A friend is taking niacin to bring up his HDL. He got a niacin flush and was all pink and felt hot.
Looked up, niacin can cause capilaries to dialate. Increases blood flow. Increases HDL and lowers LDL. Is manufactured by the body from about 1.5% of surplus tryptophan.
The body uses niacin and tryptophan to manufacture seratonin. Deficiencies in niacin can reduce seratonin levels.
Niacin is also called Vitamin B-3 and there are AA pamphlets about taking "Vitamin B-3" to help bring back energy, reduce stress and elevate mood after coming sober.
Aparently, about 20mg is the min daily for niacin as nicotinic acid. Well, 15-20 depending on age. I see "Optimal Dose" listed as about 100mg. Some people take more and some take extended release versions.
So, Maybe to combat work stress, I'll try taking 5-htp and niacin suppliments for a couple of weeks. I found 50mg 5htp and 100mg niacin (or 250mg slow release niacin).
Though, I guess I could get more sleep, exercise, and generally be more healthy, but you know... why do things the right way when you can pop a pill and blame the pill for failure? :)
I've just had bad experiences taking 5-HTP for extended periods. It started to cause my brain to think insane thoughts, and made me really anxious. It also gave me a really icky body sensation too.
that stuff makes me all hot and prickly, like morphine, but it wont stop for hours.
It's used, among other things, to help rebuild seratonin.