Posted by IsoM on November 5, 2002, at 16:16:35
In reply to B vitamins, posted by Kari on November 5, 2002, at 13:21:19
Larry gave an excellent, factual answer to your question. It shows another reason not to take *huge* amounts of B vitamins & to take them in decent balanced amounts.
And like he said, niacin (another name for it is nicotinic acid - it's structurally similar to nicotine, but very different in its actions!) that causes this flushing & weird sensation, but in the form of niacinamide, it doesn't. Whether you take niacin or niacinamide, your body will use it the same ultimately, but in the form of niacin, it also serves to lower cholesterol levels.
It's also known that vitamin A & D both can cause toxic changes if too much is taken as it's fat soluble & excess is stored in the liver. But there again, a person really needs to take large amounts for a period of time before problems arise. But in babies & small children, it takes far less, so nutritionalists & doctors would rather err on the side of caution.
**Beardy** - I've read but can't confirm that the reason B vitamins taken first thing in the morning "energizes" a person is because some of the B vitamins are used in cellular respiration ('burning sugar for energy' is the common term). But if too much of certain B vitamins is taken, it will lead to screwing up blood sugar levels. This, in turn, can lead to the opposite effect hoped for with time - less energy & a draggy, tired feeling. Now I can't verify this for certain so I'm just mentioning it, but I have heard often enough that many people after taking large amounts of B vitamins over a period of time experience fatigue & lack of energy. I'm still trying to track down how factual the reasoning behind this is.
poster:IsoM
thread:126299
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021101/msgs/126555.html