What are the side effects of too much niacin?
- Flushed skin
- Dizziness
- Itching
- Rapid heartbeat
- Diarrhea
- Abdominal pain
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Liver damage
- Gout
Can too much niacin be harmful?
Too much niacin can lead to terrible side effects, including the loss of your hair, cracked and dry skin, rashes, skin flushing, and severe itching. Liver. Your liver has trouble handling high doses of niacin, and that could lead to jaundice, increased blood liver enzymes, severe liver damage and even liver failure. Heart and blood.
How can niacin affect my health?
- Nausea or vomiting
- Skin reactions and rashes
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Allergic reactions: Niacin supplements — including time release niacin — can cause allergies because some contain histamines, which are chemical substances that can trigger allergic symptoms
- Heart problems and irregular heartbeats
- Increased blood sugar
- Worsened gallbladder function
- Gout
What is the safe dosage of niacin?
The recommended daily amount of niacin for adult males is 16 milligrams (mg) a day and for adult women who aren't pregnant, 14 mg a day.
How serious is niacin?
What is the importance of niacin?
How does niacin help your body?
What are the benefits of B complex vitamins?
What foods can you take niacin from?
What to do if you overdose on niacin?
How many B vitamins are there in the human body?
See more
Is 50mg too much niacin?
High doses (50 mg or more) of niacin can cause side effects. The most common side effect is called "niacin flush," which is a burning, tingling sensation in the face and chest, and red or flushed skin.
How much niacin is toxic?
Niacin associated hepatotoxicity is generally related to ingestions of around 3 grams per day. In contrast, the more common symptom of flushing can occur at doses as low as 30 mg per day.
Is 1000 mg of niacin a day too much?
Adults and children older than 16 years of age—At first, 500 milligrams (mg) per day, taken at bedtime. After 4 weeks, your doctor will increase your dose to 1000 mg per day, taken at bedtime. However, the dose is usually not more than 2000 mg per day.
Can I have too much niacin?
While it's not possible to overdose on niacin simply by eating too many niacin-rich foods, taking too much over-the-counter or prescription niacin can be dangerous. Niacin overdose signs and symptoms include: Severe skin flushing combined with dizziness. Rapid heartbeat.
Is 60 mg of niacin too much?
The tolerable upper level (UL) for maximum daily dose of niacin is: Children 1-3 years, 10 mg; Children 4-8 years, 15 mg; Children 9-13 years, 20 mg; Adults, including Pregnant and Lactating women, 14-18 years, 30 mg; and Adults, including pregnant and breast-feeding women, older than 18 years, 35 mg.
Is niacin hard on the liver?
Niacin can cause mild-to-moderate serum aminotransferase elevations and high doses and certain formulations of niacin have been linked to clinically apparent, acute liver injury which can be severe as well as fatal.
Can niacin be toxic?
Toxicity when eating foods containing niacin is rare, but can occur from long-term use of high-dose supplements. A reddened skin flush with itchiness or tingling on the face, arms, and chest is a common sign.
What is niacin 500mg used for?
Niacin is used with a proper diet and exercise program to help lower "bad" cholesterol and fats (LDL, triglycerides) and raise "good" cholesterol (HDL) in the blood. It is generally used after non-drug treatments have not been fully successful at lowering cholesterol.
What does niacin flush feel like?
Niacin flush is a common side effect of taking high doses of niacin supplements. It's uncomfortable, but it's harmless. It appears as a flush of red on the skin, which may be accompanied by an itching or burning sensation ( 1 ). Niacin is also known as vitamin B3.
Is 30 mg of niacin too much?
Can niacin be harmful? The niacin that food and beverages naturally contain is safe. However, dietary supplements with 30 mg or more of nicotinic acid can make the skin on your face, arms, and chest turn red and burn, tingle, and itch. These symptoms can also lead to headaches, rashes, and dizziness.
How long will niacin flush last?
Other than causing discomfort the flushing is harmless and usually subsides within 1 or 2 hours. Symptoms are most intense after the first dose and typically diminish over days or weeks with continued use of niacin.
How much niacin should I take for a flush?
What is Niacin Flush? The onset of a niacin flush comes about 10 to 20 minutes after taking a large dose (100mg or more) of niacin. The flush includes reddening of the skin accompanied by a warm burning or itching sensation. It may be uncomfortable for some people, but harmless.
What happens if you take too much niacin?
You might also experience constipation, loss of appetite and weight loss. Muscles and joints. Muscle cell damage, weakened muscles, muscle pain and joint pain are common problems for those who take too much niacin. Nervous system.
How to take niacin?
