Ask the doctor: Is no-flush niacin as effective as other kinds of niacin?
No-flush niacin doesn't contain either nicotinic acid or nicotinamide. Instead, it contains inositol hexaniacinate. In theory, the body should slowly convert this into nicotinic acid. In reality, it doesn't. An excellent study by researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine showed that taking no-flush niacin generates virtually no free nicotinic acid, and has little or no effect on HDL. No-flush niacin lives up to the no-flush part of its name because it isn't providing the body with any niacin.
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