Niacin Side Effects and Toxicity: Too Much Is Never Good!

Niacin Side Effects

Niacin, a.k.a. vitamin B3, is an essential nutrient normally obtained in the diet. It's required for oxidation/reduction reactions vital to harvesting energy from our diet to perform normal bodily functions.

From this, it might seem that a normal individual taking niacin supplements might help to "enhance energy production" or other beneficial claim. But, as our moms always told us, too much of a good thing isn't always good!

People most often take niacin supplements in an effort to lower their levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol and to treat symptoms of depression. But, problems arise when over-the-counter "dietary supplements" (not prescribed by a physician) are taken without regard of their consequences. The fact is that anything can be toxic if you take too much of it.

Symptoms of Niacin Overdose

Again, there are instances in which a doctor may prescribe niacin (or tryptophan) supplements for blood pressure or depression. A common dosage for such drugs is between 2 and 6 g, which can result in some side effects. The most common niacin side effects are listed below...

Facial Flushing

Dry Skin

High Blood Sugar (not good for diabetics!)

Heart Palpitations

Possible Liver Damage

Nausea

Diarrhea

Skin flushing is by-far the most common of the niacin side effects, occurring about 15 minutes following ingestion of the pill and lasting for about an hour. You can help diminish this effect by taking the niacin with food or by taking aspirin about 30 minutes prior to the niacin. This will effectively prevent too much blood from reaching the skin.

As with any other supplement, after a period of time your body will become used to the regular intake and symptoms should deteriorate.

When taking niacin supplements, it's important to be wary of what it says on the bottle. What I mean is, because these products aren't monitored by the FDA, the pill may or may not contain what it actually states. For example, a pill claiming to contain 3g of niacin may not contain any biologically active form of the vitamin. On the other hand, other pills may have much more than what's actually stated. Just be careful where you buy your niacin supplements!

For example, you may be interested in a certain bottle of "no flush niacin" or something similar. How would this work without producing the symptoms? Well, it just doesn't have as much niacin. And, in fact, some companies just don't have any active forms of niacin, thereby eliminating the flushing effect along with the very benefits of niacin you're trying to obtain.

Niacin and Cholesterol

Again, niacin is most often taken as a means to help lower the LDL/HDL cholesterol ratio (the drug name is Niaspan). There's an ongoing investigation into whether niacin or statin drugs are more effective at lower cholesterol. Evidence at this point suggests that niacin therapy for blood pressure is safer and more successful than the statin drugs which operate under a totally different mechanism. However, the use of statin drugs have been clinically proven to decrease mortality and the incidence of adverse events, whereas niacin has not been proven to have the same effect. Part of this difference is the anti-inflammatory action of statin drugs that are not present in niacin supplements.

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