Niacin for Detoxification: A Little-known Therapeutic Use

Abstract 

Niacin (nicotinic acid) has a number of well-established clinical uses and the potential for additional clinical applications. To date, its therapeutic application for enhancing detoxification has not been systematically reviewed. The use of niacin for the purpose of enhancing detoxification was popularized by L. Ron Hubbard (i.e., the founder of the Church of Scientology) in 1977. He developed a comprehensive detoxification method using niacin and other treatments to remove lipid-stored xenobiotics. Niacin is also used among individuals attempting to mask urine drug screens; presumably, a result of its favourable therapeutic effect upon liver detoxification. All published reports using niacin as part of a detoxification regimen are summarized in this manuscript, along with several reports of attempts to misuse niacin to mask urine drug testing. The results demonstrate that niacin, as a component of the Hubbard regimen, does augment detoxification by lowering the body burden of lipid-stored xenobiotics. With respect to niacin’s role in masking the results of urine drug testing, the data from several published reports have not shown niacin to be capable of this.

Introduction

Niacin (nicotinic acid) has a number of well-established clinical uses and the potential for additional clinical applications. This was recently the subject of a comprehensive review by this author in a collaborative paper, “Pharmacologic Use of Niacin.”1 While numerous medical conditions (e.g., arthritis, cancer, depression, dyslipidemia, migraine and tension-type headaches, pellagra, and schizophrenia) potentially benefit from niacin supplementation, its therapeutic application for enhancing detoxification has not been systematically reviewed...

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"Niacin for Detoxification: A Little-known Therapeutic Use"