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Niacin Side Effects: Preventing the Niacin Flush

Anyone who has taken niacin, at least the right kind of niacin (more on the later) has probably experience the niacin flush side effect. Even after months of taking niacin now, I still occasionally get it. Sometimes it’s no more than a slight tingling in the skin of my neck, other times mu whole trunk will turn red, like a sun burn, and feel as though I’d just been rubbed down with Ben Gay. Sometimes it’s even accompanied by itching!

First off, know this niacin flush isn’t dangerous. The miacin causes the small blood vessels called “capillaries” to expand, resulting in an large increase in blood flow. This is what causes the flushing effect of the skin – more blood in the capillaries feeding the cells. As part of this process, the cells nourished by the capillaries often produce histamine as part of this process. Histamine is a natural substance produced when a cell is eliminating toxins. It’s the histamine that causes the itch.

Some folks are so bothered by this that they give up on niacin all together, even though as far as side effects go for drugs that are as effective as niacin, the flush is well worth it. For some the flush is more than a mere nuisance – it can last for hours and the itching can be intolerable.

If you’re looking at a less than optimal cholesterol profile and you’ve been considering niacin, or even already tried it an experience the flush, here’s a few things you can do to help lessen or even prevent it from happening.

The first is to ramp up your niacin dose slowly. For most people, the flush effect fades away over time. Don’t forget that if you plan on taking more than 500mg of niacin a day to consult with your doctor first!

• Week 1: 250mg morning
• Week 2: 250mg morning, 250mg evening
• Week 3: 500mg morning, 250mg evening
• Week 4: 500mg morning, 500mg evening

Another thing to look at is how hydrated you are. A niacin flush can be a sign of dehydration. When you take you niacin dose, take is with a minimum of 8 ounces of water. More is better. You can also take it with a meal (breakfast/dinner). This will slow its absorption somewhat and prevent or mitigate the flush. If you’re still getting the flush, simply drink more water. Downing another 16 – 24 ounces of water gets rid of it for almost 90% of sufferers. And usually in just a few minutes.

Now one problem here might be if you’re taking your niacin before bed. Chug all that water and you’ll be up all night urinating. So back up your niacin dose to dinner time, or at least three hours before you hit the hay.
Another tip: aspirin. If you can’t get the flush to respond to drinking a bunch of water, try taking a single, uncoated aspirin (325mg). If you’re one of those who can’t tolerate aspirin, you can try 200 mg of ibuprofen.

Lastly, watch your alcohol intake. Alcohol can aggravate the flush. To avoid that, don’t drink within 2 hours before or after taking your niacin.

Even though most people don’t know it, and doctors don’t recommend it, and drug companies don’t want you to use it, Niacin is best thing going for reducing small LDL particles, raising HDL, and reducing lipoprotein(a). Not even statin drugs can do that much, and their side effects can be much worse.  It’s definitely worth working through the flush to get the health benefits.

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