Nice. Took
Niacin, also known as nicotinic acid, is an organic compound and a form of vitamin B3, an essential human nutrient.[3] Niacin is obtained in the diet from a variety of whole and processed foods, with highest contents in fortified packaged foods, meat, poultry, red fish such as tuna and salmon, lesser amounts in nuts, legumes and seeds.[3][4] Niacin as a dietary supplement is used to treat pellagra, a disease caused by niacin deficiency. Signs and symptoms of pellagra include skin and mouth lesions, anemia, headaches, and tiredness.[5] Many countries require its addition to wheat flour or other food grains, thereby reducing the risk of pellagra.[3][6]
Although niacin and nicotinamide (niacinamide) are identical in their vitamin activity, nicotinamide does not have the same pharmacological, lipid-modifying effects or side effects as niacin, i.e., when niacin takes on the -amide group, it does not reduce cholesterol nor cause flushing.[7][8] Nicotinamide is recommended as a treatment for niacin deficiency because it can be administered in remedial amounts without causing the flushing, considered an adverse effect.[9]
Niacin is also a prescription medication. Amounts far in excess of the recommended dietary intake for vitamin functions will lower blood triglycerides and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and raise blood high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C, often referred to as "good" cholesterol). There are two forms: immediate-release and sustained-release niacin. Initial prescription amounts are 500 mg/day, increased over time until a therapeutic effect is achieved. Immediate-release doses can be as high as 3,000 mg/day; sustained-release as high as 2,000 mg/day.[
Niacin is both a vitamin, i.e., an essential nutrient, marketed as a dietary supplement, and a prescription medicine.
Severe deficiency of niacin in the diet causes the disease pellagra, characterized by diarrhea, sun-sensitive dermatitis involving hyperpigmentation and thickening of the skin (see image), inflammation of the mouth and tongue, delirium, dementia, and if left untreated, death.[5] Common psychiatric symptoms include irritability, poor concentration, anxiety, fatigue, loss of memory, restlessness, apathy, and depression
Niacin deficiency is rarely seen in developed countries, and it is more typically associated with poverty, malnutrition or malnutrition secondary to chronic alcoholism.[26] It also tends to occur in less developed areas where people eat maize (corn) as a staple food, as maize is the only grain low in digestible niacin.
The most common adverse effects of medicinal niacin (500–3000 mg) are flushing (e.g., warmth, redness, itching or tingling) of the face, neck and chest, headache, abdominal pain, diarrhea, dyspepsia, nausea, vomiting, rhinitis, pruritus and rash.[3][4][62] These can be minimized by initiating therapy at low dosages, increasing dosage gradually, and avoiding administration on an empty stomach. Flushing – a short-term dilatation of skin arterioles, causing reddish skin color – usually lasts for about 15 to 30 minutes, although sometimes can persist for weeks. Prevention of flushing requires altering or blocking the prostaglandin-mediated pathway.[4][67] Aspirin taken half an hour before the niacin prevents flushing, as does ibuprofen. Taking niacin with meals also helps reduce this side effect.[4] Acquired tolerance will also help reduce flushing; after several weeks of a consistent dose, most people no longer experience flushing.[4] Slow- or "sustained"-release forms of niacin have been developed to lessen these side effects.
Nicotinic acid was extracted from liver by biochemist Conrad Elvehjem in 1937. He later identified the active ingredient, referring to it as "pellagra-preventing factor" and the "anti-blacktongue factor."[104] It was also referred to as "vitamin PP", "vitamin P-P" and "PP-factor", all derived from the term "pellagra-preventive factor".
In 1942, when flour enrichment with nicotinic acid began, a headline in the popular press said"Tobacco in Your Bread."In response, the Council on Foods and Nutrition of the American Medical Association approved of the Food and Nutrition Board's new names niacin and niacin amide for use primarily by non-scientists. It was thought appropriate to choose a name to dissociate nicotinic acid from nicotine, to avoid the perception that vitamins or niacin-rich food contains nicotine, or that cigarettes contain vitamins.[106]' The resulting name niacin was derived from nicotinic acid + vitamin.[9][107] Carpenter found in 1951, that niacin in corn is biologically unavailable, and can be released only in very alkaline lime water of pH 11. This explains why a Latin-American culture that used alkali-treated cornmeal to make tortilla was not at risk for niacin deficiency.[108]'
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niacin
FLUSH is just a side-effect some people get, it seems to me.
>The most common adverse effects of medicinal niacin (500–3000 mg) are flushing