Niacin for cold extremities?

**DarthMarkus** · 02-21-2020, 05:53 PM

So I bought some Niacin to start taking cuz it's supposed to be good for you and stuff. But.... holy shit - I'm a tomato right now. All my capillary beds are open and I'm burning up.

So it occurred to me - maybe this could be a good thing while skiing? Anyone ever tried taking Niacin while they're skiing to warm up cold hands, feet, fingers toes?

Weird question, but whatever. I'm curious what other people think.

**Viva** · 02-21-2020, 05:55 PM

When I become cold during skiing, I just nut it up and act like a man.

**DarthMarkus** · 02-21-2020, 05:55 PM

I generally just complain about my arches and go into the lodge when I get cold.

**mntlion** · 02-21-2020, 07:15 PM

https://wholehealthchicago.com/2009/05/19/niacin/

"Combat Raynaud’s disease and other circulatory problems. Niacin improves circulation by relaxing arteries and veins, and disorders characterized by circulation difficulties may benefit as a result. In those suffering from Raynaud’s disease, for example, niacin’s ability to improve blood flow to the extremities may counter the numbness and pain in the hands and feet that occurs when blood vessels overreact to cold temperatures. The calf-cramping and other painful symptoms of intermittent claudication, another circulation disorder, may lessen under the vessel-relaxing influence of niacin as well. The inositol hexaniacinate form of niacin works best for circulation-related discomforts."

**Tahoepa** · 02-21-2020, 07:41 PM

Aspirin prior to taking can aid in alleviating flushing with niacin. It’s an amazing drug for cholesterol panel improvement esp triglycerides. Prob is most can’t handle the flushing. Def be an interesting approach. Sounds intense though.

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**ill-advised strategy** · 02-21-2020, 07:47 PM

Lol.
I hope iceman sees this!

**Huskier** · 02-21-2020, 08:16 PM

Originally Posted by tahoepa

Aspirin prior to taking can aid in alleviating flushing with niacin. It’s an amazing drug for cholesterol panel improvement esp triglycerides. Prob is most can’t handle the flushing. Def be an interesting approach. Sounds intense though.

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I think you mean "It kinda works" and "For TG lowering only" and "I don't at all mean to suggest that fucking niacin should replace statins for the purpose of improving ones cholesterol panel, of which TG level is a distant last place in terms of importance"

As to the question at hand: OP, would you want to ski around feeling like you do on niacin? Because at the dose I bet you'd need to see effect , I can see feeling really, really unpleasant.

**Tahoepa** · 02-21-2020, 08:57 PM

Originally Posted by Huskydoc

I think you mean "It kinda works" and "For TG lowering only" and "I don't at all mean to suggest that fucking niacin should replace statins for the purpose of improving ones cholesterol panel, of which TG level is a distant last place in terms of importance"

As to the question at hand: OP, would you want to ski around feeling like you do on niacin? Because at the dose I bet you'd need to see effect , I can see feeling really, really unpleasant.

Yes this exactly. Sorry didn’t intend to be ambiguous. I couldn’t imagine being dressed to ski and taking niacin. Sounds pretty miserable.

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**romeo tango** · 02-21-2020, 09:20 PM

Originally Posted by DarthMarkus

....Niacin .... it's supposed to be good for you and stuff....All my capillary beds are open and I'm burning up....

.
best wait for the dentists to weigh in
before you do something stupid

.

**Mr. Mike** · 02-21-2020, 09:51 PM

Originally Posted by Huskydoc

I think you mean "It kinda works" and "For TG lowering only" and "I don't at all mean to suggest that fucking niacin should replace statins for the purpose of improving ones cholesterol panel, of which TG level is a distant last place in terms of importance"

As to the question at hand: OP, would you want to ski around feeling like you do on niacin? Because at the dose I bet you'd need to see effect , I can see feeling really, really unpleasant.

so HDL/LDL much more important than TGs? Where do you place HDL vs. LDL in the rankings?

**wannabe** · 02-21-2020, 10:02 PM

Tried it years ago while working race crew, I don’t think I took enough to feel the affect. I still froze my ass off in the start house.

