Niacin Flush Overdose with Energy Drinks
Last weekend, a friend of mine told me about his experience a new energy drink called Five Hour Energy. Five Hour Energy has been advertising a lot on Hulu.com, where I catch up a lot of television shows, and they claim they are a “no crash” energy drink. “No crash” means no “sugar” crash, which makes sense since Five Hour Energy doesn’t have sugar.
What it does have is Niacin and one of the side effects is something they call Niacin Flush. Niacin Flush is a prickly feeling on the skin that may be accompanied with redness. It’s the result of Niacin increasing blood flow near the skin. If it ends at that, you’re fine.
If the symptoms persist and/or get worse, it’s a sign of Niacin overdose. Symptoms of that include a rapid heartbeat, skin flushing combined with dizziness, itching, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and severe liver damage (hepatoxicity).
The label warns you to drink a half a bottle to one bottle, with a max of two per day consumed several hours apart. Follow these instructions.
