Helpful Supplements
*B2 - Riboflavin
Vitamin B2, also called Riboflavin, is required for oxygen use. It helps lungs remove oxygen from the air and moves oxygen into the cells. It works in tandem with other B vitamins to metabolize fats, carbohydrates and proteins. Elderly people need more B2 and so do people who exercise a great deal. Alcoholics are often deficient in Vitamin B2.
Dosage: RDA 1.7mg
Riboflavin is fragile and easily destroyed by processing and by light. While milk is an excellent source of Riboflavin, but when it is sold in light permeable containers, most of the B2 is gone by the time you drink it. Keep in mind that tobacco, sugar, alcohol and coffee all inhibit absorption or use of Vitamin B2, and are all risk factors for a deficiency.
*B3 - Niacin / Niacinamide / Nicotinic Acid
Niacin seems to prevent abnormal drops in blood sugar and has been used with some success to treat alcoholism (alcoholics are often hypoglycemic). Vitamin B3 helps to convert fat to energy and is crucial in the production of the myelin sheath that protects the nerves. It is also needed for the production of insulin and the sex hormones. Niacin helps promote proper digestion by helping with the production of stomach acid and is used in the metabolism of carbohydrates.
Dosage: RDA 20mg
B3 is easily absorbed, but not stored, and stress, prescription drugs and alcohol and drug abuse all remove Niacin from your body, so it is fairly easy to develop a deficiency. Sugar, tobacco, coffee, starch, corn, antibiotics, and birth control pills also reduce the efficacy of niacin.
Niacin is very safe but should not be used if you have liver problems of any kind. It may cause flushing due to histamine it triggers but symptoms are not harmful and will disappear over time. Too much niacin may cause nausea and vomiting and it may elevate blood sugar in some diabetics. In this case, niacinamide can be used. It has the same benefits but has no effect on insulin production or use.