Niacinamide And Hypoglycemia

[Diokine]

Hey guys,

I'm a long time follower of peaty ideas, but only recently have I really started to buckle down and get a hold of my metabolism. The results have been astounding (I will write more on this later,) but I am still fighting with some hypoglycemia, usually a few hours before lunch.

I had been taking a few mixed B's, K2, aspirin, and Niacinamide. I think I've narrowed down the problem with crashing sugars. At this point, I feel it is related to niacinamide intake. I know niacinamide pushes the liver hard, and I was sure that I was having some issues with liver energy supply (recent blood tests showed elevated liver enzymes, ALT ~150, but this could have been from a rather intense workout that took place previously.)

I thought the problem was kind of going away, but I started back on the niacinamide and it is coming back. I usually only take 500mg once in the morning. I should be getting enough sugars, I have 2 squeezed oranges after waking, with magnesium bicarbonate and salt. Also 2 cups of coffee with salt and sugar. Usually some cottage cheese or eggs as well. Breakfast had been pretty hard to get down until about a week ago, I now wake up with decent hunger and breakfast is very satisfying. A few hours before lunch is when the hypoglycemia sets in. I have become very tuned in to my physiological state, and I can feel the sugars plummet rapidly (usually with 15 minutes.) I have had readings (from a standard walmart glucometer) as low as 44! When I took this reading I felt very close to passing out, lots of cold sweats, disoriented, etc.. Not a pleasant experience.

My question is; Would niacinamide cause low blood sugar like this? What other things should I be looking at?

 

[ravster02]

I think coffee in the morning is generally a bad idea because you've just gone through x hours of no food so taking something that requires stored glycogen (and you're hypoglycemic so your body isn't good at storing glycogen right now) isn't a good idea.

You can see why adding niacinamide on top won't help things either.

 

[Peata]

When I used to take it regularly, I felt that it lowered my blood sugar, yes. It was very bothersome and uncomfortable and I finally gave up using it.

Then I started using it some this winter 100 mg 3 x day without problem, and then began taking 500 mg + without problem. I feel the improvement in using it came from getting my liver healthier in the Fall. I haven't used it in a while.

 

[marikay]

Hey guys,

I'm a long time follower of peaty ideas, but only recently have I really started to buckle down and get a hold of my metabolism. The results have been astounding (I will write more on this later,) but I am still fighting with some hypoglycemia, usually a few hours before lunch.

I had been taking a few mixed B's, K2, aspirin, and Niacinamide. I think I've narrowed down the problem with crashing sugars. At this point, I feel it is related to niacinamide intake. I know niacinamide pushes the liver hard, and I was sure that I was having some issues with liver energy supply (recent blood tests showed elevated liver enzymes, ALT ~150, but this could have been from a rather intense workout that took place previously.)

I thought the problem was kind of going away, but I started back on the niacinamide and it is coming back. I usually only take 500mg once in the morning. I should be getting enough sugars, I have 2 squeezed oranges after waking, with magnesium bicarbonate and salt. Also 2 cups of coffee with salt and sugar. Usually some cottage cheese or eggs as well. Breakfast had been pretty hard to get down until about a week ago, I now wake up with decent hunger and breakfast is very satisfying. A few hours before lunch is when the hypoglycemia sets in. I have become very tuned in to my physiological state, and I can feel the sugars plummet rapidly (usually with 15 minutes.) I have had readings (from a standard walmart glucometer) as low as 44! When I took this reading I felt very close to passing out, lots of cold sweats, disoriented, etc.. Not a pleasant experience.

My question is; Would niacinamide cause low blood sugar like this? What other things should I be looking at?

Hi Diokine. I had some of the same trouble with niacinamide when I first started using it. Taking just 100mg three times a day (rather than a whole lot at once) helped a lot. But I also think you are not getting anywhere near enough sugar with your breakfast and that is what is causing your hypoglycemia (with the high dose of niacinamide making things worse). The rule of thumb is 4 grams of carbs for every 1 gram of protein. The orange juice and sugar in the coffee might be ok if you weren't also eating cheese and eggs and taking 500mgs of niacinamide. Ray says he needs a pint of OJ to balance out one egg. Coffee needs a lot of sugar as well. So you might be using up the sugar you are getting in the OJ just to balance the coffee, and then the niacinamide and the eggs and cheese are unopposed in your system and are causing the hypoglycemia symptoms. So more sugar and less niacinamide will help a lot. Good Luck.

 

[PakPik]

Hello Diokine,
I have heard about people in the forum getting sugar crashes with niacinamide sometimes. The usual advice is to always take niacinamide with plenty of food, specially making sure there are and will be enough carbs stored so that glycogen won't be a problem. There may be other factors at play. But from your message it would seem you are not taking enough carbs to get you through the morning? Just two oranges, plus how much sugar do you add to those coffees? And the coffee burns through sugar, then there's not enough glycogen for niacinamide to burn through -> crash. It seems to me there is an issue there with not enough carb intake.