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**romeo tango** · 02-21-2020, 11:02 PM

Originally Posted by wannabe

....I don’t think I took enough to feel the affect....

.
we're still talking about niacin, right?

.

**swissiphic** · 02-21-2020, 11:14 PM

Wim Hof; no flush, just tingle.

Worked for me; flip flops and shorts all winter if i'm not skiing...limiting factor: there's no winter grip flips on the market.

**DarthMarkus** · 02-21-2020, 11:19 PM

Originally Posted by Huskydoc

As to the question at hand: OP, would you want to ski around feeling like you do on niacin? Because at the dose I bet you'd need to see effect , I can see feeling really, really unpleasant.

You may be right. But there may be an interesting interplay between why your extremities are cold to begin with, and niacin.

I'll test my theory tomorrow - I'll pop some right before tearing some layers off and getting nice and cold. My hypothesis is that the human body's natural inclination to pull blood away from cold limbs will be neutralized by the niacin flush. Vasoconstriction as a physiological response, along with some Vasodilatation from the Niacin - maybe I'll end up middle of the road. If worse comes to worse I'll just be red and itchy for an hour or two.

**old goat** · 02-22-2020, 08:57 AM

Originally Posted by swissiphic

Wim Hof; no flush, just tingle.

Worked for me; flip flops and shorts all winter if i'm not skiing...limiting factor: there's no winter grip flips on the market.

Flip flops and shorts here too, but it's not the niacin. Fuck.

My brother was prescribed niacin in addition to a statin after he had a heart attack at 35. Turned him yellow from liver toxicity--I'd suggest not taking it if you drink, which pretty much rules out everyone on this forum.

In general, prescribing yourself a medication because "it's supposed to be good for you" is a bad idea. I find it amusing that people (not necessarily the OP) will protest stuff like GMO's, pesticides and herbicides and additives and other chemicals in food, and then take unregulated supplements.

As far as cold goes, cold hands and feet are a sign the body is restricting circulation to non crucial parts of the body so that the crucial parts--internal organs like the brain--can get more blood. By deliberately increasing blood flow to the extremities you are going against the body's protective mechanism. (BTW alcohol has the same effect.) Better to wear another layer or a warmer hat or mittens. Intuition liners are nice and warm on the feet.

**nickinbc** · 02-22-2020, 09:21 AM

Agree about keeping the core warm. Trouble is as I get older it is getting hard to avoid an overheating core and freezing fingers and toes - especially when touring.

**DarthMarkus** · 02-22-2020, 12:41 PM

Originally Posted by old goat

Flip flops and shorts here too, but it's not the niacin. Fuck.

My brother was prescribed niacin in addition to a statin after he had a heart attack at 35. Turned him yellow from liver toxicity--I'd suggest not taking it if you drink, which pretty much rules out everyone on this forum.

In general, prescribing yourself a medication because "it's supposed to be good for you" is a bad idea. I find it amusing that people (not necessarily the OP) will protest stuff like GMO's, pesticides and herbicides and additives and other chemicals in food, and then take unregulated supplements.

As far as cold goes, cold hands and feet are a sign the body is restricting circulation to non crucial parts of the body so that the crucial parts--internal organs like the brain--can get more blood. By deliberately increasing blood flow to the extremities you are going against the body's protective mechanism. (BTW alcohol has the same effect.) Better to wear another layer or a warmer hat or mittens. Intuition liners are nice and warm on the feet.

I think “taking something because it’s good for you” isn’t a bad thing if you actually do your due diligence to figure out dosage, factor in things like drinking (which I don’t do a lot of), and in this case, consider what something like time-released niacin will do you your liver vs. the normal stuff (or even niacinamide). I think there’s also a difference between real medication and supplemental vitamins/nutrients.

If I was already worried about my heart, or liver, I would take even further steps to make sure I wasn’t killing myself.

I think you’ve got a very good point about your body’s natural instinct to give blood to vital organs. May be a bit oversimplified though; your body absolutely will pull blood from non-vital areas to your core organs. It’s also a sort of safeguard though - it doesn’t necessarily mean that if your body DOESN’T do it that you’ll keel over and die. There are plenty of people still shotgunning beers & whiskey to warm up, and not dying while skiing.

