Evidence supporting the use of: Vitamin B3 (nicotinamide)
For the health condition: Alcoholism

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Synopsis

Source of validity: Traditional
Rating (out of 5): 1

Vitamin B3 (nicotinamide) has a traditional association with alcoholism treatment, primarily stemming from early to mid-20th-century practices and theories. Historically, niacin (vitamin B3 in its various forms) deficiency—known as pellagra—was more common among individuals with chronic alcoholism due to poor diet and malnutrition, leading clinicians to supplement B3 in such cases. In addition, pioneering psychiatrist Abram Hoffer in the 1950s promoted high-dose niacin therapy as part of treatments for alcoholism and other psychiatric conditions. However, these approaches were largely anecdotal or based on uncontrolled studies, and subsequent clinical trials have not provided strong, consistent scientific validation for the use of vitamin B3 to treat alcoholism directly. Modern medical guidance focuses on correcting nutritional deficiencies in alcohol-dependent individuals, including supplementing B vitamins, but this is to address malnutrition rather than to treat alcohol dependence itself. Thus, vitamin B3’s use in alcoholism is primarily rooted in tradition and the need to correct deficiency states, not in evidence of efficacy for reducing alcohol cravings or preventing relapse.

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