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Niacin Treatment for Alzheimer's

Niacin is commonly used in the treatment of the vitamin deficiency disease pellagra, which has dementia as one of its symptons. Now, research has shown a daily intake of niacin can prevent or treat Alzheimer's disease. Niacin can be taken in food or as a dietary supplement.

  1. Niacin

    • The dietary supplement niacin, commonly known as vitamin B-3 or nicotinic acid, has been used for many years in the treatment of pellagra. Symptoms of pellagra include diarrhea, dermatitis and dementia. Niacin is used in both pharmaceutical and dietary supplements as a cholesterol lowering agent and as a strong antioxidant for the brain.

    Rush Institute

    • For more than five years, Chicago's Rush Institute for Health Aging studied 3,718 men and women over the age of 65, looking at the effects of diets rich in niacin in preventing dementia. The study compared people eating a diet rich in niacin and taking a dietary supplement of niacin in dosages ranging from 45mg daily and to 17mg daily. People with a daily niacin supplementary intake of 22.4mg were 80 perent less likely to suffer from Alzheimer's than the groups with a lower daily intake.

    Treatment

    • Niacin is used in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease in both the patient's diet and as a dietary supplement. As Alzheimer's sufferers are often malnourished and suffer from vitamin deficiencies, the introduction of a high protein diet and vitamin B supplements is vital not only to the treatment of Alzheimer's, but to a return to physical health. The addition of foods such as lean meat, milk, peanuts, green leafy vegetables, whole or enriched grains, brewer's dry yeast and coffee increase niacin intake and increase protein intake vital to recovery. When the body fails to produce or take in enough vitamin B-3 through diet, a niacin supplement aids recovery. The currently recommended intake of niacin for men is 16mg daily and for women, 14mg. The Rush Institute study found that benefits for dementia-related illnesses began when a niacin rich diet was supplemented with an orally administered niacin supplement of at least 17mg daily.

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