Testimonial For Niacin - It Just Works

redsun

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Per the title, this is just my personal successful experience with using niacin that I wanted to share. Usually I don't care to make posts like this, but seeing as there are just too many members here running around aimlessly playing with foods, food timings, avoiding nutritious foods like animal products because they require more acid production(which is a good thing because they are packed with protein and micronutrients and other goodies), dealing with countless GI issues including but not limited to indigestion, GERD, bloating, etc... It felt needed. There's one thing to read all the science that many veterans(credit especially to @charlie for digilently posting lots of research and topics on niacin this last month) have posted and how its supposed to work, its another thing to hear from a "commoner" like myself. This is me telling you it works, and it works well.

I made this post to the many here looking for answers where there are none. Go back to the basics.

I have been taking niacin(nicotinic acid) for not even 2 weeks, from doses of 250mg-1000mg with meals 2-3x a day. The reason I avoided taking it for all meals or took less is because if I had to be somewhere I don't want to look red, obviously. But even with that, it improved my digestion, especially acid production. Over time I have less of a flush reaction so its easier to deal with now and I can get away with more and be out in public.

As for improvements:
  • Bloating minimized regardless of what I ate. I generally had bloating issues with more fibrous foods and eggs in particular, this has since been remedied significantly. Especially the fact that I wanted to consume more eggs for choline which caused me trouble. I can now eat many eggs throughout the day without issues that I had before.
  • Excessive urge to belch to virtually no belching at all(besides drinking carbonated things obviously).
  • I had some degree of indigestion with certain plants and eggs(see my first point) which is now significantly reduced.
  • I don't have GERD except on rare occasions for unknown reasons, havent had any since starting niacin.
  • All foods, animals and plants, now digest smoother. In other words, increased stomach acid from niacin has resulted in smoother digestion, stronger stomach, etc.
  • Whole digestive process has clearly without a doubt improved.
  • General positive mood improvements
As for nicotinic acid vs niacinamide(which is the common recommendation), I did use niacinamide before awhile ago, and I did see improvements with digestion but it was causing weight gain and there was strong drops in blood sugar and I didnt feel that great on it which is why I stopped. Niacin has not fluctuated my weight at all and I'd argue it was more effective then niacinamide at improving stomach acid but in the end it doesn't matter. If you are afraid of niacin, try niacinamide first and if its not working great, use niacin.

Reminder that it can take weeks, even months to see improvement and to fix a niacin deficiency. I got a bit lucky as I have supplemented high doses of B1, P5P, and zinc in the past which also are needed for stomach acid which probably helped my digestion improve quicker but without niacin there was virtually no improvement. Increased stomach acid also generally means an improvement in thyroid function, seeing as thyroid and stomach acid production are related niacin is likely improving thyroid function directly or indirectly.

For niacin, I started with 250mg per meal and slowly increased the dose to 750mg-1000mg/meal to minimize strong flush. I started seeing significant digestive improvement after a few days and has been improving ever since. I plan on sticking to niacin for months or for as long as it takes to get back the iron stomach and lightning fast digestion I had when I was a kid which I am confident niacin plays a big part in. The dose recommended for digestion is usually 500mg per meal but they can sometimes be higher if needed.

I will probably update this thread eventually as I see further improvement but the original purpose was to get it out there for those with GI issues of any kind to start taking niacin and stick to it. Give it time. Even if it doesnt improve as fast as you would like, stick to it. It can take up to months but it will work.
 

Cirion

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Good success story. I have to admit, anytime there is megadosing of a single nutrient my spidey senses tingle, but apparently it worked for you. That said I continue to religiously use Energin and hopefully I'll see some benefit soon. For now muscle meats are absolutely still not helpful for me and not sure I'll ever change my mind on them, but I'm definitely open to organ meats at least, and will likely be consuming them.
 
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redsun

redsun

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Good success story. I have to admit, anytime there is megadosing of a single nutrient my spidey senses tingle, but apparently it worked for you. That said I continue to religiously use Energin and hopefully I'll see some benefit soon. For now muscle meats are absolutely still not helpful for me and not sure I'll ever change my mind on them, but I'm definitely open to organ meats at least, and will likely be consuming them.

Keep in mind if niacin insufficiency/deficiency is the problem, none of the Bs matter nearly as much as B3 for digestion. I have taken 100mg of niacinamide 3x a day for months in my B complex and it was supposed to have alleviated my hypochlorydia at least to some degree as the doses are somewhat high based on the RDA except it didnt at all because in reality if one wants to fix niacin deficiency in a reasonable amount of time(if at all), you need much higher doses of it. That's why the recommended doses for hypochlorydia starts at 500mg of niacin per meal(and can be even higher) and not 25mg or even 100mg. Clearly 300mg daily over months was not enough.
 

