BikeBookBread Posted November 4, 2010 Share Posted November 4, 2010 (edited) DH and I watched Food Matters on Netflix on Saturday night. I'm not looking for a food battle, but I was more than a bit skeptical about some of the claims regarding using only food and nutrients to completely heal life-threatening diseases. The film advocates a raw-eating diet, among other things, but that's neither here nor there, though... What I did focus on, though, was supplementing with niacin to overcome depression. The amounts they suggested were frightening to me -- upwards of 10,000 mg a day. YIKES! I can't imagine the flushing and sleep problems that could cause! It was stated that there was never a known death or illness from niacin overdose. But, has anyone have any experience using niacin for depression? Impact? Side effects? Dosage used? Edited November 4, 2010 by BikeBookBread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandy in Indy Posted November 4, 2010 Share Posted November 4, 2010 DH took it for cardio reasons and was up to 1500 mgs at one point--that dose caused pretty severe flushing and general discomfort. (It was better if he made sure NOT to ingest anything with sugar close to taking it.) I can't imagine 10,000 mgs a day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikeBookBread Posted November 5, 2010 Author Share Posted November 5, 2010 So I took a modest 100 mg this morning, and I felt like I was burning from the inside. My whole body flushed and felt pin-pricky. It lasted for a good five minutes. My face and hands were bright red. My back felt hot and prickly, too, but I didn't check to see if it was red. If I'm going to keep this up, I'd like some encouragement that either a) it works or b) the burning is going to subside... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmichigan Posted November 5, 2010 Share Posted November 5, 2010 Niacin, all B vitamins actually, can be damaging to the liver in high doses. Doses of Niacin over about 500-750mg a day are recommended to be monitored by a doctor so that liver studies can be done. I had to discontinue my routine vitamins, which included high doses of B vitamins because of increasing liver enzymes. They have since leveled off again and I can take smaller supplements and my prescribed 500mg of Niacin a day. The other reason niacin is often monitored by a physician is because they often prescribe ASA therapy to counter side effects based on dosing, besides using the extended release. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryCatherine Posted November 5, 2010 Share Posted November 5, 2010 I haven't heard much of Niacin by itself. But B-complex is good for depression. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandy in Indy Posted November 6, 2010 Share Posted November 6, 2010 So I took a modest 100 mg this morning, and I felt like I was burning from the inside. My whole body flushed and felt pin-pricky. It lasted for a good five minutes. My face and hands were bright red. My back felt hot and prickly, too, but I didn't check to see if it was red. If I'm going to keep this up, I'd like some encouragement that either a) it works or b) the burning is going to subside... If you're going to take Niacin, take it at night AND take the time-released kind. Be sure you don't have anything sugary near the time you take it. (DH found that milk triggered a lot of flushing for him.) I don't know about effectiveness for depression...but it will help your triglycerides! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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