Niacin, who knew?! Research shows that in the brain, niacin interacts with a highly-selective receptor, HCAR2, present in immune cells physically associated with amyloid plaques. When niacin activates the receptor, it stimulates beneficial actions from these immune cells. After the Alzheimer's disease animal models received niacin, they ended up with fewer plaques and they have improved cognition. Past epidemiology studies of niacin and Alzheimer's disease showed that people who had higher levels of niacin in their diet had diminished risk of the disease. Niacin is also currently being used in clinical trials in Parkinson's disease and glioblastoma.
In the central nervous system, vitamin B3 has long been recognized as a key mediator of neuronal development and survival. Niacin (also known as “vitamin B3” or “vitamin PP”) includes two vitamers (nicotinic acid and nicotinamide) giving rise to the coenzymatic forms nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP). Niacin is crucial in regulating biological functions, including gene expression, cell cycle progression, DNA repair and cell death.
This is not new information on niacin and the CNS - researchers identified the cell receptor that is present in immune cells. This screams autoimmune disease to me. You don't need a niacin prescription either.
Niacin+Melatonin to treat COVID. Can't say anything that contradicts the official narrative or they're deplatformed. Some ppl are suffering from neurological damage after their illness. Inflammation run amuck in my opinion. SE
I have no experience with his described use of melatonin and nicotinic acid. He describes it as a needed combo for effective treatment of Covid-19, but I have seen melatonin do that effectively and quickly without nicotinic acid and the current studies show clear benefit of melatonin in ameliorating SARS-Cov-2 and significantly reducing mortality as I have written about here :
This will be easy enough for me to test since I am already taking 120 mg or more of melatonin every night for a long time now. My previous attempts at taking niacin failed miserably as the flush was too much for me to tolerate, but back then I was only taking about 30 mg of melatonin a night. If I still get the flush now, with the amount of melatonin I have been taking plus the melatonin that I am getting from my regular sun exposure, I will have to say that his theory is suspect at best. I'll order the nicotinic acid and give it a test very soon. My psoriasis will make it easier for me to discern if the niacin plus melatonin is more effective than melatonin alone in reducing inflammation.
Interestingly, Gio had been trying to get me to give nicotinic acid another try as he is a regular user of it, but I have been completely resistant to the idea due to the flush, but with no flush, that's a different ball game.
Your case is special, as I suppose you caught so much sun and light radiation. You should know that flushing is of intensity proportional to the radiation received on skin. It will manifest intensely if you do not use a very, very, very gradual approach in dose increase, but then it disappears. Go slow!🥵
What a pity I can't read the article you linked to SE as, when I opened the link, I received the following message "The country you are located in is not supported.
Sorry for the inconvenience, but we do not allow access in your current location."
Niacin, not Niacinamide, right? I have a bottle of Methylated B Complex, which contains 80mg of Niacinamide per capsule. Do you think it is worth a try?
You will get a lot of opinions here on whether it needs to be Niacin or if other forms of B3 will do the same. I stick with Niacin as Niacin 250 mg slow release is what was used in the Auburn study. I had to get Time Released as I can't find slow release. Niacin binds to GPR109A and is supposed to lower inflammation. I don't think the other B3s bind to GPR109A (I have a HS degree). Niacin is cheap and you can get it anywhere.
Get hold of milk thistle and turmeric extract from a quality supplier. And you are good to go.
While some common ingredients in liver cleanses have been shown to have positive results — milk thistle has been shown to decrease liver inflammation, and turmeric extract has been shown to protect against liver injury — there have not been adequate clinical trial data in humans to recommend the routine use of these natural compounds for prevention.
John Hopkins
P.S: And there will never be any 'adequate clinical trial data in humans'. There is no money to be made here.
Yes, there is a lot of confusion on slow release. From what I have read, "slow release" might be a problem, but probably not at 250 mg. Time released I think is different. The biggest thing I have seen is DO NOT mix the slow/timed/extended with quick release. Don't go back and forth between the two types.
Please help distinguish between Niacin vs Flush Free Niacin vs Delayed Release Niacin
Surely Jay you could Google this.
But I would reply so others who may not be able to do so can have a clear picture.
Niacin - Instant Release Niacin (causes a flush)
Flush Free Niacin - Niacin as Inositol Hexanicotinate
Delayed Release Niacin - Delayed Release Niacin (does not cause a flush)
Given that you may have to take at least 250mg of Niacin, delayed release may be the best choice. The flush on the instant release is not bearable by most. Do still take the Delayed Release Niacin with a meal: on an empty stomach it can still cause a flush.
You want nicotinic acid, the flush type. To avoid discomfort, start with 50mg or less than 100mg for a while, and then titrate up. After a while, the flushing response slowly disappears even at 250mg. When you stop for a while and restart, flushing comes back. I personally don't mind the flushing and get disappointed when I can't feel it. Some people freak out and end up at ER with flushing because they don't understand what's happening.
There is no relationship between Nicotinic acid and Nicotine. To prevent that mixup - which also caused more confusion - Nicotinic acid is called Niacin.
Does anyone have any experience with Nature's Way Niacin 100mg? I am taking 1 cap twice a day with food. Started 3 days ago. It says Nicotinic Acid on the label.
Is 100mg twice a day ok? Or should I take 200mg once a day after lunch?
Good question. I have been researching this for over 6 months and it is confusing.
The key is, you want Niacin as Nicotinic acid. The study used "Slow Release". I can't even find that. I use Nature's Bounty "Time Released". The bottle does not say Nicotinic acid, but on Amazon the seller says that is what it is. Good luck.
When I checked what we are taking it ws Nicotinamide, as I did not want to throw it out. (we have plenty $$ in trash on supplements). I was trying to see if it had any benefits in this form for PD and I came across this recent article UK PD. Seems to be a very small study. We (HWP) and me are both taking this form for healthy heart lipids and it has helped lower his LDL.
I understand from the responses that the flush is indicative of down-regulating GPR109A? I take nicotinic acid post lunch to avoid flush. Does this mean it is not working? Or its efficacy is diminished if taken with food?
No, and niacinamide will probably even compete with B3 so you really don't want to take it anywhere near the presence of niacinamide, probably good to wait an hour.
Meanwhile I think you really are on to something, B3. Is it still in the nature of a personal experiment, but in this case, unusually, I think it is probably warranted, and so you want to take it when it is not going to be losing to competition. That means wait an hour or longer after eating much of anything else. Best to get the B3 single element supplement, just simply B3.. It's cheap enough. And it can't hurt, even if it is orally administered, I would still go for it, and in fact it's one of the few things that I have adopted, along with B complex, and B1 alone between meals. There is indeed something to it, although one can only suspect it, which is not science and non-objective. Nevertheless...
It's the extended-release or sustained-release niacin that tends to cause liver toxicity. At 250mg or less, the chance of liver toxicity is lower in general, but you're better off using the inexpensive readily available nicotinic acid, the flushing type that works on GPR109A receptor.
Niacin metabolism tends to dump methyl donors so be sure to either supplement higher choline foods or TMG or it'll raise your homocysteine, especially if you're not sufficient on b6, b9 & b12.
Also, watch out for blurry vision or dry eyes while on niacin and stop or lower the dose if it happens.
I posted this video a few times but posting again in case you've not seen it. With HDT, you need to support Mg and K as well as B Complex. youtu.be/-DxvSUEVT_4
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