No-Flush Niacin, 500 mg
Source Naturals

 

Niacin plays an essential role in the activities of various enzymes involved in the metabolism of carbohydrates and fats, the functioning of the nervous and digestive systems, the manufacturing of sex hormones and the maintenance of healthy skin. Inositol hexanicotinate functions as niacin without the characteristic "flush".
 

Niacin Supplement Facts:
Niacin - 500 mg - 2,500%DV
(as inositol hexanicotinate) Inositol - 142 mg*
(as inositol hexanicotinate)*

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Niacin for diabetics - Niacin Benefit - Niacin and Cholesterol
There is good evidence to support the use of niacin as a health benefit for high blood lipid levels. People with diabetes often have high cholesterol and triglyceride levels. They also have low HDL (the good cholesterol) levels. Niacin, a B vitamin, reduces concentrations of triglycerides and raises levels of HDL cholesterol. However, the use of niacin in patients with diabetes has been discouraged because high doses can sometimes worsen blood sugar control. Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center evaluated the use and safety of once-daily extended-release niacin in diabetic patients with triglyceride problems. During a 16-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 148 patients were randomized to placebo or 1000 mg a day of niacin. Many patients were also receiving therapy with statins. Patients taking niacin had an average increase in HDL by about 20 percent and reductions in triglyceride levels by about 20 percent compared to the placebo group. Rates of adverse event rates other than flushing were similar for the niacin and placebo groups. Four patients discontinued participation owing to flushing. No harm to the liver or muscles was observed. Blood sugar levels on average rose only minimally. The researchers conclude that niacin is a treatment option for patients with type 2 diabetes who have high triglyceride and low HDL levels.
Dr. Sahelian says: Some diabetics may get benefits with a lower dose of niacin, such as 200 to 500 mg a day, which would reduce the incidence of flushing. An extended release form of niacin seems to be a good option.

Niacin Side Effects
The niacin flush is a very well recognized niacin side effect. No flush niacin --  or flush free niacin -- products are available. Sometimes aspirin is recommended to prevent the niacin flush side effect. Slo release niacin - also termed sr niacin -  is available. The niacin flush can be avoided by taking a smaller amount and taking a third or half of an aspirin. The niacin side effect is dose dependent, meaning lower doses do not cause as much of a flush as high doses.

Niacin in Food
Foods rich in niacin include dairy products, poultry, fish, lean meats, nuts, and eggs. Legumes and enriched breads and cereals also supply niacin.

Danger of Niacin overdose
Niacin pills in high doses are sometimes taken by people to pass a urine drug test. However this method does not work and could produce severe side effects. University of Pennsylvania doctors discuss four individuals who used high doses of niacin to try to beat their impending drug screening tests. Of the four patients who arrived at his emergency room after a self-prescribed niacin regimen, two developed severe reactions, including liver toxicity, heart palpitations and metabolic acidosis -- a potentially deadly buildup of acid in the blood. Two of the patients he and his colleagues describe suffered only skin reactions after taking high doses of niacin ahead of their workplace drug tests. The other two had more serious reactions, arriving at the emergency room after hours of nausea, dizziness and vomiting. One had elevated liver enzymes, a sign of liver injury. The recommended daily intake of niacin is about 15 milligrams for adults. But the vitamin is readily available in doses of anywhere from 50 mg to 1,000 mg. Annals of Emergency Medicine, online April 4, 2007.

Niacin Information Research
Efficacy of extended-release niacin with lovastatin for hypercholesterolemia: assessing all reasonable doses with innovative surface graph analysis.
Arch Intern Med. 2004 May 24;164(10):1121-7.
Lipid Research Clinic, Baylor College of Medicine and Methodist Hospital, Houston,
Combination therapy to improve the total lipid profile may achieve greater coronary risk reductions than lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) alone. A new extended-release niacin (niacin ER) /lovastatin tablet substantially lowers LDL-C, triglyceride, and lipoprotein(a) levels and raises high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) level. We evaluated these serum lipid responses to niacin ER/ lovastatin at all clinically reasonable doses. Conclusions: Niacin ER/ lovastatin combination therapy substantially improves 4 major lipoprotein levels associated with atherosclerotic disease.

