Increase of type 2 diabetes may be linked to excessive niacin intake.

[snagglepuss]

"Facing the increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes worldwide in the past few decades, one may ask what is wrong with humans... something must be happening in our environment or diet. As a matter of fact, dietary pattern is known to be closely linked to the development of type 2 diabetes. The increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes following worldwide food fortification with niacin suggests that type 2 diabetes may involve excessive niacin intake."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091222105449.htm



Wow. This is the second B vitamin to come under scrutiny.


Excess folic acid, another B vitamin which is used to fortify food has been shown to be linked to colon cancer - studies in Chile and US have shown colon cancer rates steadily increased when folic acid began being added to flour. Folic acid actually presents a dilemma because women of child-bearing age need extra folic acid in case they become pregnant but everyone else needs to limit intake which is difficult because studies have shown that flour can contain up to 400 times the daily recommended levels.

[bananas]

1. Junk science. nt

[Hannah Bell]

2. doesn't make sense. & there's no nutrient that in X dose causes birth defects in pregnant women,

but ill health in non-pregnant women.

[snagglepuss]

9. You're completely uninformed.

Universtiy of Toronto
Folic acid fortification and supplementation--good for some but not so good for others

snip

Folic acid fortification and periconceptional supplementation of women may reduce the risk of certain childhood cancers in their offspring. However, recent human studies have suggested that FA supplementation and fortification may promote the progression of already existing, undiagnosed, preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions, thereby corroborating earlier observations from animal and in vitro studies. Following the success of mandatory FA fortification on the reduction of NTD rates in the United States and Canada, several countries are currently considering whether or not, and at what dose, to institute FA fortification.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18038943?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_SingleItemSupl.Pubmed_Discovery_RA&linkpos=3&log$=relatedreviews&logdbfrom=pubmed


NIH
Folic acid fortification: a double-edged sword.

SUMMARY: The highly complex and critical biological importance of folic acid-related molecular nutrition makes it a difficult micronutrient to deploy as a simple intervention at a population level - it has far too many biochemical spheres of influence to predict effects in a generalized way. Additionally, several gene variants and other nutrients are interactive factors. It is, therefore, hardly surprising that the scientific community does not have a true consensus view on whether mandatory fortification is appropriate

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19726978


LA TIMES

Credited with lowering the rates of some birth defects, the vitamin also has been linked to a higher likelihood of some cancers.

snip

As far back as the 1940s, folic acid supplements were found to accelerate leukemia in children who were given the vitamin in the hope that it might help. (Such studies helped lead to a class of antifolate drugs that are among today's most common cancer treatments.)


http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-folate11-2009may11,0,4656570.story




Clearly you haven't even bothered to review the numerous studies before opining that it doesn't make sense. If EU countries have put their plans to fortify foods with folic acid on hold than those consuming this vitamin should take notice.

[Hannah Bell]

10. clearly you can't read: "dose". I'm quite well-informed, thank you.

[snagglepuss]

13. That makes no sense. Dose is clearly implicated because the

recommended "dose" for pregnant women or women in childbearing years is twice the recommended amount for the rest of the adult population.

[Hannah Bell]

14. it makes sense if you can read.

[bananas]

3. Nicotinamide, which is the crappy form of niacin

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091222105449.htm

Is Nicotinamide Overload a Trigger for Type 2 Diabetes?

ScienceDaily (Dec. 24, 2009) — Facing the increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes worldwide in the past few decades, one may ask what is wrong with humans. Geneticists tell us that the human genome has not changed markedly in such a short time. Therefore, something must be happening in our environment or diet. As a matter of fact, dietary pattern is known to be closely linked to the development of type 2 diabetes. The increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes following worldwide food fortification with niacin suggests that type 2 diabetes may involve excessive niacin intake.

A research article to be published on December 7, 2009 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses the association between nicotinamide overload and type 2 diabetes. The study revealed that diabetic patients have a slow nicotinamide metabolism and thus require a longer time to clear up excess nicotinamide metabolites within the body.

<snip>

Most interestingly and importantly, this study demonstrates that sweating is an effective way for expelling excess nicotinamide from the body. The findings from this study may help explain a wide variety of well-documented but poorly understood phenomena in diabetes, such as lifestyle-triggered diabetes, liver-disease-related abnormal glucose metabolism, post-burn insulin resistance, and seasonal diabetes.

<snip>

[HysteryDiagnosis]

4. 2B or not 2B, that is the question. n/t

[thunder rising]

5. Diabetes couldn't be associated with HFCS ... nah

That folic acid part is in real contrast with a lot of other studies.

[bananas]

6. "Fortify" usually means "restore to original levels".

Grains store better if you destroy important nutrients.
Later, we add some (not all) of them back, along with "preservatives".

edit to add: compare unfortified whole grain bread to fortified bleached white bread,
the white bread is "fortified" with vitamins, the whole grain bread isn't,
but they have the same amounts of those vitamins,
even though the whole grain bread hasn't been "fortified".

[snagglepuss]

11. As stated, studies have shown that food manufacturers are not regulating

amount of folic acid added in the process. Studies have shown that flour can contain up to 400 times the recommended daily intake.

[wuvuj]

7. And to think I just started taking more....

...a higher correlation does not = causation?

http://www.drdavidwilliams.com/legacy/issues/index.aspx

Niacin for Alzheimer’s

Question: I have a history of Alzheimer’s in my family so it is a constant worry. I’ve read that smokers are 50 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s than non-smokers. I don’t want to start smoking, but would the use of nicotine patches be helpful? I’ve followed your suggestions about including omega-3 oils, curcumin, lecithin, acetyl-L-carnitine, et cetera, but after seeing the effects of Alzheimer’s first-hand I’m willing to do most anything to prevent it.

