What are some pros and cons of taking Niacin?

I just read an article by Dr. Gott in today's paper about the effects of taking Niacin. What are some things that it has been shown to help and what are some cons with taking it? Also, how much would you take to get these effects? I know I would talk to my doctor about it first but I am curious.

I also heard something about "flushing". What is this exactly and how does it affect your body?

Here is an excerpt from an article on my blog. You can read the whole article here: http://www.healthsalon.org/175/the-ultim...

Actually this is part 3 of the total article. Search for the other parts, up to part 7 if you are interested. Niacin should be in every middle age persons list of supplements.

NIACIN RESEARCH
Niacin appears to be superior to 鈥渟tatin鈥?drugs as a lipid lowering agent.

WHAT DOES IT DO?

Niacin is an essential B vitamin. Lack of Niacin causes the disease, Pellagra. Large doses are used in treating hypercholesterolemia (high blood cholesterol) as it lowers bad cholesterol and raises good cholesterol. It works particularly well with Chromium. Niacin also lowers triglycerides.

The Coronary Drug Project demonstrated that Niacin is the only lipid lowering agent that actually reduced overall mortality. It appears to be superior to the 鈥渟tatin鈥?drugs. Be sure your product contains Nicotinic acid. Many No-Flush do not.

A head to head comparison with the popular prescription drug, Lovastatin (Mevacor鈩? showed the following results in percentages:

Group Week 10 Week 18 Week 26

LDL Cholesterol reduction
Lovastatin 26 28 32
Niacin 5 16 23

HDL Cholesterol increase
Lovastatin 6 8 7
Niacin 2 29 33

Lp(A) Lipoprotein reduction
Lovastatin 0 0 0
Niacin 14 30 35

Niacin was the old original treatment for high Cholesterol!

It was thought that the results would be even more impressive except that the subjects could not tolerate the itching that comes with a full niacin dose so the dose was reduced from its most effective level. Slow release Niacin does not have as much of this problem.

Niacin has also been shown to enhance memory. In one study, subjects performed 10 to 20% better on memory tests after taking 420 mg of Niacin.

Large doses of Niacin have been used by orthomolecular physicians to treat schizophrenia.
Niacin has also been shown to be effective in Raynaud鈥檚 disease and Intermittent claudication. Claudication (pain in lower legs and calf鈥檚) is an indication of clogged heart arteries.

Slow Release Niacin is superior to ordinary niacin as it does not cause the usual niacin side effects such as flushing, itching, heat and redness in the skin. If a physician has prescribed Niacin, it might be advisable to discuss changing to Slow Release Niacin.

CAUTIONS

None known. Large doses of any form of Niacin should be taken under the supervision of a physician and monitoring liver enzymes. Extract should not be taken with LARGE amounts of niacin (2 grams or more/day) but small amounts of niacin will also help lower your cholesterol, and folate is desirable to help protect against buildup of homocystiene. Homocystiene levels have been shown to play an even more important roll in preventing heart problems. It should be keep between 5.0 and 15.0 MMOL /L.

I know a older man whose face was very red. He said is was because of taking niacin. I'm not sure what flushing is, but this guy was definitely "blushing"!

Niacin is an alternative blood pressure medication, however many people have "flushing" as a side effect and it is not useful for them. Flushing is like that feeling you get when youre embarrased or just about to give a speech to a large audience, and so a really annoying side effect. Niacin is an ingredient in energy drinks and excessive energy drinking can cause the same effect.

it does flush all your small cappelaries, and at the same time, the con is that you get itchy and red in wierd places when you do it. IF YOU DO DO IT FOR DRUG DETOX, THEN DO IT DAYS BEFORE THE TEST. if its for just getting the bad stuff out, then take it with food and water to avoid the side affects. for pre drug sreening, take many and only drink water. your knees and butt will have a burning sensation. along with elbows and general anxiety. With food, (like veggies) it will be much less painfull and worrying to you. It opens your capeleries that store unwanted toxins, and flushes them,.. hope for the best ... i tried it and i felt great two hours later!!

niacin can be used to lower cholesterol, and can be helpful to normalize blood sugar in hypoglycemics. It can also lessen the severity of seizures in severe alcoholics who are going through detox withdrawl. Dr. Abram Hoffer believes it can be used as a treatment for schizophrenia, but not everyone in the medical community agrees with him. It is not advised to use niacin as a way to prepare for a urine drug test, because taking lots of niacin in a short period of time can raise liver enzyme levels, which is considered an indicator of liver damage. High doses of niacin on an empty stomach can cause nausea. If you think you have a condition that would benefit from niacin treatment, I recommend you consult with an "orthomolecular" physician. Orthomolecular doctors specialize in treating medical conditions with natural vitamins and minerals. The flushing side effect is caused by a large histamine release which dialates the blood vessels. Flushing can be avoided by taking the niacinamide form of niacin. Also, a comment on the answer posted above this one, the timed (slow) release niacin has been indicated to possibly cause liver damage. Reference link added below. If you want to avoid flushing, take the niacinamide form instead.

flushing is a warm feeling of the body.
although with niacin you can get any thing from a warm feeling to a intense itching
this can be prevented by only taking niacin with a full meal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niacin

my doctor has me on 500 mg a day for high cholesterol and to control my IL6 levels
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob...