woensdag 5 oktober 2011

Three types of niacin: Which one to take?

Niacin Flushing

Not all niacin is created equal. One of the greatest trends in the health world nowadays is niacin flushing. People take in an overdose of vitamin b3 (niacin) in order to lower their cholesterol. However, because the ‘normal’ version of niacin causes some nasty side effects, more and more people are changing over to a so called no flush niacin (implying that it doesn’t cause the nasty side effects). But is this type of niacin just as effective as the ‘normal’ one?

The Three Forms of Niacin

There are three types of niacin known:
  1. Nicotinic Acid
  2. Nicotinamide
  3. Inositol hexaniacinate
It was already proven by scientific research that nicotinic acid can help you lower cholesterol, treat depression and stimulate hair growth. However, Inositol hexaniacinate (The flush free variant) is becoming more and more popular too. There is not much known about this type of niacin, since it is relatively new.


Flush_free_niacin 
The few studies that have been done show that either the flush free niacin has to be dosed in extreme high amounts to be effective or it doesn’t work at all. Flush free niacin generally is built time-releasing, and because of this, the side effects are less intense or not present at all. However, this does also reduce the ‘flushing’ effect. This flushing effect causes by widening of the veins, results in all the known niacin benefits (niacin for depression). 
  
No Pain, No gain 

Therefore, it can be concluded that undergoing the side effects of niacin is just necessary in order to lower cholesterol, improve social angst and grow back hair naturally. The no flush niacin variants work only in extreme amounts or not at all.
Fortunately, there are some things you can do to decrease the intensity of the side effects after overdosing ‘normal’ niacin. The best thing to do is consume an aspirin 30 minutes prior to your niacin rich meal/supplement; this has always worked wonders for me. Other things that might help are vitamin c tablets and garlic extract.
Finally, be sure to avoid alcoholic/hot beverages. Drink a lot of water instead and go to the toilet often. The niacin side effects should last for approximately 30 minutes to an hour, depending on your sex and the amount of overdose you took.  The side effects will be way less intense when following the advice given in this article. In this way you can truly enjoy niacin flush benefits without uncomfortable feelings.

dinsdag 4 oktober 2011

Niacin for Bodybuilders: Insane vascularity and faster muscle growth

Bodybuilding and vitamin b3
One of the best kept secrets of niacin is the benefits it has on bodybuilding. It can help you both in the short term as long term. Niacin flushing has given many bodybuilders a competitive advantage in the past during contests, but it can also help you build more muscle over a longer period of time. This article will describe how this is possible and how you can replicate the results yourself too.
Niacin Flush
First of all, you will have to consume an overdose of niacin in order to experience the positive aspects. This can be done by either natural foods or niacin supplements. I heavily recommend the first option, mainly because it is healthier and will improve your general well-being too. However, if you do not have much time or you are on vacation, taking in a supplement like Slo niacin will work well too. The most dense niacin foods are:
  • Tuna (4 OZ-wt). Tuna has a dose of 14.60 mg niacin.
  • Chicken breast (4 OZ-wt). This equals 14.40 mg niacin.
  • Raw Crimini mushrooms (5 OZ-wt). These mushrooms contain 5.40 mg niacin.
  • Tamari (1 tabs).  This soy sauce has 0.8 mg niacin.
  • Shiitake mushrooms (1 cup). These inhibit 5.50 mg niacin.
Short term benefits
Immediately after you have consumed an overdose of niacin, you will become more vascular. Vascularity is one of the few details that make the difference during bodybuilding contests.  However, be sure to not overdo the flush, because it can result in some nasty niacin side effects.

Niacinflush
Long term benefits
Regular niacin flushing also stimulated the production of growth hormone. Growth hormone is very important for building more muscle and gaining strength. Normally, you produce growth hormone when doing heavy compound exercises like squats, deadlifts and the bench press.  In order to guarantee the best results, be sure to consume the niacin on an empty stomach, two hours before sleeping.
Avoiding Side Effects
In order to avoid side effects be sure to:
  1. Avoid alcoholic beverages
  2. Take some garlic extract
  3. Consume vitamin c tablets
  4. Take in an aspirin 30 minutes prior to the niacin overdose
In this way you can benefit from the benefits of niacin without having to endure the side effects. These side effects generally consist of: A red skin, tingling feeling in the chest and headaches. These effects can last for approximately half an hour, however this depends on the amount of overdose you take.

maandag 3 oktober 2011

Preventing the nasty side effects of niacin flushing: Diarrhea, red skin and a tingling feeling in the chest

The Benefits
One of the greatest trends in health of the last few months is niacin flushing. Regular niacin flushing is very good for your general health and well-being. For example, it can help you lose a few pounds, detox the body of toxic waste and improve social anxiety. However, there are also some side effects of using an overdose of vitamin b3 (niacin). This article will explain how you can prevent this.
Niacin vs. Niacinamide
People often ask me if that can also use niacinamide in order to enjoy niacin flush benefits. The short and simple answer to this is: No. Niacinamide does indeed have no side effects, but it also does not widen your veins which causes the positive aspects of niacin flush. No pain no gain; it is as simple as that. The same goes for no-flush niacin.
Common Side Effects
The most common side effects of niacin flushing are a red skin. This happens because when you take in an overdose of vitamin b3, more blood will flow through the capillaries. These capillaries can be seen as access roads, if the veins were a highway. The capillaries often are located very close to the skin.