Seal oil has a similar effect. Inuits have used it in the past and still use it to achieve a similar effect of opening up their capillary beds while enduring some pretty harsh environments.

Side note: not trying to defend myself nor come across as hating on your post; just clarifying my intent with this little experiment.

**Huskier** · 02-22-2020, 12:44 PM

Originally Posted by Mr. Mike

so HDL/LDL much more important than TGs? Where do you place HDL vs. LDL in the rankings?

Up for debate but at the end of the day the point is sort of moot, as the two tend to move inversely of each other (typically) and above a total of X will buy you a med regardless. Talk to your PCP if concerned and I hesitate to give out unsolicited advice on the interwebs but the male 30-50 demographic strongly represented on TGR has the most to gain from preventative care and the most to lose from incomplete information/skipping out on care.

/endPSA

**milton** · 02-22-2020, 01:27 PM

I usually just sprinkle some cayenne pepper in my socks and gloves.

**mike** · 02-22-2020, 02:32 PM

Triactin works amazing for this.

**swissiphic** · 02-22-2020, 04:08 PM

Originally Posted by DarthMarkus

Seal oil has a similar effect. Inuits have used it in the past and still use it to achieve a similar effect of opening up their capillary beds while enduring some pretty harsh environments.

Genuinely curious...is there anything in the western diet that would have a potentially similar effect?

Personal anecdote/speculation: Even while wearing good winter boots/socks and mitts; a coupla years ago I was having problems with cold hands/feet at work while doing outdoor tasks at temps of minus 20 C and below...I work in the heliski industry so that kinda sucked... I noticed on days where excessive indulgence of mass quantities of fried bacon was consumed at breakfast, my hands/feet stayed warmer for longer....so, I kinda developed a system of starting with a baseline of 2 strips of bacon at breaky at temps in the normal minus range of -2 to -8C at valley bottom. I added strips as temps dropped to a max of 6 big strips when temps hit minus 25 C. Seemed to have a notably positive effect on core and extremity heat production/maintenance. Who knows, coulda been some sort of placebo effect. Prolly not that great for all the obvious health reasons, but whatev; arctic cold temps usually = a total of 3 weeks +/- per season.

Not really an issue any longer due to diligent wim hoffing, which is pretty much the panacea for everything health and wellness related, imo. lol. The snake oil of the 2020's?

**garyfromterrace** · 02-22-2020, 04:23 PM

Seal oil! Fuck ya!

**Chugachjed** · 02-22-2020, 04:51 PM

I've got a jar of seal oil in my freezer but MCT oil works really well too. Light a furnace in your belly. Will prevent constipation incredibly effectively too. I'd bet that a supplement like Steel Hard AF or whatever pump formulation would be better than niacin for keeping warm.

**GeezerSteve** · 02-22-2020, 05:26 PM

Alex Jones types sometimes hawk niacin as boner pills

**Name Redacted** · 02-22-2020, 05:50 PM

Originally Posted by Huskydoc

Up for debate but at the end of the day the point is sort of moot, as the two tend to move inversely of each other (typically) and above a total of X will buy you a med regardless. Talk to your PCP if concerned and I hesitate to give out unsolicited advice on the interwebs but the male 30-50 demographic strongly represented on TGR has the most to gain from preventative care and the most to lose from incomplete information/skipping out on care.

/endPSA

OT question about HDL/LDL: what is a good ratio? I've been high on the HDL for a few years when I get tested, but I'm also high on the LDL. Doc says it's not a big deal because my HDL is high so they cancel out somewhat. Is this true or should I start working to reduce LDL. Before my last test, I ate 3 fried chicken meals on a ski vacation so that couldn't have helped.

And back to the actual topic:
My local apothocary (aka liquor store) sells this magical elixir (schnapps) called "Rumplemintz". It has the warming effects of niacin, as well as the pain relieving and mood improving qualities that make it the perfect remedy for cold ski days.