062: Niacin, Part 2: Blood Tests, Foods, and Supplements
In part 1 we covered what niacin is and why you need it. Here’s part 2, where Alex Leaf and I cover blood tests, foods, and supplements!
- How much do we need? The RDA has some flaws, including claiming women need less than men, when all the evidence shows women need *more* than men.
- Why eating enough protein is so essential, yet so unreliable as a way of boosting niacin status.
- How the niacin in your coffee, seeds, and grains is all locked up and unavailable, and how to release it through proper preparation. Do you drink light roast or dark roast? You may either hate or love this episode… or you might just switch coffees.
- Should we take high-dose niacin to lower cholesterol? Alex has a theory on how we can do that without getting diabetes. 😬
- High-dose niacin can cause liver failure and can kill lab mice. But Alex and I know how to steer clear of that problem!
- NAD-boosting supplements are the new darling of the anti-aging industry. But should we take nicotinamide riboside (NR), nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), or should we endure all the whole-body burning 🔥 that the folks injecting NAD+ are so hyped up about? We discuss the promises and problems of these approaches.
- Why you should match glycine to one form of niacin and trimethylglycine (TMG) to all of them.
4 Lessons