Posted by janejane on July 4, 2010, at 9:46:50
In reply to Re: Niacin/folic acid and depression, posted by Hombre on July 4, 2010, at 3:53:00
If you read the excerpt above, you'll see Larry suggested taking B12 to mitigate possible liver problems. (The original post may have gone into more depth than what I quoted.)
I'm really not qualified to speak on the subject of B3 since I have a poor understanding of chemistry and biology. I do respect Larry's knowledge though, which is why I quoted it. He was always impeccable about doing the research, and often provided extensive lists of sources for follow-up. I only provided a few paragraphs that I thought showed the basic ideas. You will no doubt find more thorough analysis if you look at the original material.
As for Hoffer, I don't know how to reconcile that. I know he did his work a long time ago, and newer research may have altered current thinking. I'm sorry I can't be of more help but the chemistry stuff really does make my head spin.
My own experience with B3 has been limited. There's 55 mg niacinamide and 20 mg niacin in my daily multivitamin. I don't take more than that since B vitamins generally seem to make me anxious. I tried a modest amount of supplemental niacinamide (I think 250 mg) two or three times for allergy type symptoms and didn't notice an improvement. Once I thought it made me sleepy, but I wasn't sure it was to blame. I also tried it for anxiety, and didn't notice a difference, but I later found out the anxiety was caused by 5-HTP so I'm guessing that the problem was that it was hitting the wrong receptors (benzo vs. serotonin). (Simply stopping 5-HTP was the answer to that problem.)
poster:janejane
thread:952243
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20100703/msgs/953227.html