Niacin Flushing: Benefits, Uses, and Side Effects - (2023)

FAQs

What are the benefits of the niacin flush? ›

A niacin flush can be a temporary side effect of taking niacin; it's also a protocol used by some physicians to lower lipid profiles and boost heart health. Studies have shown that niacin flush benefits can include reduced LDL cholesterol, triglyceride levels and oxidative stress while increasing HDL cholesterol.

It causes a reddening of the skin along with burning or itching sensations. While niacin flush in and of itself isn't typically harmful, it may be accompanied by other unpleasant side effects like headache or low blood pressure ( 1 ). Even higher doses may cause liver damage or other severe side effects ( 1 ).

Side effects may include diarrhea, headache, stomach discomfort, and bloating. High doses (50 mg or more) of niacin can cause side effects. The most common side effect is called "niacin flush," which is a burning, tingling sensation in the face and chest, and red or flushed skin.

Niacin users often experience “prickly heat” or a sense of warmth in the face, neck, ears, trunk, and, less frequently, the upper or lower extremities. Other common features include erythema, itching, and tingling. Symptoms typically last for less than 1 hour to 2.5 hours.

A severe niacin deficiency has been associated with cognitive decline such as memory loss and dementia. Niacin is believed to protect brain cells from stress and injury. It is not yet clear though if smaller variations in dietary niacin intake can negatively affect brain function.

Be careful if you're thinking about taking niacin for your high cholesterol levels. Even though the niacin flush is harmless, large doses of niacin can interact with many different medications. Long-term use can cause liver damage, skin rashes, gastrointestinal problems, and elevated blood sugar.

In general, the immediate-release form of niacin should be taken after your evening meal and the extended-release form should be taken at bedtime after a low-fat snack. Taking it in the morning or on an empty stomach might cause you to experience more side effects such as flushing and stomach upset.

Small clinical trials of acute niacin administration have shown significant BP-lowering effects of niacin in patients with hypertension but not necessarily in normotensive individuals. Acute lowering of BP is occasionally found with niacin's clinical use, and is described in the package insert of prescription niacin.

Over all, niacin was not helpful in preventing any serious heart-related events, strokes, or deaths from heart disease. The initial interest in niacin stemmed from the drug's ability to raise HDL cholesterol, once thought to protect against cardiovascular disease.

What is niacin used to treat? ›

Prescription niacin is used to reduce the levels of cholesterol and triglycerides (fatty substances) in your blood, and decrease your risk of a heart attack. It works along with diet, exercise, and weight loss.

Niacin also lowers serum phosphorus levels in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), dyslipidemia, and diabetes mellitus [4], [5]. Furthermore, niacin plays a key role in cardiovascular diseases and cardiovascular-related mortality by modifying both dyslipidemia and phosphorus levels [6], [7], [8], [9].

Poor blood circulation is a huge factor in hair thinning and hair loss. By improving the blood circulation to the scalp, Niacin aids in faster and thicker hair growth. It also has other benefits for your body.

There is evidence to suggest that vitamin B3 can assist with sleeping, which means that another unique property about niacin is its ability to be a wonderful and natural sleeping aid via its interaction with tryptophan.

Niacin can cause mild-to-moderate serum aminotransferase elevations and high doses and certain formulations of niacin have been linked to clinically apparent, acute liver injury which can be severe as well as fatal.

Many vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and dairy products provide some niacin. Enriched grains are also a source of niacin. Fish, beef, chicken, and turkey are good sources of niacin. Many legumes, nuts, seeds, and soy products provide some niacin.

Dietary intake of niacin reduces the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and protects against age-related cognitive decline.

People generally develop a tolerance to higher doses of niacin. So even if you experience niacin flush when you first start taking it, it is likely to reduce or stop in time.

Vitamin B3 is a member of the vitamin family and includes three forms of vitamers: nicotinamide, niacin, and nicotinamide riboside. Vitamin B12 is a type of vitamin involved in metabolism in our body.