Cirion

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Keep in mind if niacin insufficiency/deficiency is the problem, none of the Bs matter nearly as much as B3 for digestion. I have taken 100mg of niacinamide 3x a day for months in my B complex and it was supposed to have alleviated my hypochlorydia at least to some degree as the doses are somewhat high based on the RDA except it didnt at all because in reality if one wants to fix niacin deficiency in a reasonable amount of time(if at all), you need much higher doses of it. That's why the recommended doses for hypochlorydia starts at 500mg of niacin per meal(and can be even higher) and not 25mg or even 100mg. Clearly 300mg daily over months was not enough.

Ok fair enough, but do you plan to dose niacin the rest of your life? Seems like the goal should be to rectify why a constant loss of niacin is going on if so, no? This is the question I always have to ask when someone recovers from a mega dose of anything... If such insane dosages are needed and recovery was not happening at 100 mg or even 300mg it seems clear to me that something else is going on (i.e., constant loss of B3 in large amounts for whatever reasons, likely some stressor?) 300 mg is already a supra-physiological dosage and should be more than enough to recover from unless it's being wasted for whatever reason. I mean even just 100mg is like 700% RDA.

I see other things like people taking 150 mcg of T3 (or more) and I always wonder if they aren't compensating for other problems than just deficiency?

I'm naturally a skeptic. don't mind me lol.
 
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redsun

redsun

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Ok fair enough, but do you plan to dose niacin the rest of your life? Seems like the goal should be to rectify why a constant loss of niacin is going on if so, no? This is the question I always have to ask when someone recovers from a mega dose of anything... If such insane dosages are needed and recovery was not happening at 100 mg or even 300mg it seems clear to me that something else is going on (i.e., constant loss of B3 in large amounts for whatever reasons, likely some stressor?) 300 mg is already a supra-physiological dosage and should be more than enough to recover from unless it's being wasted for whatever reason. I mean even just 100mg is like 700% RDA.

I see other things like people taking 150 mcg of T3 (or more) and I always wonder if they aren't compensating for other problems than just deficiency?

Its because niacin deficiency can be accumulated throughout life from smaller stressors and the diet would have to not be providing sufficient niacin to deal with depletion. Your niacin levels can be slowly depleting throughout your life by acute stressors. It can also be depleted in a shorter time from a more severe stressors like injury, illness, crash diets low in niacin, fasting(which means no niacin on days you dont eat), severe mental strain/stress, emotional stress(death, break-up, loss of friends, etc) chronic strenous exercise, poor dietary habits(low in niacin and other nutrients required to synthesize niacin). NAD has countless roles in the body and any kind of stressor increases the requirement. In ideal circumstances, dietary niacin and synthesize of niacin from tryptophan is supposed to replenish depletion, but most people dont get much niacin in the diet and they may be inadequate in cofactors necessary to make niacin from tryptophan.

In a few months I will probably be fully replete and likely will not need such high doses, can prob get away with 500mg or less. Once the niacin deficiency is corrected it doesnt just go away the moment you stop taking it. It would have to be depleted again through enough stress and lack of niacin through diet and tryptophan conversion(which you can easily still have a problem with without the correct cofactors).
 
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nbznj

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I’m trying to live life without any supplements but collagen peptides and a B-complex with multiples times the RDA%, it’s too good to pass on. Glad you saw the light as well :)
 

Cirion

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severe mental strain/stress, emotional stress(death, break-up, loss of friends, etc

Would you say then a loss of B3 is one of the biggest reasons people can instantly go hypothyroid after something major like you just listed seemingly overnight or something else like a major car wreck, etc.

So is "stress tolerance" nothing more than a big store of B3 and "stress intolerance" nothing more than a lack of B3?? Seems too simple/good to be true.
 
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redsun

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Would you say then a loss of B3 is one of the biggest reasons people can instantly go hypothyroid after something major like you just listed seemingly overnight or something else like a major car wreck, etc.

So is "stress tolerance" nothing more than a big store of B3 and "stress intolerance" nothing more than a lack of B3?? Seems too simple/good to be true.

All Bs are depleted by stress but because we have the highest requirement of B3 and because it is integral to energy production in many ways and therefore integral to sustain thyroid function, you can say niacin levels are a severe limiting factor when it comes to wanting to increase energy, improve energy production.

Yes, a severe enough stress always drops thyroid activity acutely which in and of itself is not bad as long as the stress goes away. But if it doesn't, nutrients like niacin will be used up and later down the line, say months after the death in the family when grief has finally been processed, you may never be able to "go back" to how you were before as your thyroid function is suppressed because of the nutrient depletion(B3 being one of the biggest problems) caused by the severe stressor.

"you are in a very interesting path. could be game changing for a lot of people. My guess would be any stressful situation causes a depletion of Bs, which leads to these problems, which then lead to greater deficiencies because these problems prevent absorption. Very scary cycle to be in. Also makes sense why people go 20-30-40 years being “healthy” and their entire life can be derailed by a couple stressful situations."

"Exactly! I have seen over and over many people on the SIBO forums can track back that their SIBO started around the time of a stressful situation. After a surgery, or car accident, family death, etc etc. Bingo bongo! B's depleted, proper breakdown of food stops happening from low stomach acid, bacteria start to proliferate and the vicious cycle ensues."

SIBO, GERD, LPR, IBS, & Colitis Could Be Vitamin B3 Deficiency - "Niacin Treats Digestive Problems"
 
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redsun

redsun

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I’m trying to live life without any supplements but collagen peptides and a B-complex with multiples times the RDA%, it’s too good to pass on. Glad you saw the light as well :)

Im with you man, can't live without the Bs :smile:
 

Cirion

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Well, you've definitely convinced me to at least continue my energin regiment. If I get this job in FL, that's gonna be a massive stressor for a couple of months while I have to deal with a 1000+ mile move, so maybe at that point I might have to look into the niacin megadose...
 
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redsun

redsun

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Well, you've definitely convinced me to at least continue my energin regiment. If I get this job in FL, that's gonna be a massive stressor for a couple of months while I have to deal with a 1000+ mile move, so maybe at that point I might have to look into the niacin megadose...

I've kicked myself multiple times for not attempting this sooner. I was also skeptic but I quickly became a believer as soon as it started working. If I would have known about niacin therapy a year ago and used it when I was injured, I would have never gotten in the mess I ended up in seeing as how 90% of all health problems are either directly or indirectly caused by poor digestion AKA low stomach acid.
 

Cirion

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I guess when you have been sick for 2 yrs its impossible to believe in miracle cures anymore. You may very well be right. Probably when I get desperate again I'll order some niacin lol.

What brand did you use
 
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redsun

redsun

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I guess when you have been sick for 2 yrs its impossible to believe in miracle cures anymore. You may very well be right. Probably when I get desperate again I'll order some niacin lol.

What brand did you use

Vitamin shoppe 250mg per pill, nothing pricey.
 

jmojo

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- Low Stomach Acid

How could you tell when you were red?
The flush makes me red as hell so I could definitely tell. And it was pretty consistent at doing that at 1g so I did less like 500mg or 250mg when I had to be somewhere.

Haha I'm pretty sure that was a poke at your username ...


Btw, is no one worried about the potential free fatty acid rebound and liver toxicity issues of vitamin B3? Niacin, heart disease, liver toxicity, and diabetes - Alex Leaf, MS, CISSN
 

lampofred

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Tried taking niacinamide and it's making me depressed... Is this due to some nutrient deficiency? Or is it just unmasking underlying emotions by lowering serotonin?
 

Cirion

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Tried taking niacinamide and it's making me depressed... Is this due to some nutrient deficiency? Or is it just unmasking underlying emotions by lowering serotonin?

how much you taking? I don't think it should be doing that, maybe it is increasing your metabolism and you aren't calorically fueled enough? Do you take the other B vitamins? I am wary of taking individual vitamins, so for now I'm taking energin that has most of the other B vitamins with it in ratios that Haidut himself has said is the optimal ratio. Taking B3 alone is supposedly the safest B vitamin to do so with, but I still wonder if long term it is wise in absence of the other B vits.

That or maybe try just plain niacin?
 

AnonE

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I'll throw in my experience. I have a thread about this one of the first times I started taking Niacin. But I got back my workout energy finally. One day I found my weight lifting sessions were just ***t, I always had to cut them short due to exhaustion. I tried niacin post-workout and it instantly made a huge difference.

This thread reminds me to try being more consistent on it and see what other issues clear up. I've had random headaches here and there. Popped a niacin, seems to be more effective than aspirin. Red as hell though lol. But I know that goes away after a few days of use, at least for me.

Will try to make niacin daily for a while and see what happens.
 

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