153. I since added 500 MG to my breakfast meal and will have a new blood test during my next annual exam. Berberine is suppose to lower A1C as well but I will need to wait until my next blood test for that result. I was thinking of adding niacin to help my triglycerides but will wait for my next blood work first since I dont want to skew the A1C which was within the normal range.
I am not sure I agree with this info. A high carbohydrate meal is going to cause diabetics, no matter what you do. The effects might not be amplified this way by niacin, it still isn't healthy though.
@@chrismasterjohn Niacin does not promote weight loss. Those carbs have to go somewhere which will be as fat and insulin resistance. You might be the only doctor recommending people eat a high carb diet to prevent diabetes.
What about being on a keto diet during the time taking niacin and taking niacin before bedtime so that you will be in the fasting phase during the 5h mark?
And what if your body cannot handle such a fasting...? I could try at night, but during the day the craving for sugar in the 3-6 hour mark is crazy - maybe the adrenals crash if we don´t get the sugars needed?
One thing about this video that I don't like, is that the speaker did not define what he considered to be high dose Niacin. To the speaker, is 500mg flush Niacin considered high dose? What is he considering high dose?
I get the idea that eating something protects the liver, but Im not sure why its necessary to eat a high carb meal with the niacin. Is it because people will get low blood sugar without the ability to break those fatty acids free to use for fuel? I typically intermittent fast and for me it seems logical to take my niacin early when I wake, so the rebound is totally complete before I eat in the evening. (I also take a relatively low dose, 250mg as I dont want to use up my mythl groups, and also Im mostly taking because I tried for its artery clearing, but liked the effect on my adrenals so started taking intermittently for that. But am at risk for diabetes so am trying to be careful)
@@chrismasterjohn Yeah. Its just a little misleading when you say "we are both in agreement that it makes sense to eat a high carbohydrate meal when you take the niacin." That seems to imply you should eat extra carbs with a meal when you take it? Maybe what you mean is if you are going eat a meal with carbs, do when you take the niacin, not in the rebound window....or not at all during the 6-7 hours after taking it. ..I wonder how long after eating you should wait...because obviously you could take it as you go to bed when you will be not eating for 8 hours, but I wonder how soon before bed you would need to stop eating. How long it takes a meal to be out of your system to the point niacin wont mess up your blood sugar....
This is all just theoretical ramble that’s getting spammed all over the supplement universe. Having people running out to buy TMG and now this. I don’t know why people buy into this.
Thank you, Chris. Have you worked with people who've experienced elevations in fasting glucose when taking low-dose nicotinamide? E.g. I'm taking 500 mg BID to see if it helps my rosacea... in the last 2 months, my fasting glucose has gone from 88 to 103 mg with no dietary or lifestyle changes. I'm thinking the rise is secondary to the nicotinamide supplementation.
he reads to much and is new in the field. They dont learn about orthomolecular medicine in school. As they reserach they read the papers " to well" as they go for the p-values and as a beleaver in the bible they take it word for word without seeing that data my be biased. Or they forget to see what happends if you do all vitamins mineral and food perfectly. As with b6 that many are afraid of,, why? if you put in everything else its okey. OR pottassium, as long as you also take sodium, no problemo.
@@chrismasterjohn I thought that Berberine is like a poor man’s metformin (first assumption which could be wrong) and this would regulate or modulate the sugar in the blood or the adverse impact it may have on my insulin release and response system (second assumption). I am not sure about the logic of all this so asked this question.
Based on my research I don’t feel the benefits of Niacin outweighs the risks. If was recommended to me to take it to get my HDL levels up. But, I’m going to start walking every day and see if that helps before I go this route.
I'd say so. In the past, I had knee pain and used NSAIDS which were terrible for the stomach. In time, I experimented and high niacin TR helped at a spread dose of 1600 mgs of niacin per day stopped the pain. In time after some years, it made my heart skip beats. If take 100 milligrams on a regular basis, I get the effect. I am fine at 50 mgs per day by way of a supplement.