Safety and tolerability of simvastatin plus niacin in patients with coronary artery disease and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (The HDL Atherosclerosis Treatment Study).
Am J Cardiol. 2004 Feb 1;93(3):307-12. Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington
The high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-Atherosclerosis Treatment Study showed that simvastatin plus niacin (mean daily dose 13 mg and 2.4 g, respectively) halt angiographic atherosclerosis progression and reduce major clinical events by 60% in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) who have low HDL, in comparison with placebos, over 3 years. How safe and well-tolerated is this combination? One hundred sixty patients with CAD, including 25 with diabetes mellitus, with mean low-density lipoprotein cholesterol of 128 mg/dl, HDL cholesterol of < or =35 mg/dl (mean 31), and mean triglycerides of 217 mg/dl were randomized to 4 factorial combinations of antioxidant vitamins or their placebos and simvastatin plus niacin or their placebos. Patients were examined monthly or bimonthly for 38 months; side effects (gastrointestinal upset, nausea, anorexia, vision, skin, and energy problems, or muscle aches) were directly queried and recorded. Aspartate aminotransferase, creatine phosphokinase (CPK), uric acid, homocysteine, and fasting glucose levels were regularly monitored. A safety monitor reviewed all side effects and adjusted drug dosages accordingly. Patients who received simvastatin plus niacin and those on placebo had similar frequencies of clinical or laboratory side effects: any degree of flushing (30% vs 23%, p = NS), symptoms of fatigue, nausea, and/or muscle aches (9% vs 5%, p = NS), aspartate aminotransferase (SGOT) > or =3 times upper limit of normal (3% vs 1%, p = NS), CPK > or =2 times upper limit of normal, CPK > or =5 times upper limit of normal, new onset of uric acid > or =7.5 mg/dl (18% vs 15%, p = NS), and homocysteine > or =15 micromol/L. Glycemic control among diabetics declined mildly in the simvastatin - niacin group but returned to pretreatment levels at 8 months and remained stable for rest of the study. This combination regimen was repeatedly described by 91% of treated patients and 86% of placebo subjects as "very easy" or "fairly easy" to take. Thus, the simvastatin plus niacin regimen is effective, safe, and well tolerated in patients with or without diabetes mellitus.

Multiple-dose efficacy and safety of an extended-release form of niacin in the management of hyperlipidemia.
Am J Cardiol. 2000 May 1;85(9):1100-5.
Lipid Research Clinic, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
This multicenter trial evaluated the safety and efficacy of escalating doses of Niaspan (niacin extended release tablets) and placebo (administered once-a-day at bedtime) in patients with primary hyperlipidemia on the percent change from baseline in levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and apolipoprotein B. Extended-release niacin was initiated at a dose of 375 mg/day, raised to niacin 500 mg / day, and further increased in 500-mg increments at 4-week intervals to a maximum of 3,000 mg/day. A total of 131 patients (n = 87, extended-release niacin; n = 44, placebo) were treated for 25 weeks with study medication after a 6-week diet lead-in/drug washout phase and 2-week baseline LDL cholesterol stability phase. Significant decreases from baseline in levels of LDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein B became apparent with the 500-mg/day dose and were consistent at all subsequent doses, reaching 21% and 20%, respectively, at the 3,000-mg/day dose. Significant increases from baseline in levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol became apparent with the 500-mg/day dose and were consistent at all subsequent doses, reaching 30% at the 3,000-mg dose. Significant decreases from baseline in triglycerides and lipoprotein(a) occurred at the 1,000-mg dose and were apparent at all subsequent doses, reaching 44% and 26%, respectively, at the 3,000-mg dose. The most common adverse events were flushing and gastrointestinal disturbance. Transaminase increases were relatively small, and the proportion of patients who developed liver function abnormalities on extended-release niacin was not significantly different from placebo. Thus, extended release niacin was generally well tolerated with no niacin toxicity and demonstrated a dose-related ability to alter favorably most elements of the lipid profile.

Niacin supplement questions
Q. Does too much niacin cause liver damage? What is a high niacin dosage?
     A. High doses of niacin could harm the liver and elevate liver enzymes, so it is best to keep the niacin dose for long term use to 250 mg or less. I consider a niacin high dosage if over 500 mg.

Q. Is non flushing niacin good for heart disease?
     A. Since a niacin supplement lowers certain lipid levels such as triglycerides, niacin may be helpful in heart disease. Niacin may not lower cholesterol to a great degree.

Q. Is niacin helpful in acne?
     A. I don't think a niacin supplement would influence acne in a noticeable way.

Q. What do you think of liquid niacin?
     A. Niacin is absorbed very well, I don't see the need for using liquid niacin.

Q. Does niacin relieve migraine headaches?
     A. I cannot find research that supports the use of niacin for migraine headache.

Q.  Does niacin improve schizophrenia?
     A. I have seen no good data that supports the use of niacin for schizophrenia.

Q. Do you know of any studies which show that the no flush niacin has similar effects on cholesterol as the flush kind?
   A. We would need to see the results of a head to head comparison of no flush niacin and regular niacin in a double blind placebo controlled trial. As of now, we have not seen such a study.

Q. I am currently taking flush-free niacin (inositol hexanicotinate) in order to try to lower my cholesterol. Does this have the same effect as regular B3 ( Niacin )?
   A. We have not seen head to head studies comparing the two forms of niacin, but our best guess is that they should have similar effects.

Q. Is the No-Flush niacin 500mg tablets an adequate replacement for 500mg Niaspan (prescription) tablets?
   A. We have not seen head to head human study comparisons between the two niacin products so we can't say for sure. We assume they would be similar, but we can't give a guarantee.

Dear Dr, I am currently taking a maximum dose of Niaspan 500mg x 4, as a cholesterol reducer in conjunction with Welchol, as I have used all statins available and developed rhabdomyolosis type symptoms, aching back and wacked liver enzymes. Next week June 2009, I will have a lapband surgery, the niacin tabs are too large, and I understand cannot be crushed. Would a liquid niacin work the same way?
    Liquid niacin should work in a similar way.