You may hear that taking niacin as a flushing treatment will remove environmental toxins or illegal drugs from your system. Store shelves are lined with "no flush" niacin, but the flushing action of niacin proves unrelated to claims on product...
Niacin is sometimes prescribed by doctors for patients who have high cholesterol or triglycerides, conditions that may increase the risk of heart disease. A common side effect of high doses of niacin is a flushing of the skin. While generally...
Taking niacin, in the form of nicotinic acid, may help you reduce your cholesterol levels. Niacin not only lowers bad cholesterol, or LDL, but it can also raise good cholesterol, or HDL. But the high dosages of niacin necessary to reduce...
Niacin supplements are available both over-the-counter and by prescription. Also known as vitamin B3, niacin is commonly used to increase high-density lipoproteins, or HDL cholesterol. Unfortunately, flushing is a side effect that frequently...
Niacin, also known as vitamin B-3, is a vitamin your body uses to change carbohydrates in your daily diet into energy. The vitamin also is responsible for maintaining nervous system functioning and helping to produce hormones. While you likely...
Niacin, or vitamin B-3, is one of the most effective supplements for people at risk for heart disease. At very high doses, it acts like a drug. The recommended daily allowance, or RDA, for niacin is 14 mg to 16 mg and the tolerable upper intake...
Vitamin B3 consists of niacin, also known as nicotinic acid, and niacinamide. High doses of niacin are beneficial for certain health conditions, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health's MedLine Plus, but niacin supplements can cause...
Niacin, if taken in large doses, can cause skin flushes, an unpleasant but harmless side effect that makes your face and chest turn red and may make your skin burn, itch or tingle. If you experience skin flushes from taking niacin, you may want to...
All niacin is not all the same. Three forms exist, and they do not affect you the same way. One form can improve your overall lipid profile by reducing your triglycerides and bad cholesterol, or LDL, and increasing your HDL, or good cholesterol,...
If you have low niacin levels in your body or certain types of medical conditions such as high cholesterol or heart disease, your doctor may recommend treatment with a niacin supplement. Niacin, also referred to as vitamin B-3, is a water-soluble...
Niacin flush is caused when the capillaries become dilated and blood flow increases causing a warming sensation and reddening of the skin. This typically occurs within 20 to 30 minutes after niacin has been taken and usually only lasts a few...
Niacin, also known as vitamin B-3, helps your body convert carbohydrates to sugar and metabolize fat and protein. In recommended amounts, niacin also helps improve the health of your eyes, skin and hair and the function of your liver. Some people...
Niacin, also referred to as B-3, is a member of the B-complex family of vitamins. The most common side effect from niacin supplements is known as a "niacin flush," a reaction that is characterized by a burning, tingling sensation in the face and...
Large amounts of niacin, also known as vitamin B-3, can cause skin flushes, a condition that makes your face and chest turn red as well as burn and tingle. A variety of foods in your diet contain niacin, but only in small amounts. If you take...
Most people get enough niacin, vitamin B-3, in their diets because it occurs naturally in such foods as beef, peanuts and tuna. Some foods, such as dairy products, eggs and poultry, also contain tryptophan, an enzyme that converts to niacin in...
Niacin, also known as nicotinic acid and nicotinamide, is an essential vitamin. Niacin was first discovered to treat a condition known as pellagra; symptoms include diarrhea, dermatitis and dementia. Niacin is currently taken by some to lower the...
Niacin, niacinamide and inositol hexanicotinate comprise the three types of vitamin B-3. Any of these ingredients may cause flushing, though niacin proves more likely to cause this uncomfortable condition, characterized by redness, itching,...
Niacin, or vitamin B3, is a water-soluble nutrient belonging to the B complex family. The term "niacin" is used to describe two chemically different substances, nicotinic acid and nicotinamide. Both of these compounds can be converted in your body...
Vitamin supplements can be used to increase your vitamin intake. They can be used to treat vitamin deficiencies and, in the case of niacin, reduce your risk of developing cardiovascular problems. Regular niacin and no flush niacin differ in the...
If you have low vitamin B-3 levels or high cholesterol levels, your doctor may recommend treatment with a high-dose form of vitamin B-3 supplement, such as 500 mg of niacin. Niacin is a form of vitamin B-3 that helps reduce levels of "bad" or LDL...
Niacin, a popular treatment for high cholesterol, may cause flushing -- red, burning and tingling skin. Some over-the-counter and prescription-strength formulas of niacin promise relief from this unpleasant side effect. These include the brand...
Also known as vitamin B-3, niacin is part of the eight-member B-vitamin family. Niacin's status as a B vitamin lets you know it is a water-soluble vitamin, meaning it is not stored in your body. As a result, you have to take in enough niacin in...
Vitamins are good for you and too much cholesterol in your bloodstream is bad, so taking a vitamin that improves cholesterol levels should prove beneficial. This helps explain why doctors have prescribed niacin -- vitamin B3 -- for more than 50...
If you have high cholesterol levels, your doctor may prescribe niacin to help you reduce your cholesterol and your risk of cardiovascular disease. Niacin is one of the best ways to increase your blood level of HDL, or "good," cholesterol and lower...
Niacin, or vitamin B-3, is a water-soluble vitamin that's a part of a healthy diet. Niacin supplements also may be used therapeutically. Flushing is a side effect associated with use of nicotinic acid, one type of niacin supplement. According to...
Niacin, a B vitamin used to lower your cholesterol and increase bodily energy, also may help with lowering your blood pressure. This vitamin may also be used to treat dementia, prevent heart attack and decrease plaque that fills up your arteries,...
Niacin, a member of the B complex family, has been used for decades to treat high triglycerides and other lipid abnormalities. The term "niacin" is used to describe two nutritionally equivalent compounds -- nicotinic acid and nicotinamide, or...
High-density lipoprotein -- HDL or "good" cholesterol -- helps to protect you against cardiovascular disease. It pulls two artery-clogging lipids -- low-density lipoprotein, also known as LDL or "bad" cholesterol, and triglycerides out of your...
Non-flushing or no-flush niacin is a type of vitamin B-3 supplement that may contain alternate forms of niacin such as inositol hexaniacinate. Unlike regular forms of niacin, no-flush niacin is purported to prevent the emergence of flushing side...
