In spite of going to the gym three or four days each week, my cholesterol test came back with low HDLs. My doctor said that I should try to get it above 40 and wanted to give me a prescription for Simvastatin. My dad took that for a while and had muscle pain so badly that he could hardly walk. When the doctor gave me the prescription, I thanked him, but had no intention of ever taking the medication.
I told my wife what happened and she had heard that vitamin B3, or niacin, helped improve cholesterol.
Vitamin B3 Benefits
Niacin’s benefits are not limited to raising good cholesterol — I also lowered my bad cholesterol. Niacin can also help prevent atherosclerosis.2 Some say that people who get higher levels of niacin in their diet are less likely to get Alzheimer’s disease.
What does Vitamin B3 do in the body? Among other things it is essential for energy production. It plays an essential role when the body converts carbohydrates, proteins, and fats into usable energy.
Since you can easily get enough vitamin B3 from your diet to be healthy, B3 deficiency in developed countries is not common, but it does occur in alcoholics. Signs of mild vitamin B3 deficiency include fatigue, cankers, and depression. If a person becomes severely deficient, diarrhea, scaly skin, and dementia can occur.
Vitamin B3 Side Effects
Probably the most well-known niacin side effect is flushing. Flushing is when your skin gets red and sometimes feels itchy. Sometimes this results in sweating or chills, and can increase your heartbeat and cause dizziness. However, flushing can improve circulation.
Why or how does niacin cause flushing? Niacin causes flushing by opening up blood vessels on the surface of the skin. This is why the skin becomes red. If this becomes dramatic enough, histamine is released and that is what causes the itching.
Other niacin side effects that have been complained about include the standard three you see listed on everything: nausea, diarrhea, headache. Also heartburn, upset stomach, itching and tingling have been reported. I haven’t experienced any of these except a little flushing, and there are ways to prevent that.
What to Do about Niacin Flush
A clinical study that lasted almost two years, determined that sustained-release forms of niacin were less likely to cause flushing. Apparently it helps because the capsule dissolves slowly and releases a little niacin at a time, rather than all at once.
The researchers noticed that the longer a person took niacin, the less likely it would cause flushing. They also found that a low-dose aspirin (81 mg) can help prevent flushing.1
Dietary Sources of Vitamin B3
Foods that are rich in vitamin B3 or niacin include fish, peanuts, chicken, beef, mushrooms, and bacon.
Niacin Dosage
The USRDA for vitamin B3 is about 20 mg a day. However, this will do nothing to improve your cholesterol. It takes a dose of over a 1000 mg a day to lower bad cholesterol and raise good cholesterol levels.
Warning about niacin: A high dose of niacin (above 1000mg) is required to help cholesterol levels. However, high doses can hurt your liver. The best way to take niacin to lower LDLs and increase HDLs is under the supervision of a health care professional.
Niacin’s Effect on My Cholesterol Level
I went back to my doctor after being on niacin for 6 months so he could check my cholesterol levels. We were both pleased that my HDLs were up and my LDLs were down. After about a year and a half, my HDLs rose above 40!
References
- Capuzzi D, Guyton J, Morgan J, Goldberg A, Kreisberg R. Brusco O, Brody J. (1998). “Efficacy and safety of an extended-release niacin (niaspan): a long-term study”. The American Journal of Cardiology 82(12): Supplement 1. 74U-81U.
- Meyers CD, Kamanna V, Kashyap M. (2004). “Niacin therapy in atherosclerosis”. Current Opinion in Lipidology 15(6): 659-665.
photo of kurt, courtesy of ashley holerud
fish photo: convivial.org