—Sandra B.
Buffalo, New York

Answer: I certainly understand your concern. Alzheimer’s is a horrible disease and currently the most common form of dementia. However, I don’t think taking up smoking or the use of nicotine is the answer. There is an alternative.

Our old friend niacin, also called nicotinic acid, is a close cousin of nicotine. Niacin and nicotine both stimulate the production of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine.
Acetylcholine is needed for many things, primarily to facilitate the transmission of nerve impulses. Rather than use nicotine to increase acetylcholine, you can use niacin.
One recent study in Chicago selected 815 individuals without Alzheimer’s disease, monitored clinical changes, and assessed their dietary niacin intake. After an average of four years, 131 in this group developed Alzheimer’s disease.

After adjusting for all the important risk factors for the disease, those with the lowest niacin intake (an average of 12.6 mg per day) were 80 percent more likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s than those with the highest intake (22.4 mg per day). And even among those who didn’t develop Alzheimer’s, the cognitive decline in those with the highest niacin intake was almost 44 percent of those with the lowest intake. (J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 04 Aug;75:1093-1099)

Previous studies have linked other B vitamins—B12, B6, and folic acid—to a reduction in risk for Alzheimer’s, but this is one of the first to look at niacin. And there is obviously a very strong connection to a lack of niacin. It just so happens that niacin and the other B vitamins are found in whole grains, which have largely been replaced by refined grain products. Other food sources of niacin are liver, fish, peanuts, and some mushrooms, which are not generally favorite foods of the general public. My dad is sharp as a tack and in his 80s, and it’s probably no coincidence that he just happens to love peanuts. He keeps a huge jar by his favorite chair.

One factor that was overlooked by the above study is the widespread use of and exposure to organophosphate-containing pesticides, herbicides, solvents, and plasticizers. Organophosphates destroy acetylcholine. If you want to see what a case of Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s disease looks like in fast motion, watch a bug after spraying it with pesticide. These chemicals are nerve agents that irreversibly inactivate acetylcholinesterase, which is essential to the production of the acetylcholine needed for nerve function in humans, animals, and insects. Pesticides and these other organophosphate-containing products kill by attacking the nervous system of insects—and of humans as well. I have never understood why we can’t seem to connect the dots and see what’s happening.
Niacin has dozens of other benefits that I’ve covered in past newsletters. It improves circulation, lowers harmful levels of cholesterol, and combats arthritis, just to name a few. At a cost of only pennies a day, it’s undoubtedly one of the best bargains around.

....

AVOID timed release niacin? Niacin causes a flush. Niacinamide doesn't.

[wuvuj]

19. If you take niacin...

http://heartscanblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/if-you-take-niacin-you-must-exercise.html



But . . . niacin also triggers higher blood sugar because it partially blocks the effects of insulin (insulin "resistance").

While the net effect of niacin remains positive, the provocation of insulin resistance is not such a good thing. Can it be minimized or eliminated?

Yes, through exercise. Here's one interesting observation in obese (BMI 34.0), sedentary men given placebo, exercise, niacin (1500 mg Niaspan, once per day), or niacin + exercise:

...graph

You can see from the graph that exercise partially corrected the increased insulin level provoked by niacin.

Judging from this and other studies, exercise can help minimize the insulin-blocking effects of niacin. It doesn't take much, just moderate exercise for at least 30 minutes.

Adequate sleep can also help, since sleep deprivation is a potent trigger for insulin resistance, only worsened in the presence of niacin. Vitamin D supplementation to achieve desirable blood levels (which I define as 60-70 ng/ml) is also an effective means to minimize this effect.

[newfie11]

8. of course the amount of sugar in everything doesn't matter.

I do not believe Niacin has any thing to do with making someone a type 2 diabetic. Sure if you are a diabetic then taking niacin can raise your blood sugar not the other way around. Maybe they should take a look at what the average diet consists of in america.
Niacin is not THAT prevalent in food.
As far as folic acid all I can say is bullshit. This is not excess in the diet of americans. You may think so but the piddly little amount added to foods is useless.

Whoever did/funded this study if a fool.

[snagglepuss]

12. God help us if scientists shared your irrationality. What does belief

have to do with science? This is a published study, its flags an issue. It may not pan out, that's how science works. Cite one study that in anyway supports your "belief". :crazy:

[newfie11]

15. yeah and who paid for it! n/t

[snagglepuss]

18. If who pays for research is important is determining the validity of a study

why didn't you determine that before posting an uninformed opinion?

[Sanity Claws]

16. B vitamins are water soluble

If you take more than you can use, you lose it in your urine.

[snagglepuss]

17. Well say hello to science where things that were once deemed to be

true get re-evaluated. Don't rely on my few examples, google abounds with scientific studies that question the premise that B vitamins are harmless because they are water soluble.

[dflprincess]

20. This is purely anecdotal but

my doctor had me on fish oil and a high dose of niacin (but not as high as some others I know have actually had prescribed) and just had me stop them because my liver function tests were abnormal - much like a statin can affect them.

In addition - my fasting blood sugar came back too high. He checked that twice as well as running an A1C that also indicated I might be on the way to TypeII diabetes. At the time my he said nothing about niacin affecting blood glucose. So, he made me go to an education class and get a glucose meter which I started using about 10 days after I had stopped the niacin and fish oil. Everything has been fine, the morning (fasting) level has not been higher then 87 and the glucose level drops the way it should after meals. I'm hoping my MD may have jumped the gun on the diabetes diagnosis.

I also realize that not everyone reacts this way to the these supplements - but the liver enzyme thing appears to be pretty well established so if you're taking fish oil and/or niacin make sure your doctor knows and that you do have liver function tests once in a while.