Yet More Niacin / Niacinamide Questions!

By Nurse Mark

Wow – who knew that niacin and niacinamide could cause such confusion?

We have recently written about both of these substances in  Niacin And Niacinamide Confusion! and Amazing Vitamin Helps Alzheimer’s And More! and even as long ago as February of 2008 in  Niacin For Cholesterol Control – Is Flush-Free Or Regular Niacin Better?.

We still get questions!

Yes, the B vitamins are a confusing lot – there are just so darn many of them!

• Vitamin B1 is thiamine
• Vitamin B2 is riboflavin
• Vitamin B3 is niacin or niacinamide
• Vitamin B5 is pantothenic acid
• Vitamin B6 is pyridoxine, pyridoxal, or pyridoxamine, or pyridoxine hydrochloride
• Vitamin B7 is biotin
• Vitamin B9 is folic acid
• Vitamin B12 is comprised of the various cobalamins; Cyanocobalamin, Methylcobalamin, Adenosylcobalamin, and Hydroxocobalamin

You can learn more about the B’s and their uses here: B-12 Extreme explains the  4 forms of B-12 and The B Vitamins has a great table showing the functions of the B-complex family of vitamins.

Here is the letter that prompted this brief article:

….dear Dr Myatt. I am a recent addition to your site…re: Niacin and Niacinamide?…any conflict for an otherwise healthy body, mine, by taking 500 mg of Niacin versus 200 mg of Niacinamide hrs apart?….paul  

And here is Dr. Myatt’s reply to Paul:

Hi Paul;

Welcome!

No problem known with taking both niacin and niacinamide; however, the dose of niacinamide that you are planning to take is much smaller than what is recommended for arthritis or memory improvement. You might want to learn more about niacinamide here: http://www.drmyattswellnessclub.com/Niacinamide.htm

For niacin, I recommend the no-flush version. It does not have any uncomfortable symptoms and in my 21 years of clinical experience, it works as well (the same) as regular niacin. DO NOT take time-released niacin (the prescription form of niacin), which has been shown to be much more problematic to the liver. http://www.drmyattswellnessclub.com/niacin.htm

Hope this helps and again, welcome to HealthBeat!

Dr. Myatt

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