Anxiety Niacinamide

Does Niacinamide work for anxiety? Well, There are a few reasons why I think it might be worth a try. Firstly, a proper scientific study found that Niacinamide had anti-anxiety (anxiolytic) effects in animals (Tallman JF, Paul SM, Skolnick P, Gallager DW (1980).

Some  people have hypothesized that Niacinamide works on the same receptors as Benzodiazepines like Valium and Xanax.

Further more, if the body does not get enough Vitamin B3 through diet, it can make it from Tryptophan. This is not good for anxiety sufferers as Tryptophan is the amino acid the body uses to make the good mood chemical Serotonin, a lack of which causes anxiety and depression. Therefore it might be the case that taking on more B3 in the form of Niacinamide lessens the necessity to divert Tryptophan away from Serotonin and therefore boosts mood and calm anxiety that way.

On top of that, B Vitamins are essential for correct brain and nervous system functioning.

Lastly, other people with anxiety that have expressed an opinion swear by Niacinamide. Not everyone of course, nothing works for everyone. But when someone else has tried something and had success it is generally worth a shot!

How much Niacinamide should I take for anxiety? That is another very good question which it is quite hard to answer. I have read conflicting advice and of course there is no decisive answer from medical circles. The Reference Daily Intake (The Recommended Daily Allowance in the UK) varies from country to country but is often around 50-20mg depending on age and gender.

Doctors that advocate Niacinamide as a treatment for anxiety recommend much much higher doses. Sometimes as high as 3000mg a day. It is thought that doses beyond that can cause liver toxicity.

In terms of dosage I would say you have to be careful. Take medical advice if you can and start on a lower dose and move up and see if you get any anti-anxiety effects. If so, why not check with your doctor that the dose is safe in their opinion, or see if they can monitor you for liver function if the dose you are using is extreme.

2 thoughts on “Anxiety Niacinamide

  1. Be carful with dosage.I took it for anxiety and it made me hypersensitive.
    The dosage was 100 mg morning and 100 mg afternoon and i got the worse anxiety feeling ever. But i can accept that i felt great when i first got the morning dosage. I’m going to try it again in lower dosage.

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