Precautions of Taking Niacin Supplements 1 Taking an aspirin 30 minutes before the niacin dose might help the side effects of “flush” – red skin and a burning, tingling sensation of the face and chest. 2 Alert your doctor if you have a history of diabetes or gallbladder problems. People with stomach ulcers, liver disease or kidney disease should not take niacin supplements. 3 Never take niacin within two weeks of a schedule surgery. 4 Remember that niacin increases histamine, which can make allergies worse. 5 Taking any B vitamin, such as niacin, for a long period of time can lead to an imbalance among the B vitamins in your body. Therefore, it might be best to take a B-complex vitamin to ensure no imbalances occur. 6 Due to the risk of heart rhythm changes, those who have unstable angina or coronary artery disease should never take niacin supplements without the doctor’s permission. 7 Niacin can lead to drops in blood pressure. Anyone who has a history of low blood pressure should be carefully monitored while on niacin. 8 Those who have a history of gout should never take niacin.
What to do if you overdose on niacin?
If you have overdosed on supplements, seek medical help immediately. At the emergency department, certain medications might help, or gastric lavage might be used to rid the stomach of any supplements left there.
How long after surgery can you take niacin?
Never take niacin within two weeks of a schedule surgery.
Can too much niacin cause heart problems?
Heart and blood. Too much niacin can lead to circulatory collapse, palpitations, abnormal heart rhythms, reduced white blood cell count, excess clotting, and the potential for long-term heart disease.
Can you take niacin with angina?
Due to the risk of heart rhythm changes, those who have unstable angina or coronary artery disease should never take niacin supplements without the doctor’s permission. Niacin can lead to drops in blood pressure. Anyone who has a history of low blood pressure should be carefully monitored while on niacin.
Can you take niacin with multivitamins?
It can also be taken in multivitamin supplements. However, just as too little niacin is a problem, so is having too much of it in your diet.
What foods contain niacin?
Foods rich in niacin include yeast, milk, meat, tortillas and cereal grains. People use prescription niacin (Niacor, Niaspan) to help control their cholesterol. The recommended daily amount of niacin for adult males is 16 milligrams (mg) a day and for adult women who aren't pregnant, 14 mg a day.
What is niacin used for?
Overview. Niacin is a B vitamin that's made and used by your body to turn food into energy. It helps keep your nervous system, digestive system and skin healthy. Niacin (vitamin B-3) is often part of a daily multivitamin, but most people get enough niacin from the food they eat. Foods rich in niacin include yeast, milk, meat, ...
Does niacin help with cholesterol?
Prescription niacin is used to increase high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol — the "good" cholesterol that helps remove low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the "bad" cholesterol, from your bloodstream.
Does niacin lower blood sugar?
Taking niacin with chromium might lower your blood sugar. If you have diabetes and take niacin and chromium, closely monitor your blood sugar levels. Diabetes drugs. If you have diabetes, niacin can interfere with blood glucose control. You might need to adjust the dose of your diabetes drugs.
Does niacin cause blood pressure?
Taking niacin with them might increase your risk of bleeding. Blood pressure drugs, herbs and supplements. Niacin might have an additive effect when you take blood pressure drugs, herbs or supplements. This could increase your risk of low blood pressure (hypotension).
Can you take niacin while pregnant?
If you're pregnant, don't take prescription niacin for high cholesterol. However, if needed to prevent or treat niacin deficiency, niacin is likely safe to take during pregnancy and in breast-feeding women when used in recommended amounts.
Can niacin cause peptic ulcers?
The supplement has been linked with liver damage, can cause hypotension and might activate a peptic ulcer. Taking niacin also might worsen allergies , gallbladder disease and symptoms of certain thyroid disorders. If you have diabetes, niacin can interfere with blood glucose control.
What are the symptoms of niacin overdose?
Niacin overdose signs and symptoms include: Severe skin flushing combined with dizziness. Rapid heartbeat. Itching. Nausea and vomiting. Abdominal pain. Diarrhea. Gout. If you think you may have overdosed, seek medical attention immediately.
Can you take niacin with statins?
Because niacin has also been linked to liver damage and strokes, most doctors now recommend it only for people who can't take statins to treat high triglyceride levels. If you're concerned about taking niacin, talk to your doctor. With. Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.
What is the DRI for niacin?
Everyone needs a certain amount of niacin -- from food or supplements -- for the body to function normally. This amount is called the dietary reference intake (DRI), a term that is replacing the older and more familiar RDA (recommended daily allowance).
Can you take niacin for pellagra?
Instead, get advice from your health care provider, who can prescribe FDA-approved doses of niacin instead if recommended. In addition, niacin is an FDA-approved treatment for pellagra, a rare condition that develops from niacin deficiency.
Is niacin safe for high cholesterol?