Niacinflush
Another annoying side effect is the feeling that you have endured and intense sunburn or a tingling feeling in some parts of the body. This is your body ‘flushing’ the system, getting rid of waste stored in the fatty tissues.
Other side effects that could occur are:
  • Headaches
  • Stomach ache
  • General uncomfortable feelings
Enjoying the benefits of niacin without looking like a tomato
Fortunately, there are some things you can do to make the side effects less intense. First of all, always be sure to take in an aspirin 30 minutes prior to your niacin rich meal/supplement. If you want to efficiently overdose niacin, I would recommend foods like tuna and chicken breast and if you are pressed for time or on vacation, take a supplement like Slo niacin.
Other things that may help to reduce the side effects are vitamin c tablets and garlic extract. Also be sure to drink a lot of water during the flushing period and go to the toilet often. Avoid alcoholic or hot beverages. Alcohol destroys niacin in the body, and thus makes the niacin flush more or less useless. The flushing will last for approximately 30 minutes, but this generally depends on the amount of overdose you took.

zondag 2 oktober 2011

How Niacin Helped me to Treat Social Anxiety and Depression

The important of micro-nutrients
One of the most overlooked causes of depression is the lack of certain micro-nutrients in your diet. One of the most important ones is niacin. Niacin is better known as vitamin b3, and if you develop and deficiency in this micro-nutrient, you will become depressed. However, recently scientific research has shown that niacin flushing can also help people treating their social anxiety and angst (niacin benefits). This was already known for some longer time, but most doctors and other health experts were still a bit hesitant and skeptical. This article will explain how I used niacin to treat my depression and improve social angst.
Where it goes wrong
Fortunately, for people living in the Western part of the world, it isn’t that hard to avoid niacin deficiencies. Almost all diary and whole grain products contain some niacin. So if you just eat some bread and milk during the day, you will be absolutely fine. However, if you go binge drinking for an extended period of time, you still risk developing a niacin deficiency. This happens because alcohol destroys niacin contained in the body.
You can also develop a deficiency of niacin when traveling to third world countries or places in the world where people use solely corn products in their diet instead of whole grain and dairy. If this is the case, you will inevitably have a lack of vitamin b3 in your body over time.
The Solution
So in order to prevent becoming depressed by a lack of this micro-nutrient, I recommend you to record your daily niacin intake in a notepad. You will have to consume about 15-20 mg per day in order attain the recommended daily dose. However, if you want to use niacin to improve your social angst, you will need an overdose.  Overdoses should be around 100 mg per day.
In order to do this, you will have to A) consume niacin dense foods or B) take in niacin supplements. Although, niacin supplements are very convenient when you are traveling or when you are pressed for time, I recommend to use natural foods because they are healthier and contain other micro-nutrients that are good for your general well-being.

Niacindepression
Other salutary micro-nutrients
Niacin is not the only micro-nutrient that can help you to prevent depression and cure social anxiety (niacin flush benefits). There are also some other micro-nutrients belonging to the vitamin B complex that are heavily recommended for improving angst and depression:
  1. Vitamin B1 (Thiamin)
  2. Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid)
  3. Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)
  4. Vitamin B9 (Folic Acid)
  5. Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin)

All in all, be sure to have a good diet full of vitamin b and if you do not have enough time or when you are on vacation, be sure to take some supplements with you.

zaterdag 1 oktober 2011

How I Used Niacin to Grow Back My Hair Naturally

Niacin flushing
One of the most overlooked positive aspects of niacin flushing is the ability to stimulate hair production. When I first heard about this, I was a bit skeptic and hesitant: How could consuming a simple vitamin help against hair loss, a problem that many people seek a solution against? Because I was curious I tried it out myself and after initial success I suggested it too some friends. They too had some success with growing back hair naturally. This article will describe how this is possible, how I did it and how you can replicate these results.
How does it work?
When you consume an overdose of niacin, your veins will instantly widen temporarily. This stimulated blood flow through the capillaries. Moreover, it will also stimulate circulation to the scalp. This process ultimately aids in growing back hair. It will also have other benefits for your general health, muscle building and even depression (niacin for depression).

Regular overdosing of niacin can also reduce the production of a testosterone called DHT by the body. DHT often makes men bald at young age. Men that are bald early often have high testosterone levels. Niacin flushing reduces the effects of the particular form of testosterone that causes this baldness.

Niacin_hair_growth

How did I did it?
You might have read of the awful side effects that occur after you take in an overdose of niacin. Fortunately, this is not necessary when consuming niacin to growing back hair naturally, since even the slightest overdose will improve blood flow.  My personal recommendation is about 35 mg niacin per day. Be sure to jot down in a notepad how much niacin you consume per day, this makes it much easier to avoid nasty side effects.
Good sources of niacin are:
  •         Mushrooms
  •         Dairy
  •         Chicken
  •     Coffee
  •          Liver
  •         Halibut
However, if you want to, you can also enjoy the benefits of niacin for hair growth externally. This is possible by applying niacin topically, at a specialist. However, in order to make this work, you will need a special form of niacin, to be more precise: One that is lipophilic. Lipophilic niacin is able to penetrate more deeply in the skin, and this is essential for improving circulation to the scalp.
What to expect
It has to be noted that niacin flushing is no magic pill against baldness. It will not instantly grow back all of your lost hair. However, it does certainly aid in growing back hair in a natural way, but do not expect wonders. It remains one of the most overlooked niacin benefits, but it deserves more media coverage.