Niacin (B3) increases GH levels?

Has anyone been taking Niacin (B3) before they workout? The Gatorade Sports Institute did a study (Murray R, Bartoli WP, Eddy DE, Horn MK 1995. Physiological and performance responses to nicotinic-acid ingestion during exercise. Med Sci Sports Exerc Jul;27(7):1057-62)
back in '95 on taking 280 g. of Niacin mixed w/ water or carbohydrates and the cyclers had a 300-600% increase in growth hormone output. (BEFORE YOU DO THIS BE WARNED THAT IF YOU ARE NOT USED TO IT, THERE IS A STRONG “NIACIN FLUSH” THAT OCCURS 15-30 MINUTES AFTER YOU TAKE IT. It is a tingling sensation and flushing of the face caused by the dilation of capillaries. It makes your scalp itch. It is pretty scary the first time I took it. Has anyone else used Niacin before or while they workout? What have been your results if you have?

I used to use 500mg of niacin before I worked out while I was in the Navy. This was about 94’-95’. I don’t know if I had a big surge of GH while I was taking it, but I remember being really psyched-up while taking it becuase I sometimes liked the flushing effect. The more intense/irritated by the Niacin, the harder I would train. Maybe i’ll try it again to see if it has the same effects. Hope this helps.

No I haven’t taken it…It would ruin the pristine, innocent, almost angelic title I have claimed as my birthright…“NATURALMAN.” Able to put on no more than 2.lbs in a year, slower to put on chest size than an 8 year old girl, it’s “NATURALMAN”…the defender of the American Way.

Naturalman that was funny! Lou, I am going to start trying it this month also and I am going to see how it works out.

Dan Duchaine said niacin was in Andro-Forte so that you’d know when the stuff got into your bloodstream. You get all flushed and then you go train. He said it’s an old-school trick that drug users used. I haven’t heard of it doing anything else

Try it before sex. Better yet, get your girlfriend to try it before sex…

American bodybuilding makes a pre-workout shake that contains a hefty amount of niacin, I love the stuff. Its called Nitro-speed, give it a try

Dude, 2.8 grams of niacin NOT 280 gms. 280 grams would cause huge liver damage and possibly even death, so please be careful with the mightly decimal point! Spiking GH before or even during a workout does not necessarily mean more growth or enhanced exercise performance. There are no studies to show temporary elevations in GH alone cause enhanced lean body mass, remeber, brief, but intense weight training/exercise seesions also cause increase GH bursts as do taking 2 grams glutamine.

Doug, thank you for pointing out the mistake. It should be 280 milligrams not 280 grams. You are correct. Hopefully nobody has gone out and taken 280 grams of Niacin because you are correct, they would fry their liver.

Damn, I hope it’s not too late to cancel that 10 kilo order of niacin.