Dr. Hoffer's enigmatic "cure" for mental health struggles: schizophrenia, alcoholism, depression & trauma

Nicotinic acid, in its various forms, is the subject of a fairly heated debate over its fantastic properties when it comes to anti-aging, Schizophrenia, alcoholism, and trauma.

This article is mostly going to focus on decoding what the human data is saying about Vitamin B3 and how this squares up with the anecdotal experiences of the Biohacking community.

Scientific Research

It has been widely studied worldwide as a Nootropic and general health-promoting agent with nearly +500 human clinical trials published. Its most prolific use is treating high cholesterol.

Niacin vs Niacinamide vs Nicotinamide

Niacin turns into Niacinamide in the body. Nicotinamide is just a different name for Niacinamide. They are also sometimes referred to as Nicotinic acid, not to be confused with nicotine, the addictive agent in cigarettes.A few key differences...

* Niacin and Niacinamide share the same psychiatric benefits. Niacinamide does not cause a flush, which some may appreciate.

* Niacinamide is not a cholesterol hack like Niacin.

* Niacinamide is more bioavailable. An imperfect metaphor - that should make sense to Biohackers - would be to say that Niacinamide is to Niacin what Alpha GPC is to Choline.

They all end up being converted into NAD+ and NADH, promising antiaging agents...

The Niacin Flush

Niacin will produce a warming, energizing sensation in your face and skin for 15 to 30 minutes. If the Niacin flush is too much for you, the following will reduce the sensation:

* Taking an Aspirin

* A cold meal or drink

* Taking it before a meal

Interestingly, the Niacin flush seems to be an indicator of general mental health; a 2015 Swedish study on Schizophrenia stated:

The small group of niacin non-responding patients exhibited an even lower overall test performance. Delayed niacin flush also correlated inversely with psychomotor function and IQ in the patients.

So, if you’re single, you could start offering Vitamin B3 to the people you date. If they flush, then it’s a good sign; if not, I’ll plan your escape! But that’s all the dating advice you’ll get from me here.

History

This vitamin falls under the shadow of Abram Hoffer, Ph.D., MD, a hotly debated character in the annals of psychiatric history. A YouTube search of Dr. Hoffer will produce several videos worth watching of this charming old doctor harshly criticizing Psychiatry for not curing suffering but merely pushing pills.

Conspiracy theories about the pharmaceutical-psychiatric industrial complex abound regarding Dr. Hoffer’s ostensibly debunked studies. What’s not debated is that he was a quintessential healer and highly committed to the advancement of orthomolecular medicine.

Pellagra is a tragic vitamin deficiency disease that humans in poor and nutritionally deficient communities have suffered from since time immemorial. Niacin was discovered by an Austrian chemist in the 1800s, who originally named it Vitamin PP (as in Pellagra Preventing) since it cured the disease so effectively.

Vs Schizophrenia

Abram Hoffer, Ph.D., MD, conducted some double-blind studies in the 1950s, “curing” Schizophrenics with Vitamin B3. This is hotly debated online, but it definitely falls under the category of things worth trying if you are dealing with something as horrifying as Schizophrenia. You can find a handful of reports of Schizophrenics improving while taking Niacin, for example:

“When I got myself out of the mental hospital I read an article about Abram Hoffer’s work with niacin and started taking 3,000 mg a day. It completely changed my life and is part of what continues to contribute to my better balance to this day at age 59. “

Another interesting account appears in a book published in 1998:

...his Mom and Dad somehow got him to take 3,000 milligrams of niacin and 10,000 mg of vitamin C. Formally a hyperactive insomniac, he responded by sleeping for 18 hours the first night and becoming surprisingly normal within days. I’d seen him before, and I saw him after. I’d talked to his parents during the whole process. It was an astounding improvement.

Dr. Hoffer recommends Niacin along with Vitamin C for Schizophrenics.

Vs Alcoholism

In an interesting episode of history, Dr. Hoffer introduced the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, Bill Wilson, to LSD therapy for alcoholics. Dr. Hoffer also introduced Vitamin B3 to Wilson as an option for treating alcoholism:

Bill was very curious about it and began to take niacin, 3 g daily. Within a few weeks fatigue and depression which had plagued him for years were gone. He gave it to 30 of his close friends in AA and persuaded them to try it. Within 6 months he was convinced that it would be very helpful to alcoholics. Of the thirty, 10 were free of anxiety, tension and depression in one month. Another 10 were well in two months.

They went on to conduct studies on much larger groups, and the data produced was optimistic:

A five-year longitudinal field trial of nicotinic acid was conducted on 507 known alcoholics to determine what effects and benefits might result. Our experience strongly suggests that:1. Nicotinic acid can benefit 50 to 60 percent of alcoholics in the organic stage.2. Nicotinic acid can benefit about 30 percent of the total alcoholic population.

Niacin is an inexpensive and potentially transformative option worth the consideration of those struggling with alcoholism.

For Trauma Survivors

Another interesting case study is that of a Canadian officer who suffered for 4 years in a Japanese concentration camp during World War 2. Dr. Hoffer introduced him to Niacin. He began taking it and experienced significant recovery from some of the crippling disabilities he acquired while interned. Niacin was administered to numerous other prisoners of war who experienced similar recovery. Dr. Hoffer pondered:

...every human exposed to severe stress and malnutrition for a long enough period of time will develop a permanent need for large amounts of this vitamin and perhaps for several others. This is happening on a large scale in Africa where the combination of starvation, malnutrition and brutality is reproducing the conditions suffered by the veterans. Those who survive will be permanently damaged biochemically, an