 

[Braveheart]

100 mg after brkfst daily... 1 strong latte, 3 cups oj, 3 egg yolks, 2 oz cheese and I'm good to go till whenever....I'm not up on this I guess...why so much niacinamide for the day?

 

[Braveheart]

OK, I see WHO recommends 300 per day...I'm averageing 150 per day...

 

[tara]

usually a few hours before lunch.

You are expecting to go a few hours on a couple of oranges and a bit of sugar for breakfast before lunch several hours later? Even with turning up the rate of sugar burning with coffee and niacinamide?
Low blood sugar from straightforward carb deficiency or possibly from poor glycogen storage seems possible. Are you just skimping on the carbs in the morning and getting plenty the rest of the day, or eating enough to load up glycogen later in the day?
I've been close to passing out from what I think was probably hypoglycemia in the past. In retrospect I was probably just needing food more frequently at those times.
Consider eating more for breakfast and morning tea, not more than 2 hrs between food in the morning.

 

[jb116]

You are expecting to go a few hours on a couple of oranges and a bit of sugar for breakfast before lunch several hours later? Even with turning up the rate of sugar burning with coffee and niacinamide?
Low blood sugar from straightforward carb deficiency or possibly from poor glycogen storage seems possible. Are you just skimping on the carbs in the morning and getting plenty the rest of the day, or eating enough to load up glycogen later in the day?
I've been close to passing out from what I think was probably hypoglycemia in the past. In retrospect I was probably just needing food more frequently at those times.
Consider eating more for breakfast and morning tea, not more than 2 hrs between food in the morning.

+1
Tara nailed it on the head. Really the morning should be a feast, with plenty of protein and carbs. Protein seems to be the common missed
element with so many when it comes to breakfast.

 

[Diokine]

Thank you everyone for your responses, definitely some good info. I haven't had a bad episode for about a week now, and I'm slowly adding the niacinamide back into my regimen. I feel the problem was/is related to my liver and it's ability to store energy. What's also interesting, these episodes were worse during at time where it was very hard for me to eat breakfast. I was tending not to be hungry in the morning so it was a chore to eat the food I was eating. Now that I am doing better, I wake up pretty hungry.

I would tend to agree with you regarding not eating enough, and I had certainly considered that. I prepare my coffee with about 8oz per cup, with 1.5 oz of half and half and usually around 1.5tbsp of sugar + a little salt to taste. I would usually eat around 6 oz of cottage cheese, and maybe even a low fat string cheese, if I was feeling hungry still. It feels like even with a breakfast that's a feast the problem was still there. For instance, the day I had the lowest glucose reading I've ever read, I had 3 eggs with some veggie hash (made with lots of coconut oil.) The eggs were in addition to coffee and orange juice.

I also forgot to add that I generally have a snack right around the time I get these episodes, which is usually something like an apple or plum and a low fat string cheese. Sometimes even some honey on the tongue if I'm feeling low on sugars.

On a closing note, things are doing much better except for constant hunger My mood is great and temps are around 99F with pulse at 80bpm or so. This isn't super consistent yet but I feel like I'm making very good progress, and more importantly I'm figuring out what things work and what doesn't. I use a lot of light therapeutically, 630nm led arrays and IR lamps in addition to very bright halogen sources. I also spend as much time as I can in direct sunlight. I think the light therapy has helped tremendously with thyroid function and metabolism in general.

EDIT: I forgot to mention CO2! This was huge for me in the beginning. As my thyroid normalized I became extremely sensitive to adrenaline and would get very anxious in addition to cold hands and feet. Bag breathing, and in general "training" my body to get by on less breathing made a huge difference. Very calming...

 

[tara]

On a closing note, things are doing much better except for constant hunger

You know how I intrepret that. :)

EDIT: I forgot to mention CO2! This was huge for me in the beginning. As my thyroid normalized I became extremely sensitive to adrenaline and would get very anxious in addition to cold hands and feet. Bag breathing, and in general "training" my body to get by on less breathing made a huge difference. Very calming...

:)

 

[Birdie]

Also, the thread, "Niacinamide and Water Retention" has good info.
I don't know how to do a link for that, but it shows up under similar threads.

 

[Pointless]

I believe Ray Peat recommends much smaller doses of niacinamide. 100-200 mg or so.

 

[charlie]

I do well with 10mg to 50mg. With 50 mg only after a big meal.

 

[marikay]

I do well with 10mg to 50mg. With 50 mg only after a big meal.

Me too. And I don't take any at night.