Niacin Energy Boosts: Good for Weight Loss or Fable?

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Energy Booster

Vitamins of the B complex like niacin are notorious for giving people more energy.  Many energy drinks and pre-workout boosters contain high doses of niacin. However, do you really need a very high dose of niacin in order to enjoy increased energy? The purpose of this article is to answer this question once and for all.

A Lack of Niacin

Recent research has shown that niacin indeed increases energy, but that little amounts of niacin are needed to achieve this effect. People who are deficient in niacin either through binge drinking or a lack of niacin in their diet profit most of the energy boost. However, people who are already overdosing niacin experience little or no increased energy. Amounts exceeding 200 mg, like is the case in many popular energy drinks is totally superfluous and can lead to nasty side effects like a red skin and headaches due to a niacin flush.

Getting an Energy Boost

In order to enjoy the increased energy you can either take in niacin supplements, but you can also eat natural foods that are dense in niacin. My favorite foods high in niacin are as follows:

• Wild salmon | 9.3 mg vitamin b3 per 3 ounces serving.
• Peanut butter | 5.3 mg niacin per 1 ounce serving.
• Sun dried tomatoes | 8.7 mg vitamin b3 per 100 grams serving.
• Tamari | 1.3 mg vitamin b3 per tab.
• Raw Crimini mushrooms | 6.4 mg niacin per 5 OZ.

Avoiding Side Effects

Side effects can be avoided by monitoring the amount you consume thoroughly and by taking some preventive measures. A great tip I can give you is to jot down in a notepad how much niacin you have consumed during the day. Moreover, it is better to spread niacin over the whole day instead of taking it all in one time. Lastly, be sure to drink a lot of water during the flushing period. In this way, you can truly enjoy benefits of vitamin b3, without having to worry about common niacin side effects like a red skin.

The Dangers of Niacin Deficiency and Best Ways to Prevent a Lack of Niacin in Your Diet

Balanced Diet

One of the most overlooked causes of depression must be a lack of niacin in your diet. A niacin deficiency can lead to all sorts of adverse health conditions. First of all, you will have less energy, because vitamins of the B complex give you energy to do things. Moreover, if you’re deficient in niacin over a prolonged period of time, you can even get the disease pellagra. In order to avoid this, it is recommended to niacin flush regularly.

Signifiers of a Niacin Deficiency

There are multiple signifiers that indicate that you may be deficient in niacin. First of all, lesion can appear on your body. This mostly occurs symmetrically. Skin that is exposed to sunlight has a higher chance of developing lesion.

When you are deficient in niacin, there may also be some blood in your stool. Other common side effects are:

•  Vomiting
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Distention

Finally, the mucous membrane of the mouth may be severely irritated. Moreover, your tongue may become fire red. This is usually accompanied with increased salivation.

What to Do

Often, people that are binge drinking a lot, while having a lack of niacin in their diet develop the side effects associated with niacin deficiency. This occurs because niacin destroys the little niacin you have in your body. Therefore, it might be crucial to stop drinking for a while. Moreover, it is a good idea to consume lots of niacin dense foods like:

1.       Lentils | 4.2 mg vitamin b3 per cup.
2.       Shiitake mushrooms | 6.2 mg niacin per cup.
3.       Organic turkey | 3.4 mg vitamin b3 per 3 ounces serving.
4.       Organic chicken| 12.3 mg niacin per 3 ounces serving.
5.       Wild salmon | 14.2 mg vitamin b3 per 3 ounces serving.

It is highly recommended to eat these foods instead of taking in niacin supplements, since these foods also contain other highly important nutrients that are good for overall health. In order to become niacin sufficient, you will have to consume about 20 mg per day. This is more than enough to avoid side effects of deficiency like a niacin depression.

The Dangers of Niacin Deficiency and Best Ways to Prevent a Lack of Niacin in Your Diet

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Balanced Diet

One of the most overlooked causes of depression must be a lack of niacin in your diet. A niacin deficiency can lead to all sorts of adverse health conditions. First of all, you will have less energy, because vitamins of the B complex give you energy to do things. Moreover, if you’re deficient in niacin over a prolonged period of time, you can even get the disease pellagra. In order to avoid this, it is recommended to niacin flush regularly.

Signifiers of a Niacin Deficiency

There are multiple signifiers that indicate that you may be deficient in niacin. First of all, lesion can appear on your body. This mostly occurs symmetrically. Skin that is exposed to sunlight has a higher chance of developing lesion.

When you are deficient in niacin, there may also be some blood in your stool. Other common side effects are:

• Vomiting
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Distention

Finally, the mucous membrane of the mouth may be severely irritated. Moreover, your tongue may become fire red. This is usually accompanied with increased salivation.

What to Do

Often, people that are binge drinking a lot, while having a lack of niacin in their diet develop the side effects associated with niacin deficiency. This occurs because niacin destroys the little niacin you have in your body. Therefore, it might be crucial to stop drinking for a while. Moreover, it is a good idea to consume lots of niacin dense foods like:

1.       Lentils | 4.2 mg vitamin b3 per cup.
2.       Shiitake mushrooms | 6.2 mg niacin per cup.
3.       Organic turkey | 3.4 mg vitamin b3 per 3 ounces serving.
4.       Organic chicken| 12.3 mg niacin per 3 ounces serving.
5.       Wild salmon | 14.2 mg vitamin b3 per 3 ounces serving.

It is highly recommended to eat these foods instead of taking in niacin supplements, since these foods also contain other highly important nutrients that are good for overall health. In order to become niacin sufficient, you will have to consume about 20 mg per day. This is more than enough to avoid side effects of deficiency like a niacin depression.

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.

 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.