Niacin is commonly used to refer to the two forms of vitamin B-3, nicotinic acid and nicotinamide.
Effects on GH
Niacin is a potent GH-releaser. Two scientific studies show that 200 milligrams of niacin given intravenously increased GH levels eight-fold with the GH peak occurring two hours after the administration. It did not stimulate GH in people who were one and a half to twice their ideal weight, which is not surprising since obesity blocks GH release . Pearson and Shaw state that a 200-milligram dose of niacin “will cause a mild GH release – about the same as a nonexercising teenager.”
How it works
Niacin is believed to play a role in the release of GH, particularly in its most potent form called xanthinol nicotinate, which passes more easily through the membrane of cells and through the blood-brain barrier.
Niacin also helps the body make various sex and stress-related hormones in the adrenal glands and other parts of the body. Niacin is effective in improving circulation and reducing cholesterol levels in the blood.
All the B vitamins are water-soluble, meaning that the body does not store them.
You can meet all of your body’s needs for B3 through diet; it is rare for anyone in the developed world to have a B3 deficiency. In the United States, alcoholism is the prime cause of vitamin B3 deficiency.
Excellent sources of vitamin B3 (niacin) include crimini mushrooms and tuna. Very good sources include salmon, chicken breast, asparagus, halibut, and venison.
Anti-aging benefits
This is an anti-death vitamin that significantly reduced mortality in every cause of death analyzed by a milestone study in the seventies and eighties called the Coronary Drug Project, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all “other” causes. It has the potential to reverse atherosclerosis and lowers serum cholesterol by an average of 25 percent and triglycerides by up to 52 percent and raise HDL levels by 33 percent. And it is also a cognitive enhancer, improving memory by 10 to 40 percent in both young and middle-aged normal, healthy subjects as compared with controls in a double-blind study.
Clinical usage
Niacin is effective on its own or as part of an amino acid stack. According to some experts, With just using L-glutamine and niacin, you can get a 30 to 40 percent elevation in IGF-1 levels.
Dosage
200 milligrams to 1 gram
Side effects
Niacin can cause a harmless, though initially scary, reaction known as flushing, when the skin turns red, feels very hot, and may itch or tingle. This can happen in doses as low as 100 milligrams taken on an empty stomach and is caused by dilation of the arteries and a release of histamine. The reaction is harmless, generally subsiding within twenty minutes.
To minimize flushing, start with small doses and slowly build to 1 gram. Tolerance to flushing usually develops within one week. If niacin is used alone as a GH-releaser, taking it with food will also minimize flushing. If using it in a stack with arginine, take it on an empty stomach at bedtime. You may be asleep by the time the flushing occurs. If not, lie back and enjoy it! The niacin flush is basically the same as the “sex flush” documented by Masters and Johnson that occurs with histamine release during orgasm.
Caution
Doses over 800 milligrams with timed-release forms of have been linked to liver damage.