In skincare, niacin or niacinamide is used for its ability to promote the formation of healthy skin cells. It also helps increase blood flow and oxygenation, reduce the appearance of wrinkles, treat sun-damaged and dull-looking skin, and tone the skin.

Can I take niacin everyday? ›

People use prescription niacin (Niacor, Niaspan) to help control their cholesterol. The recommended daily amount of niacin for adult males is 16 milligrams (mg) a day and for adult women who aren't pregnant, 14 mg a day.

Niacin has been found to increase daily feed intake, weight gain and percentage of abdominal fat in chicken when increasing supplementation from 0 to 60 mg nicotinic acid per kilogram diet[24]. It has been found that formula feeding leads to more fat gain, which may account for increased risk of later obesity[81,82].

Other than causing discomfort the flushing is harmless and usually subsides within 1 or 2 hours. Symptoms are most intense after the first dose and typically diminish over days or weeks with continued use of niacin.

Swallow the tablet whole. If the tablet is scored, it may be broken, but not crushed or chewed, before being swallowed. Niaspan® should be taken at bedtime after a low-fat snack. To decrease flushing or redness of your face, take aspirin or ibuprofen (eg, Advil®, Motrin®) 30 minutes before taking Niaspan®.

Niacin might slow blood clotting. Taking niacin along with medications that also slow clotting might increase the chances of bruising and bleeding.

Introduction. One potentially important side effect known to occur on niacin is a rise in glucose levels in those with diabetes. 5 Findings from a post-hoc analysis of the Coronary Drug Project suggested that this effect also occurred in those without diabetes, leading to an increase in the risk of developing diabetes.

In its therapeutic form, nicotinic acid, niacin can increase HDL as much as 35 percent when taken in high doses, usually about 2,000 milligrams per day. It also lowers LDL, though not as sharply as statins do, and it has been shown to reduce serum levels of artery-clogging triglycerides as much as 50 percent.

Niacin has multifarious lipoprotein and anti-atherothrombosis effects that improve endothelial function, reduce inflammation, increase plaque stability, and diminish thrombosis.

Anticoagulants (blood thinners) -- Niacin may make the effects of these medications stronger, increasing the risk of bleeding. Blood Pressure Medications, Alpha-blockers -- Niacin can make the effects of medications taken to lower blood pressure stronger, leading to the risk of low blood pressure.

What impact does niacin have on cholesterol? Niacin can lower triglycerides by 25% and raise HDL cholesterol by more than 30%. Triglyceride levels over 150 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) or 1.7 millimoles per liter (mmol/L) have been associated with a higher risk of heart disease.

Is 500mg of niacin too much? ›

Niacin in the form of nicotinamide has fewer side effects than nicotinic acid. However, at high doses of 500 mg/day or more, nicotinamide can cause diarrhea, easy bruising, and can increase bleeding from wounds. Even higher doses of 3,000 mg/day or more can cause nausea, vomiting, and liver damage.

The B vitamins which include thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, B6 and B12 have not been shown to be harmful to people with kidney stones. In fact, some studies have shown that B6 may actually help people with high urine oxalate.

You may need to avoid some vitamins and minerals if you have kidney disease. Some of these include vitamins A, E and K. These vitamins are more likely to build up in your body and can cause harm if you have too much.

Niacin aids in the stimulation of new hair growth, and in one key study, published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, the researchers showed that niacin increased hair fullness.

Benefits to Hair, Skin and Nails with Niacin

You may be able to improve hair and nails with Niacin. Because of its circulation-boosting properties, Niacin boosts not only the thickness of hair strands but nail strength and thickness too.

Niacin serves another purpose: assisting in healthy hair growth. It improves blood circulation, and therefore brings oxygen to the hair follicles, resulting in hair development. 2 It's often recommended to those who have alopecia, with the goal of fuller, thicker hair.