Get advice from your healthcare provider. At the low DRI doses, niacin is safe for everyone. However, at the higher amounts used to treat medical conditions, it can have risks.
Is niacin a cholesterol medicine?
However, niacin is only effective as a cholesterol treatment at fairly high doses. These doses could pose risks, such as liver damage, ...
Does niacin lower cholesterol?
Niacin also modestly lowers bad LDL cholesterol. It's sometimes prescribed in combination with statins for cholesterol control, such as rosuvastatin ( Crestor, Ezallor ), simvastatin, fluvastatin ( Lescol ), atorvastatin ( Lipitor) and pravastatin ( Pravachol ). However, niacin is only effective as a cholesterol treatment at fairly high doses.
Is niacin safe for pregnant women?
However, at the higher amounts used to treat medical conditions, it can have risks. For that reason, children and women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should not take nia cin supplements in excess of the DRI unless it's recommended by a doctor.
Can niacin interact with blood thinners?
Interactions. If you take any medicines or supplements regularly, talk to your doctor before you start using niacin supplements. They could interact with medicines like diabetes drugs, blood thinners, anticonvulsants, blood pressure medicines, thyroid hormones, and antibiotics as well as supplements like ginkgo biloba and some antioxidants. Alcohol might increase the risk of liver problems. Though niacin is often used along with statins for high cholesterol, this combination may increase the risk for side effects. Get advice from your healthcare provider.
What are the side effects of taking niacin?
This side effect, while not serious, is characterized by redness, itching and tingling in the neck, face, arms and upper chest. According to the National Institutes of Health, niacin flushing can start at doses of 30 to 50 milligrams. Advertisement.
What is the role of niacin in the body?
Niacin, which is also referred to as vitamin B-3, is one of eight B vitamins that plays a role in converting the calories you eat into usable energy . Niacin is also responsible for the production of stress and sex hormones and can help to improve circulation. According to the National Institutes of Health, you can consume all ...
Can niacin cause imbalance?
One less-obvious side effect of high-dose niacin is a potential imbalance in other B-vitamin levels in the body. Taking high doses of any one of the B vitamins can cause imbalances in other B vitamins. Therefore, it is best to consume a B-complex vitamin, containing all of the B vitamins, if you decide to use supplements.
Is 250 mg a high dose?
According to MedlinePlus, doses this high are typically sold as prescription products. Because very high doses are required for treating high cholesterol, dietary supplements — which typically come in strengths of 250 milligrams or less — are not appropriate for this use. Advertisement.
Is niacin bad for you?
High doses of niacin are used as a treatment for lowering cholesterol. But consuming too much niacin in supplement form can cause side effects and be harmful to your health.
Can you eat niacin?
According to the National Institutes of Health, you can consume all the niacin you need though diet, which makes niacin deficiency very uncommon in developed countries. While high doses of niacin present a number of serious risks, they may also be useful, under medical supervision, for treating high cholesterol.
Can you take niacin with diabetes?
It's particularly important for individuals who already have liver disease, kidney disease or stomach ulcers to avoid niacin pills. In addition, those with diabetes or gallbladder disease should only use niacin under the supervision of a medical professional. Read more: Niacin & Anxiety. Advertisement.
Why do people stop taking niacin?
According to reports, 5–20% of people who have been prescribed niacin stop using it because of flush ( 5 ).
Why do doctors prescribe niacin?
Doctors have long prescribed high doses of niacin to help people improve their cholesterol levels and prevent heart disease ( 5 ).
Why does niacin flush my skin?
Niacin flush is a common side effect of taking high doses of supplemental niacin, which can be prescribed to treat cholesterol problems. Although harmless, its symptoms — skin that’s red, warm, and itchy — can be uncomfortable. In fact, this is often why people stop taking niacin ( 1.
How long does it take for niacin to flush?
Symptoms of niacin flush. When niacin flush occurs, symptoms typically set in about 15–30 minutes after taking the supplement and taper off after about an hour. The symptoms mainly affect the face and upper body, and include ( 9. Trusted Source.
What is niacin B3?
Trusted Source. ). Niacin is also known as vitamin B3. It’s part of the B complex of vitamins that play an essential role in turning food into energy for the body ( 2. Trusted Source.
What medications cause flushing?
Other medications, including some antidepressants and hormone replacement therapies (HRTs), can also trigger flush ( 1. Trusted Source. ). SUMMARY. Niacin flush is a common reaction to high doses of niacin. It happens when capillaries expand, increasing blood flow to the skin’s surface.
Does niacin increase HDL?
