niacin versus niacinimide

Hey Immortal

I have been including niacinimide in my regimen lately in order to deal with candida.

Im curious about niacin. Is the histimine release a contributer to hair loss? unlike many other posters I really enjoy the niacin flush ( I am also enjoying the beta-alanine tingle! , holy crap beta-alanine provides a feeling of well being - even my scalp feels great after a dose).

I like the rosiness of the skin provided by niacin but dont need any negative hair line effects! should I discontinue its use?

Is taking both niacinimde and niacin overkill?

thelibrarian - Niacin is a good thing, whether it's regular flush niacin or non-flush (niacinamide). When you take regular niacin that causes a flush, this histamine effect is temporary. But even more important is that it serves as an anti-histamine. Regular niacin essentially flushes out your entire blood stream, and it will reduce for a time, latent histamine release from other causes.

Thanks IH

skin flushing , here I come! haha

CS-

what about high doses of regular flush niacin affecting the liver negatively?It's not an issue with niacin supplementation?Whats is the uppest dose considered safe?
I believe that's not the case with niacinamide.

edony - The latest research shows that flush Niacin is actually *not* a threat to the liver. I'll have to find the source at another time. However, it would be a good idea to avoid the sustained type of niacin to be safe. Typically, Niacin therapy involves gradual increases in dosing until you reach between a 1,000 and 3,000 mg. A more effective combination than niacin alone is to take Omega-3 fatty acids with Niacin, its overall effect is much greater.

You are probably reffering to its cholesterol lowering properties.
Niacinamide at 1-1.5gr can have the same positive effect as well,or just the regular flush niacin ?

edony - Unlike regular Niacin, Niacinamide does not lower cholesterol or triglycerides. Nevertheless it still has a large number of advantages.

It reduces histamine, inhibits iNOS, is anti-anxiety (might actually help with benzodiazepine withdrawal), arthritis, insomnia, dementia, mood disorders, etc. Therapeutic doses are typically 250 milligrams a few times per day.

Here's some additional info that is interesting:

Aging Cell. 2006 Oct;5(5):423-36.
Nicotinamide extends replicative lifespan of human cells.
Kang HT, Lee HI, Hwang ES.

Department of Life Science, University of Seoul, Dongdaemungu, Jeonnongdong, Seoul, Korea.

We found that an ongoing application of nicotinamide to normal human fibroblasts not only attenuated expression of the aging phenotype but also increased their replicative lifespan, causing a greater than 1.6-fold increase in the number of population doublings. Although nicotinamide by itself does not act as an antioxidant, the cells cultured in the presence of nicotinamide exhibited reduced levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and oxidative damage products associated with cellular senescence, and a decelerated telomere shortening rate without a detectable increase in telomerase activity. Furthermore, in the treated cells growing beyond the original Hayflick limit, the levels of p53, p21WAF1, and phospho-Rb proteins were similar to those in actively proliferating cells. The nicotinamide treatment caused a decrease in ATP levels, which was stably maintained until the delayed senescence point. Nicotinamide-treated cells also maintained high mitochondrial membrane potential but a lower respiration rate and superoxide anion level. Taken together, in contrast to its demonstrated pro-aging effect in yeast, nicotinamide extends the lifespan of human fibroblasts, possibly through reduction in mitochondrial activity and ROS production.