It increases maximal muscle working capacity, reduces or completely eliminates arthritic joint pain.” As the body is unable to absorb more than 250 mg of niacinamide at a time, it is more effective to take smaller does more often (perhaps every one to three hours) than one large dose per day.

Vitamins for Back Pain Below are some vitamins that are helpful in boosting back health. Vitamin B3—also known as niacin and —may improve the pain-relieving effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). This vitamin may also help maintain a healthy nervous system—important for many spine conditions.

A reasonable amount of niacinamide to take for anxiety, according to some doctors, is up to 500 mg four times per day.

Moreover, a 2002 pilot study found that niacin may help reduce abdominal fat. Participants received an average dose of 3000 mg of niacin per day; after one year, 81% of participants had reductions in intra-abdominal fat ¹².

Is niacin good for losing weight? ›

Vitamin B3(Niacin) – Treatment with B3 increases adiponectin, a weight-loss hormone secreted by fat cells; Niacin-bound chromium supplements helped reduced body weight in clinical trials.

Further, as the 1986 study showed, the benefit of niacin may take up to 15 years to show benefit; the trials of statin-plus-niacin were only for 3-4 years.

In general, the immediate-release form of niacin should be taken after your evening meal and the extended-release form should be taken at bedtime after a low-fat snack. Taking it in the morning or on an empty stomach might cause you to experience more side effects such as flushing and stomach upset.

There is evidence to suggest that vitamin B3 can assist with sleeping, which means that another unique property about niacin is its ability to be a wonderful and natural sleeping aid via its interaction with tryptophan.

Niacin has been found to increase daily feed intake, weight gain and percentage of abdominal fat in chicken when increasing supplementation from 0 to 60 mg nicotinic acid per kilogram diet[24]. It has been found that formula feeding leads to more fat gain, which may account for increased risk of later obesity[81,82].

Nicotinic acid (niacin) is a well-established treatment for dyslipidaemia – an important cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor. However, niacin may also reduce blood pressure (BP), which is another important CVD risk factor.

Background. Niacin, a potent stimulator of appetite, may induce insulin resistance at high doses.

Some say it reduces feelings of sadness and hopelessness, and others say it made their depression completely go away. There's a wide variety of causes and treatments for depression. However, according to scientific research, there's currently no evidence that niacin can be used to treat depression.

People use prescription niacin (Niacor, Niaspan) to help control their cholesterol. The recommended daily amount of niacin for adult males is 16 milligrams (mg) a day and for adult women who aren't pregnant, 14 mg a day.

In its therapeutic form, nicotinic acid, niacin can increase HDL as much as 35 percent when taken in high doses, usually about 2,000 milligrams per day. It also lowers LDL, though not as sharply as statins do, and it has been shown to reduce serum levels of artery-clogging triglycerides as much as 50 percent.

What is the best drink to lower cholesterol? ›

Some of the best drinks for cholesterol management include green tea, pomegranate juice, citrus juice, soy milk, plant-based smoothies, and red wine.

A person can combat high cholesterol by exercising regularly. Forms of exercise that help a person lower their total and LDL cholesterol levels include walking, running, cycling, and swimming. Often, these exercises can also help raise the levels of a person's HDL cholesterol.

Over all, niacin was not helpful in preventing any serious heart-related events, strokes, or deaths from heart disease. The initial interest in niacin stemmed from the drug's ability to raise HDL cholesterol, once thought to protect against cardiovascular disease.

Niacin also lowers serum phosphorus levels in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), dyslipidemia, and diabetes mellitus [4], [5]. Furthermore, niacin plays a key role in cardiovascular diseases and cardiovascular-related mortality by modifying both dyslipidemia and phosphorus levels [6], [7], [8], [9].

Other than causing discomfort the flushing is harmless and usually subsides within 1 or 2 hours. Symptoms are most intense after the first dose and typically diminish over days or weeks with continued use of niacin.