February 5, 2025 – 5:00pm PST / 8:00pm EST

Presenter: W. Todd Penberthy, PhD

Niacin deficiency killed over 100,000 people from 1900 to 1940, making pellagra the most devastating nutritional deficiency epidemic in United States history. This speaks volumes to the sensitivity of the human body to niacin deficiency. While government-mandated fortification of flour and rice started in the 1940s provided immeasurably positive benefits ongoing, pellagra cases continue to be diagnosed, especially among the aged.

Having witnessed pellagric dementia in the 1950s, Dr. Abram Hoffer, MD, PhD, considered the idea that individuals with mental health disorders might require higher niacin levels. Upon testing high doses of niacin (generally 500mg to 10g taken in multiple divided doses), he proved this to be true, leading to positive outcomes for thousands of schizophrenia patients and curing cardiovascular dyslipidemia, thus ushering in the era of orthomolecular medicine.

Unique among the vitamin B3 precursors, niacin activates a flush-eliciting independent non-vitamin pathway that is distinctively more effective than nicotinamide riboside, nicotinamide, and nicotinamide riboside in correcting dyslipidemia, erectile dysfunction, increasing muscle strength, and addressing neurological diagnoses. Niacin continues to be evaluated in cardiovascular medicine more than any other therapeutic agent (>100 RCTs and counting), where it has produced the best outcomes of any single therapeutic intervention in cardiovascular research (Coronary Drug Project & Stockholm Study). Niacin therapy at lower doses (~100mg) with sodium bicarbonate is now recognized as an effective treatment that reverses chronic kidney disease in many cases.

Niacin formulations, safety concerns, and recommended approaches to introducing niacin to the uninitiated will be described, along with interdependent nutrient relationships (glutamine, arginine, magnesium, D-ribose, and others) needed for optimal therapy.