Niacin for Depression : The Right Fact

Most people are unaware of the fact that Niacin, which is nothing but vitamin B-3, has been regularly used as a cure for chronic depression and anxiety. Since US medical fraternity does not support natural remedies, the use of Niacin as a vitamin therapy has always been kept under secrecy. This is due to the reason that a couple of cases of high doses of Niacin has been documented where serious reactions were observed.

In fact the affected patients in these cases had taken Niacin to flush out the cocaine they had taken in order to pass drug tests. This type of incidents however are isolated cases and should not be compared with standard medical treatment. It has been estimated that more than 783,936 deaths occur every year due to medical errors for which nearly 100,000 or more deaths happen for taking prescribed medicines as directed by the physician.

Niacin came into the limelight when the founder of AA, Bill Wilson took part in a study being done on the use of Niacin for depression.  Before that Bill was fighting a battle against chronic depression most of his life. Bill agreed to participate in the study after being influenced by psychiatrists Abram Hoffer and Humphrey Osmond. The study was publicized quite widely. In fact Bill began to support Niacin so vehemently that he tried to introduce it in his AA organization. However, this attempt of his failed as it was opposed by everyone in AA. However this did not stop Bill from publishing many articles on the use of Niacin, including his experience in fighting depression with Niacin. He even published his experience in a book form named “Pass It On”.

Before adopting any medicinal cure for depression or anxiety it is important to recognize the fact that poor lifestyle in conjunction with poor diet can lead to stress and depression. Starting off with Niacin in the initial stage will not be the right decision. Treatment of depression should start with change in your lifestyle, like having a healthy diet, regular exercise, meditation and such other activities that will induce relaxation. This will largely bring about a life changing experience eliminating depression and anxiety from your life.

If after trying out all the natural methods you still do not find any positive results, you can then think of seeking medical care from a qualified doctor.  You should however be warned that many medication against prescription for treating depression have side effects. Sometimes it can even increase your depression in addition to other side effects.  Therefore when you choose a doctor, you need to be sure that he has knowledge of natural treatments.

Niacin is not dangerous enough to cause death, however it should be taken in measured doses along with other vitamins. The doctors will mostly start Niacin treatment with tiny doses and based on your progress will increase the dose.  A large quantity of Niacin generally causes skin to flush which is quite natural. As a rule doctors will start Niacin treatment with a dosage of 25 mg a day which can be increased to 50 mg each day.  The maximum dose that can be given is 3000 to 9000 mg a day, depending upon the severity of the case.

In nature Niacin is found in foods like, wheat products, almonds, rice bran, carrot, green leafy vegetables, celery, turnips, fish, lean red meat, liver, prawns and pork. You can try these foods if you want to counter depression the natural way.

If you are depressed, it is wise to consult a doctor before you start any kind of self-treatment to counter or cure depression.