Niacin for depression?

[my_mayberry]

Ok, I've been trying to 'get healthy' for the past couple years. First, it started with quitting smoking....which I managed to do 2 years ago. Then came excercise (GREAT mood booster)....then came eating healthy.

The tricky part of this whole process has been to eat healthy. There seems to be so much conflicting data that it's INCREDIBLY overwhelming to try to understand what good nutrition is. That being said, I suffer from anxiety/depression. Since I've taken a healthier route of living, I've noticed a major decrease in my severe symptoms. The chronic condition is still there, though.

I'm curious to know about niacin. I was watching a video on nutrition and they mention niacin as being good for depression and anxiety. I looked it up on the internet and found conflicting data......as always. What i'm most curious about is if anyone here has used it or heard of it being used to any real theraputic effect? Also, does niacin in its immediate release form damage the liver?

Any information would be MUCH appreciated. More importantly, any other food or vitamin suggestions are welcome from anyone who has experience with treating anxiety/depression via this route. I DO take meds. I take zoloft and a benzo for my anxiety/depression. I don't have an interest in going off them unless a vitamin therapy were to completely eleminate my problems. My main curiousity is to try to give my mind what it needs to be healthy via eating correctly and possibly a vitamin supplement if I can't get what I need from food. Any info is very much welcomed.

[Paxiled]

Supplements are always difficult to compare with food.  The body is adapted to taking in nutrients in the form of food, not isolated supplements, and not all supplements are created equal -- some companies use higher quality ingredients than others.  The reason to take supplements if if you think much higher dosages than you get in food will help a particular problem, and if you think -- and this is virtually always true -- you're not getting everything you need in your diet.  Organic means grown without pesticides, herbicides, GMOs, artificial fertilizer, etc.  Fats are essential for human life, but only the good fats.  Some of the good fats we get a lot of in our diets, such as most omega 6 fats other than GLA and a couple of others, so usually what people are short of are the omega 3 fatty acids, the kinds found in hemp and flax seeds, algae, and fish.  Good fats keep everything flowing, and that's what you want to do -- the bad fats are the ones that oxidize quickly and stick to your blood vessels, causing the high levels of bad cholesterol.  The worst are the triglycerides, mostly found in hydrogenated vegetable oil.  So not all saturated fats are bad for you -- fish oil is saturated fat, but it's good for you.  The carb situation applies to simple carbs, such as white flour, sugar, and the like because it metabolizes very quickly into sugar and can stress pretty much everything, from inflammation to causing diabetes.  This would include foods such as potatoes, bagels, white flour pasta and bread, etc.  Yes, it is complicated.  But there are a lot of books out there.  Problem is, everyone's got a theory, so you'll have to just decide on what you want to do after you've read as much as you care to, and you don't want to lose the pleasure of eating -- you don't want to become obsessive over it, that's also unhealthy.  Good hunting on your research.

[hava]

This pranayam will help control the depression and improve your metabolism. You will feel the difference in 3 months and also, will notice in your test results.You will get to understand your body and be able to stay healthy for life, with less dependency on medicine.
Build up your timing gradually.If you feel tired or dizzy, stop and resume after one minute.
Kapalbhati pranayam -(Do it before eating) Push air forcefully out through the nose about once per second. Stomach will itself go in(contract in). The breathing in(through the nose) will happen automatically. Establish a rhythm and do for 20 to 30 minutes twice a day. Children under 15 years – do 5 to 10 minutes twice a day.
Not for pregnant women. Seriously ill people do it gently.
Anulom Vilom pranayam –
Close your right nostril with thumb and deep breath-in through left nostril  
then – close left nostril with two fingers and breath-out through right nostril  
then -keeping the left nostril closed  deep breath-in through right nostril
then - close your right nostril with thumb and breath-out through left nostril.
This is one cycle of anulom vilom.
Repeat this cycle for 15 to 30  minutes twice a day.
Children under 15 years – do 5 to 10 minutes twice a day.
You can do this before breakfast/lunch/dinner or before bedtime or in bed.Remember to take deep long breaths into the lungs.You can do this while sitting on floor or chair or lying in bed.

Bhramri Pranayam -Close eyes. Close ears with thumb, index finger on forehead, and rest three fingers on base of nose touching eyes. Breathe in through nose. And now breathe out through nose while humming like a bee.
Duration : 5 to 21  times.
March 16 ,2011

[my_mayberry]

organic? i don't know.....i mean i eat fresh fruits and vegetables, but then you read about all the chemicals that they put on them....still, i guess its much better than burgers and fries.

niacin is also of interest to me because of it's potential effect on cholesterol. however, i've read many theories about high cholesterol and wonder if treating high cholesterol is worse than just simply leaving it alone. in any event, i'm working on that with diet and exercise as best as i know how. this is where i get lost in the fodder. you see, i've read a lot of stuff that says avoid saturated fats and lower cholesterol.......ok, so i do and its not going so bad. i lost nearly 50 pounds. then i see something else that says fats aren't that bad, and its mainly carbs and transfats you have to cut...i get soooo confused. i'm trying to educate myself but its hard when you have doctors saying one thing and more doctors saying another.

in any event, my main interest with the niacin was more for its anti-depressant qualities. i understand the effects of the meds i'm currently taking on things like serotonin...but do these vitamins/etc really have that great of an effect on serotonin levels? i guess what i'm asking is to what extent do they interact with each other? i guess an even bigger question is what exactly is the difference between niacin in a capsule and niacin delivered via food? or is there any at all?

thanks for your response, paxiled