Niacin Deficiencies and Therapies
When megavitamin therapy evolved from the early studies, one doctor asked, “If it is so darn good, why isn’t everyone using it?” Dr. Abram Hoffer believes the answer is, it’s so darn good no one believes it!
Niacin (B-3), part of the B-complex, was the vitamin missing from the diets of poor Southerners. Since niacin has been added to processed flour in the United States, pellagra has almost disappeared. Niacin may cause redness and itching when taken in large doses, and niacinamide is often used as an alternative by people who cannot tolerate the red flush.
Dr. Abram Hoffer, a Canadian orthomolecular psychiatrist, has done the definitive work with niacin therapy for schizophrenia. His cure rate is about 85 percent. Niacin therapy usually includes vitamin C and other vitamins and minerals.
Niacin also helps in the treatment of arthritis. Dr. William Kaufman of Bridgeport, Conn., has written two books about his protocol for arthritis and joint dysfunction. In 1941, Kaufman began using niacinamide in large doses for his arthritis patients. He found that joint mobility increased, and pain was alleviated.
In 1955, Kaufman reported on his use of niacinamide on 663 patients. Those who took an adequate dose of the vitamin experienced gains in muscle strength, decreased fatigue, and relief of emotional disorders.
Niacin is also effective in treating some alcoholics. One study by Dr. Russell F. Smith of Lake Orion, Mich., involved 507 alcoholics treated with niacin. Twenty percent of the group maintained complete abstinence, 103 were classified as having excellent results, 240 good, 98 fair, and 96 poor. The study showed that niacin far surpassed all other therapeutic agents commonly used in the treatment of alcoholics.
Niacin keeps blood cholesterol down and helps to increase HDL cholesterol. Dr. Edwin Boyle, research director of the Miami Heart Institute, has used niacin in more than 1,000 cases. In one group of 600 patients, insurance actuarial mortality tables predicted 62 deaths over a 10-year period. Among these patients, all of whom took large doses of niacin during the period, only six deaths occurred.
In his book, professor Rudi Altschul reviewed the evidence that niacin taken over a period of several years could reverse some of the arteriosclerotic pathology in blood vessels.
Recent studies suggest niacin may be valuable in treating heart attacks. Sludging is the term applied to red blood cells that do not float freely in the blood but adhere to each other.
Capillaries are so small that red blood cells pass through in single file. When two or more red blood cells adhere or stick to each other, they cannot traverse the capillaries. These capillaries therefore carry only plasma. With no red blood cells, the tissues fed by these capillaries suffer from anoxia. If many cells are sludged, large areas of tissues are deprived of oxygen.
Water-soluble vitamins such as niacin are excreted rapidly. The controlled time-release preparations release vitamin B-3 into the body over an 8- to 24-hour period. The slow-release tablet minimizes side effects, unless one is allergic to the material used in binding slow-release granules.
In summary, niacin is a vitamin that is beneficial in treating alcoholism, schizophrenia, and arthritis. It is also an effective way to lower cholesterol and raise HDL.
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