Trusted Source. ). Taking high doses of niacin has been shown to produce the following improvements in blood cholesterol and lipids: Increase HDL (good) cholesterol. It prevents the breakdown of apolipoprotein A1, which is used to make HDL (good) cholesterol. It can increase HDL (good) cholesterol by up to 20–40% ( 1.
How many niacin prescriptions were written in 2009?
Of all niacin prescriptions written in 2009, 80 percent were for Niaspan, a slow-releasing niacin tablet made by Abbott Laboratories, according to a study published last year.
Does niacin cause diabetes?
Niacin was also linked with more hospitalizations among diabetic patients and the development of diabetes in people who didn't have it at the beginning of the study.
Does niacin cause liver problems?
The study also found some unexpected and serious side effects. People who took niacin were more likely than people taking a placebo to experience liver problems, infections and bleeding in various body areas including the stomach, intestines and brain.
Does niacin help with heart problems?
However, clinical trials have not shown that taking niacin in any form actually prevents heart problems. Considering the alarming side effects of niacin, researchers now say the vitamin shouldn't even be prescribed anymore. "There might be one excess death for every 200 people we put on niacin," said Dr.
Does niacin help with cholesterol?
Niacin has long been used to increase people's levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or the "good" cholesterol, and has been a major focus of research into heart disease prevention for several decades. However, clinical trials have not shown that taking niacin in any form actually prevents heart problems.
Is niacin bad for you?
Niacin, or vitamin B3, is too dangerous and should not be used routinely by people looking to control their cholesterol levels or prevent heart disease, doctors say. The warning comes following recent evidence showing the vitamin does not reduce heart attacks or strokes, and instead is linked to an increased risk of bleeding, diabetes and death.
Can you buy niacin over the counter?
Niacin can also be bought over the counter as a supplement. These supplements may have their own issues because vitamin products are not regulated in the same way that pharmaceutical products are. "It may come with other things in the preparation that we don't know about, and could potentially enhance the toxicity of niacin," Lloyd-Jones said. "Because it is available over the counter, I think it's important for consumers to understand that this signal appears to apply to all types of niacin."
What are the side effects of niacin?
They include skin rashes, gastrointestinal problems, complications with the management of pre-existing diabetes and increased risk of developing diabetes.
How does niacin work?
It works by blocking the enzyme responsible for making cholesterol in the liver. Advertising Policy. But it’s not for everyone. “We only use niacin with people who do not want to take other agents,” Dr. Cho explains. Studies reinforce this approach.
Is niacin a limited medicine?
Leslie Cho, MD, Director of the Women’s Cardiovascular Center at Cleveland Clinic’s Heart and Vascular Institute, says that niacin has only a very limited role when used judiciously in specific types of patients.
Does niacin help with cholesterol?
It works by blocking the enzyme responsible for making cholesterol in the liver.
Can you take niacin with high cholesterol?
It’s also important that people do not try to treat themselves with niacin supplements. If you have high cholesterol, talk with your doctor about the best way to get your cholesterol under control.
How serious is niacin?
It's worth noting that some cholesterol patients are prescribed a niacin dosage that is over 1,000 milligrams, so the side effects can be pretty serious. The Mayo Clinic lists some of the side effects caused by high doses of niacin, taken via supplements: Flushed skin. Dizziness.
What is the importance of niacin?
Importance of Niacin. The University of Rochester notes that niacin is part of the B complex group of vitamins. According to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, there are collectively eight B vitamins, of which niacin is vitamin B3. The Mayo Clinic explains that your body uses niacin to turn the food you eat into energy.
How does niacin help your body?
The Mayo Clinic explains that your body uses niacin to turn the food you eat into energy. It basically helps your body use the carbohydrates, fats and proteins that you consume. In fact, the University of Rochester says that niacin is involved in two enzyme systems within your body; these systems affect every single one of your tissues.
What are the benefits of B complex vitamins?
Read more: The Surprising Benefits and Side Effects of B-Complex Vitamins. The Mayo Clinic explains that your body uses niacin to turn the food you eat into energy. It basically helps your body use the carbohydrates, fats and proteins that you consume. In fact, the University of Rochester says that niacin is involved in two enzyme systems within ...
What foods can you take niacin from?
This nutrient is found in many foods like yeast, meats (liver especially), seeds, grains and legumes. Niacin is also found in many enriched foods, like corn tortillas, ...
What to do if you overdose on niacin?
If you suspect that you have overdosed on niacin, you should seek medical help immediately. You should also discuss any existing conditions you have with your doctor before you start taking niacin supplements. According to the Mayo Clinic, niacin supplements can exacerbate certain health issues like allergies, gallbladder conditions and certain thyroid disorders.
How many B vitamins are there in the human body?
According to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, there are collectively eight B vitamins, of which niacin is vitamin B3.